Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Mahjongg Night

This Friday night's Chowder episode is a very personal one. I wanted to do this story from the moment I pitched the show. Every Tuesday night since I was a little kid, my mom would gather with four of her friends and play Mahjongg, a Chinese tile game that's sort of like bridge. (Jewish women love it!) Four play at once, one rotates out each hand.

Each week, the ladies gather at a different person's house, and the hostess serves up yummy snacks for the rest. So when it came to our house, my mom would set out goodies that we rarely got to have (candies and such). She made egg salad too, and while I'm told it's awesome, I'm not terribly partial to egg salad. Of course, I'd get a handful of peanut M&M's then be banished from the kitchen as they played. As I laid in bed, I could hear the clacking of the tiles and a stream of expletives as the women yelled at each other for taking their money. They weren't big rollers. I think they usually played for something like 35 cents a game, and a big winner would walk away with $5 for the night.

So when you watch it, think of chubby little me, dozing off to the thoughts of chocolate while the sounds of "You bitch! You took my money!" ring in my ears.

(And yes, Truffles is based on my mom. She doesn't really have the accent, but everyone is actually scared of her. And she's tiny.)


(Some random women having their own Mahjongg night. This is what it looks like for real. Notice the snacks on the table!)

Monday, November 19, 2007

Truffles Chases Shnitzel

This was shot in Atlanta when they dressed up for Halloween. It's pretty incredible, even if it is just a loop. Yet every time they pass, it just gets funnier to me. I can swear Truffles comes closer and closer to catching him. Benny Hill music and fast forward makes everything better.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Chowder Cake

Here's a cake Atlanta sent us as a congrats on premiere day. I think it helped. We've been getting really strong ratings since we hit the air and we keep growing. Thanks to everyuone who's watching!



And check out this awesome Chowder fan site made by Tyler K! You'll find art and info from this and other blogs collected there, along with news and forums. Give it a look! Chowder Zone

Monday, November 12, 2007

What is Chowder?


Everyone's been asking "What the heck is Chowder? Is he a cat?" Not exactly.
He's a cat, bear, rabbit... thingie. And so is Panini.
I hope that clears things up.

And yes, his nipples are big. The board guys started drawing him that way and it kind of stuck. Be prepared.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Fred Fredburger Sighting Tonight


The Billy & Mandy/ Kids Next Door crossover airs tonight at 7 pm (pacific) on Cartoon Network. Fred has a cameo in it. I haven't seen the finished version, but I hear it turned out great. Give it a watch if you like either show.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Chowder is a "Throw-Away Series"

Why do I get a giddy delight out of the bad reviews? I dunno. Everyone is very much entitled to their opinion. Here's a fellow from my old college giving his two-cents on Chowder. When I went to school there, I worked at the Daily Texan as a cartoonist from '91-'94. I think the people writing for it were just as cynical back then. Gotta love college students.

"All in all, 'Chowder' is pretty much a throwaway series in an endless string of mediocre cartoons. The animation is nothing special - although the colors are a little trippy - , the dialogue is cliché kids show speak save for a few adult references, and the stories are the same contrived ones we've seen over and over again. It is cute, however, which is more than can be said for a lot of today's cartoons. It might interest your nieces and nephews, but until Chowder gets embroiled in controversy via a sex tape or a crack addiction, very few others will care."

The Daily Texan

Oh, and University of Texas, you can stop calling me for money now, please.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

I Got Red Ringed!


As thousands upon thousands of xbox 360 owners have discovered, the system is very prone to failure. Well as of this weekend, count me in as one of those thousands. The darn thing went kaput and I got the dreaded red ring of death! So it'll be at least a month and a half before I get a working one back from Microsoft. And just as I was getting into the new Katamari!

Speaking of Katamari, there's a big homage to my favorite rolling game in this week's Chowder. Watch it! Friday night at 7:30 Pacific!

Saturday, November 03, 2007

We Made It!


Well we finally got the show on the air! I wasn't sure we we going to make it for a while there. A big thanks to everyone who helped make the show possible and to everyone who watched. If you missed it, don't worry. CN will be re-running it everyday. Seriously. And there'll be a new episode premiering next Friday at the same time. So keep watching.

Here are some early reviews of the show, good and bad:

The Hollywood Reporter

Toonzone

Animation Insider

The New York Times (I don't think this person watches too many cartoons)