Chowder (TV series)

Chowder
Genre
Created by C.H. Greenblatt
Written by
Directed by
  • Eddy Houchins (also supervising director)
  • Kris Sherwood
  • Majella Milne
  • Mike Milo
  • Juli Hashiguchi
  • Shaun Cashman
Creative director(s) William Reiss
Voices of
Theme music composer Dan Boer & Zac Pike
Composer(s) Dan Boer & Zac Pike
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 49 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) C.H. Greenblatt
Producer(s) Louis J. Cuck
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) Cartoon Network Studios
Release
Original network Cartoon Network
Original release November 2, 2007 (2007-11-02) – August 7, 2010 (2010-08-07)
External links
Website

Chowder is an American animated television series created by C.H. Greenblatt for Cartoon Network. The series follows an aspiring young child named Chowder and his day-to-day adventures as an apprentice in Chef Mung Daal's catering company. Although he means well, Chowder often finds himself in predicaments due to his perpetual appetite and his nature as a scatterbrain. The series is animated with both traditional animation in Toon Boom and Adobe Flash as well as short stop motion and puppet sequences that are inter-cut into the episodes, and that run over the end credits.

Chowder premiered on November 2, 2007, and ran for three seasons with 49 total episodes. It garnered one Primetime Emmy Award win, six Annie Award nominations, and two additional Emmy Award nominations during its run. The series finale, "Chowder Grows Up", aired on August 7, 2010.

Characters

Main characters

Recurring characters

Episodes

Chowder series overview
Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 20 (36 segments) November 2, 2007 July 24, 2008
2 20 (36 segments) November 6, 2008 October 11, 2009
3 9 (16 segments) October 29, 2009 August 7, 2010

A total of 49 episodes were aired in the series. Season 1, which consists of 20 episodes, started on November 2, 2007, with the series premiere, entitled "The Froggy Apple Crumble Thumpkin/Chowder's Girlfriend". Season 1 ended on July 24, 2008, with the special "The Apprentice Games". Season 2 also contains 20 episodes, debuting on October 1, 2008, with "The Arborians/The Garage Sale", and ending with "A Faire to Remember/Tofu-Town Showdown", broadcasting on September 29, 2009, and October 6, 2009, respectively. Season 3 consists of only 9 episodes, premiering October 12, 2009, with "The Blast Raz", and ending with the series finale, entitled "Chowder Grows Up", which aired on August 7, 2010.

Development

The puppet versions of the characters Chowder (a Hand-Rod puppet) and Mung Daal

During his time working on Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants, Greenblatt had been sketching various characters for his own animation series concept.[13] Greenblatt originally based the premise on the idea of the sorcerer's apprentice style of story, such as The Sword in the Stone. The plot devices were modified so that the story revolves around a master chef who teaches his young apprentice how to cook. Chowder himself was developed with no specific species in mind, but rather with the intentions of invoking the image of a child's soft squeeze toy.[17] Some of the inspiration comes from Dr. Seuss, with other inspiration from Saturday morning cartoons.[17][18]

Greenblatt pitched the concept to Cartoon Network, and two years later the series was approved with another year for production before the pilot episode aired. Greenblatt estimates he spent about seven years working on Chowder before the show made it to air in 2007.[13]

Production and format

Episodes are produced in seasons which consist of twenty 24-minute episodes. Each episode is produced with a 30-second puppet sequence that is meant to run over the ending credits.[19] Episodes can be purchased from the iTunes Store in the United States which are delivered with the sequences as are episodes which are available on Cartoon Network's VOD website also within the United States.[17][20]

One of the unusual design features of the show is the patterns used on the clothing or players. The patterns are developed as a full-screen image and then sent to the production house, where the characters are modified to fill the patterns in over the character clothing.[13][17][21] Using this technique, when a character moves, their patterns do not follow, but display as a "static" background. A similar technique was used in the Monkey Island video game series (particularly for the Stan), the Nickelodeon series The Off-Beats, and the Mr. Bean animated series.[18]

The show is also known for the very wide variety of media used in various episodes. These include animation using watercolors and ink-and-paint in addition to the cartoon's classic pattern style. It also uses stop motion animation with real food, action figures and clay; live-action scenes with the voice actors of the show and puppets; both marionette and hand-controlled. This was also sometimes used in Courage the Cowardly Dog. It boasts one of the most diverse varieties of mediums used in any single series.

Cancellation

Chowder was cancelled by Cartoon Network in August 2010. C.H. Greenblatt noted this on his blog, saying: "I didn't really think there'd be this many upsides to having a show officially cancelled by a network, but I'm feeling happier than I've been in a long time. Since we've only got post-production, my schedule finally eases up. I haven't had a break like this in a long, long time... Chowder has opened up a lot of awesome possibilities for me, and creatively I'm feeling more inspired than ever."[22] C.H. Greenblatt also noted that many of the staff signed on to a new project at Disney, which would end up being the Disney Channel animated series Fish Hooks, which Greenblatt worked on as an episode director.

Reception

Most reviews were positive,[23][24][25] two raising questions as to whether Chowder can entertain with its occasional bathroom style humor,[26] or sometimes recycled material.[27]

Barry Garron of The Hollywood Reporter thinks that the show will appeal to both children and adults alike, using exotic artwork, unusual settings, and a zany cast of characters.[23] On Toon Zone, Ed Liu expands on the animation and crazy antics of the characters, pointing that the humor of the show is kid-friendly without being juvenile. Liu reminds his readers that Chowder is still in its early phases, and with just a little more time to develop, he feels that the show will be successful.[24] Aaron H. Bynum on Animation Insider also mentions the animation, settings and crazy characters of the show, ending with the comment that Chowder is one of the biggest projects Cartoon Network has undertaken in recent times.[25]

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Recipient Result
2008 Annie Awards Best Animated Television Production for Children[28] Chowder Nominated
2008 Annie Awards Writing in an Animated Television Production[28] C.H. Greenblatt and William Reiss
for "Burple Nurples"
Nominated
2008 Emmy Awards Outstanding Special Class — Short-format Animated Programs[29] C.H. Greenblatt, Brian A. Miller, et al.
for "Burple Nurples"
Nominated
2009 Annie Awards Production Design in an Animated Television Production[30] Dan Krall
for "The Heavy Sleeper"
Nominated
2009 Annie Awards Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production[30] Dwight Schultz
as Mung Daal
Nominated
2009 Emmy Awards Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation[29] Joe Binggeli Won
2010 Annie Awards Voice Acting in a Television Production[31] Nicky Jones
as Chowder
Nominated
2010 Annie Awards Voice Acting in a Television Production[31] Dwight Schultz
as Mung Daal
Nominated
2010 Emmy Awards Outstanding Short-format Animated Program[29] Brian A. Miller, C.H. Greenblatt, et al.
for "The Toots"
Nominated

DVD releases

Title Release date Episodes Region Description
Chowder, Vol. 1 November 4, 2008[32] 5 1 Includes "The Thrice Cream Man/The Flibber-Flabber Diet", "The Froggy Apple Crumple Thumpkin/Chowder's Girlfriend", "Mahjongg Night/Stinky Love", "Certifrycation Class/Sing Beans", and "Grubble Gum/The Cinnamini Monster"
Chowder, Vol. 2 March 3, 2009[33] 5 1 Includes "The Wrong Address/The Wrong Customer", "The Burple Nurple Stand/Shnitzel Makes a Deposit", "Gazpacho Stands Up/A Taste of Marzipan", "The Puckerberry Overlords/The Elemelons", and "Sniffleball/Mung on the Rocks".

The Complete series has been released in ten Region 3 fullscreen DVD volumes in Thailand from MVD Company Limited[34]

References

  1. http://www.metacritic.com/tv/chowder
  2. "Character Facts of the Week: Chowder". March 20, 2012. Archived from the original on September 10, 2014. Chowder is a mix between a cat, bear, and rabbit.
  3. "The Puckerberry Overlords". Chowder. January 18, 2008.
  4. "Chowder". Cartoon Network. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  5. "Certifrycation Class". Chowder. November 16, 2007.
  6. "Mung on the Rocks". Chowder. March 6, 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Greenblatt, C.H. (October 12, 2008). "Real World Food Counterparts". Nerd Armada. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  8. 1 2 3 Greenblatt, C.H. (January 1, 2008). "Shnitzel FAQ". Nerd Armada. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  9. Greenblatt, C.H. (July 18, 2007). "Just Two Weeks Until Chowder Premiere". Nerd Armada. Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  10. Greenblatt, C.H. (November 28, 2007). "Mahjongg Night". Nerd Armada. Retrieved September 14, 2008.
  11. Brubaker, Charles (August 31, 2009). "Exit interview with C.H. Greenblatt". Baking the Baker. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
  12. Greenblatt, C.H. (August 31, 2009). "We're Off!". Nerd Armada. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Liu, Ed (October 30, 2007). "Toon Zone Interviews C.H. Greenblatt on Crafting "Chowder"". Toon Zone. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Greenblatt, C.H. (June 15, 2009). "Early Endive & Panini Designs". Nerd Armada. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
  15. Greenblatt, C.H. (April 19, 2007). "Ms. Endive". Nerd Armada. Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  16. Greenblatt, C.H. (July 18, 2007). "Gorgonzola". Nerd Armada. Retrieved November 9, 2007.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Meyer, Joe (February 8, 2008). "Interview: C.H. Greenblatt". KittySneezes.com. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  18. 1 2 Fritz, Steve (December 12, 2007). "Meet the Master Chef – C.H. Greenblatt". Animated Shorts. Archived from the original on November 20, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  19. Greenblatt, C.H. (June 3, 2008). "Let the New Chowders Begin!!". Nerd Armada. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  20. Greenblatt, C.H. (February 7, 2008). "More Puppets". Nerd Armada. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  21. Greenblatt, C.H. (January 29, 2008). "Chowder Patterns". Nerd Armada. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  22. Greenblatt, C.H. (August 13, 2009). "The Hot Girl". Nerd Armada. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
  23. 1 2 Garron, Barry (November 2, 2007). "Chowder". The Hollywood Reporter (Prometheus Global Media): 47. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2010. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  24. 1 2 Liu, Ed (November 2, 2007). ""Chowder" is Satisfying Comfort Food". Toon Zone. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  25. 1 2 Bynum, Aaron H. (October 24, 2007). "New 'Chowder' Animation Ready to Serve". Animation Insider. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  26. Hale, Mike (November 2, 2007). "In the Kitchen With Blobs and a Cloud". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved February 18, 2009.
  27. Rich, Robert (November 5, 2007). "'Chowder' debuts on TV". The Daily Texan. University of Texas at Austin. Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  28. 1 2 "35th Annual Annie Nominations and Awards Recipients". AnnieAwards.org. ASIFA-Hollywood. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
  29. 1 2 3 "Chowder". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  30. 1 2 "36th Annual Annie Nominations and Awards Recipients". AnnieAwards.org. ASIFA-Hollywood. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  31. 1 2 "37th Annual Annie Nominations and Awards Recipients". AnnieAwards.org. ASIFA-Hollywood. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  32. "Chowder, Vol. 1 (2008)". Amazon.com. ASIN B001DSNFQ4.
  33. "Chowder, Vol. 2 (2009)". Amazon.com. ASIN B001MEJYBY.
  34. DVD releases from MVD in Thailand

External links

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