Breadwinners (TV Series)
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''Breadwinners'' is an American
animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...
created by Gary "Doodles" DiRaffaele and
Steve Borst Steve Borst is an American television writer and producer. For his work on '' Mad'', he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program in 2012. He co-created Nickelodeon's '' Breadwinners'' with Gary "Dood ...
and developed by
Bill Braudis Bill Braudis is a writer, voice actor and script writing instructor from Boston, Massachusetts who has also done stand-up comedy. Career He started in stand-up in 1981, doing open mics at The Comedy Connection, in Boston and the Ding Ho, in Camb ...
for
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
. The series was originally conceived as an animated short from DiRaffaele's efficiency apartment in
Studio City, Los Angeles Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...
along with Borst. The two had previously met in Burbank while working on an animated series, '' Mad'', in 2013. Originally a one-off short, ''Breadwinners'' premiered at a short film festival held at a bar in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and later was linked to the network, where they were contacted and the show was developed into a full-fledged series, which premiered on February 17, 2014. After the series was cancelled in 2016, the show continued to air reruns on
Nicktoons Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...
until December 3, 2020. The series is about two anthropomorphic flightless green ducks named SwaySway and Buhdeuce.


Plot

Two
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
, flightless green
duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
s named SwaySway (
Robbie Daymond Robert Daymond Howard (né Niles; born March 11, 1982) is an American voice actor who is mostly known for his roles in audiobooks, video games, and animation, best known for voicing Jesse Cosay in the second season of '' Infinity Train'', Spider ...
) and Buhdeuce (
Eric Bauza Eric Bauza (born December 7, 1979) is a Canadian-American voice actor and comedian. His most-known roles include Stimpy on '' Ren and Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"'', Foop on ''The Fairly OddParents'' and its reboot ''Fairly Odder'', Thunderbolt Ro ...
), who are best friends, fly around the water-based planet Pondgea in a rocket-powered van delivering bread to the citizens. SwaySway, tall, thin and green, is the leader of the duo, and although he does not always use the best judgment, he is quite skilled at flying the van. Buhdeuce, short, round and green, is klutzier, but is also an enthusiastic and a loyal assistant to SwaySway. Often, when they get in over their heads, they will " level up," or transform (in a similar vein to video game characters) into a variety of forms they need to solve their problems.


Episodes


Characters


Main

* SwaySway (voiced by
Robbie Daymond Robert Daymond Howard (né Niles; born March 11, 1982) is an American voice actor who is mostly known for his roles in audiobooks, video games, and animation, best known for voicing Jesse Cosay in the second season of '' Infinity Train'', Spider ...
) – An anthropomorphic
cayuga duck The Cayuga is an American breed of domestic duck. It was introduced to the Finger Lakes region of New York State in about 1840, and is named for the Cayuga people of that area. Until the last years of the nineteenth century it was the principal ...
who comes from a line of bread delivery ducks. SwaySway pilots the rocket van with his best friend (or "best bap"), Buhdeuce. He is in love with a nonspeaking duck named Jenny Quackles. His signature move is "party punch," where his fist enlarges prior to launching off his arm and deflating once it hits its target. * Buhdeuce (voiced by
Eric Bauza Eric Bauza (born December 7, 1979) is a Canadian-American voice actor and comedian. His most-known roles include Stimpy on '' Ren and Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"'', Foop on ''The Fairly OddParents'' and its reboot ''Fairly Odder'', Thunderbolt Ro ...
) – An anthropomorphic
cayuga duck The Cayuga is an American breed of domestic duck. It was introduced to the Finger Lakes region of New York State in about 1840, and is named for the Cayuga people of that area. Until the last years of the nineteenth century it was the principal ...
who is SwaySway's best friend and navigator in bread delivery. Buhdeuce is depicted as scatterbrained and inattentive. His signature moves are his "booty kick", where he kicks with his rear end, and "six-pack punch", where a fist comes out of his chest and punches. Buhdeuce's catchphrases are "Yep! Yep!" and "Aw, bubble nuggets!".


Supporting

* Jelly (voiced by
Alexander Polinsky Alexander "Alex" Polinsky is an American actor. He is known for his role as Adam Powell on ''Charles in Charge''. He is also the voice of Control Freak on ''Teen Titans'' (2003) and ''Teen Titans Go!'' (2013), Argit in the ''Ben 10'' franchise, ...
) – The Breadwinners' female pet
frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
who fetches, pants and drools like a dog. She can only say "Ribbit!" and lived with Buhdeuce before he met SwaySway and became a Breadwinner. Jelly enjoys eating insects. * The Bread Maker (voiced by
Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore (; ) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk and Beast (comics), Beast in various Marvel media and Solomon Grundy ( ...
) – A legendary figure who lives in the bread mines and can be summoned via rubbing a magical toaster. He is T-Midi's idol and claims to be made entirely of different bread types. SwaySway and Buhdeuce visit him whenever they are in need of advice or assistance. * Ketta (voiced by
Kari Wahlgren Kari Wahlgren (born July 13, 1977) is an American actress who has provided English-language voices for animated movies, TV series, and video games. She got her start in anime voice-overs as Haruko Haruhara in '' FLCL'', and would later land ma ...
) – An energetic anthropomorphic
swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...
and master mechanic who runs her own "auto tune-up" business. The Breadwinners go to her when they need upgrades or repairs to the rocket van. Her catchphrase is "Aw, lugnuts!". * T-Midi (voiced by
S. Scott Bullock Stuart Scott Bullock is an American voice actor. Best known for voicing various characters on ‘’Danny Phantom’’ (2004-2007). Career Bullock is known for providing voices for characters, such as Eddy in the ''Barnyard'' franchise, Glow ...
) – An anthropomorphic
owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
who is the Breadwinners' best customer. He speaks with a British accent and wears a tuxedo. The Breadwinners frequently get on his nerves despite being loyal to each other. He is a huge fan of the Bread Maker. T-Midi spends much of his time taking care of his mother, who is a living portrait he calls "Mumsie". * Officer Rambamboo (voiced by Audrey Wasilewski) – A yellow anthropomorphic
toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...
and the chief of the Tadpolice. She teaches driving classes, and has been depicted as strict and impatient. She finds SwaySway and Buhduece to be annoying most of the time, as they rarely follow the rules of the road when driving the rocket van. * Oonski the Great (voiced by
Nolan North Nolan North (born October 31, 1970) is an American actor best known for his voice acting roles. After his breakthrough role as Dr. Chris Ramsey on the ABC soap opera ''Port Charles'' in 1997, North moved into voice acting when the show ended i ...
) – An anthropomorphic
beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
and he is a
viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
who has been depicted as an enemy to the public. His motto is "Eat, beat, steal!" and will do anything to steal anything. He speaks in the third person. * Mr. Pumpers (voiced by
Michael-Leon Wooley Michael-Leon Wooley (born March 29, 1971) is an American actor. Wooley was the voice of Louis the Alligator in Disney's Oscar-nominated animated feature film, ''The Princess and the Frog'' and played Judge Grady on the radio station WKTT in Roc ...
) – A manly anthropomorphic
stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...
who loves money more than anything. He is the owner of Pumpers' Diner. He created several schemes to earn money in the show, and got rich every time. Mr. Pumpers' uniform is a blue hat with a bird wing on top, and an apron. His catch phrase is "Boom-yummy!".


Production

''Breadwinners'' was created by Gary "Doodles" DiRaffaele and Steve Borst. It was conceived as a four-and-a-half-minute animated short from DiRaffaele's efficiency apartment in
Studio City, Los Angeles Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...
(dubbed the "Doodle Chamber"). The two had previously met in Burbank while working on an animated series, '' Mad'', in 2012. The protagonists, originally unnamed, were drawn by DiRaffaele as part of a collaboration with Borst. Both were drawn tossing a piece of bread up in the air; DiRaffaele explained that the premise came as an extension of his appetite for bread, a staple of meals from his Italian-American upbringing, with friends sometimes calling him a "duck". The latter responded positively to the drawing, saying that he could produce something from it. The short was written by Borst and produced by DiRaffaele in
Adobe Flash Professional Adobe Animate (formerly Adobe Flash Professional, Macromedia Flash, and FutureSplash Animator) is a multimedia authoring and computer animation program developed by Adobe Inc. Animate is used to design vector graphics and animation for televi ...
over the course of two months. Daymond, who provides the voice of SwaySway, was found on a casting call website and invited into the apartment of DiRaffaele to audition. Originally a one-off, ''Breadwinners'' premiered at the Midsummer Night Toons short film festival in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where they wanted to entertain their colleagues. The short was uploaded to
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
with positive reception, and after obtaining 10,000 to 15,000 views on its first week, Borst explained, "it just took on a life of its own." The creators sent it to Nickelodeon after users expressed wanting more. Upon receiving an inquiry from a Nickelodeon executive, DiRaffaele was doubtful of the offer, joking that he "thought it was spam". After several months, the creators were hired to expand the short into a full-fledged series. Actions in the series play out metronomically—that is, episodes are built around an underlying soundtrack, scored by Tommy Sica (who used to play in a band with DiRaffaele) and recorded before the animation phase. This process entails events in the show unfolding at a faster rate than most animated series like it. Test audiences composed of children were shown to "bounce" accordingly to the beat. Animation is outsourced to Canada through a Titmouse, Inc. studio in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
; like the short, it is also produced in
Adobe Animate Adobe Animate (formerly Adobe Flash Professional, Macromedia Flash, and FutureSplash Animator) is a multimedia authoring and computer animation program developed by Adobe Inc. Animate is used to design vector graphics and animation for televi ...
. A cartoony look was explicitly chosen as the art style, DiRaffaele noted, which gave way to elements such as dark, heavy outlines around the characters. In addition, retro-style video games were the inspiration for the art direction, with a pixel texture applied to backgrounds and the character's shadows.


Broadcast and reception

The series premiered on February 17, 2014, as a "sneak beak" on Nickelodeon, followed by a regular broadcast on February 22, 2014. It had been ordered for a 20-episode first season a year prior. Its original broadcast garnered roughly 2.8 million viewers, ranking 81st of the top 100 cable shows for adults aged 18 to 49. The network announced a month later in a press release that the show had risen as the top-rated show for kids aged two to eleven, averaging 1.7 million viewers and a
Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
of 5.3. A second season, also consisting of 20 episodes, was announced in May 2014. Episodes that premiered after 2015 were broadcast on
Nicktoons Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...
. In Canada, the series premiered on YTV on March 8, 2014. In the United Kingdom and Ireland,
Nicktoons Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...
started airing it on September 22, 2014. In Australia,
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
premiered the series on November 1, 2014. Upon its series premiere, ''Breadwinners'' received negative reviews from critics and audiences alike; common criticisms included the show's extensive usage of
toilet humor Toilet humour, or potty or scatological humour (compare scatology), is a type of off-colour humour dealing with defecation, diarrhea, constipation, urination and flatulence, and to a lesser extent vomiting and other bodily functions. It sees subs ...
, poor visual style, and dull episode plots. Emily Ashby of
Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.
assessed its reliance on toilet humor as questionable while giving credit to the strength of the protagonists' friendship. She enjoyed the bread-related puns sometimes uttered by characters but acknowledged that "they're not likely to strike the same chord of hilarity with your kids." ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' writer David Hinckley linked its style of humor as enticing to its target demographic. He ultimately stated that it "sprinkles in a few grownup jokes, particularly bread-related puns, but it aims mostly at the younger set." Writing for the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', Robert Lloyd found its visual style oddly pleasant and identified a slew of potential influences and references. While he saw the humor as "loud and often gross," the result was "basically genial." Tori Michel of ''
About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
'' dubbed its use of
mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...
interesting, yet headache-inducing for parents. While she called the concept and the characters "definitely original," she stressed that its crude humor may call for avoiding it altogether for some parents. Tom Conroy of ''
Media Life Magazine ''Media Life Magazine'' was an online publication that was started in May 1999 by Gene Ely. The publication covered all aspects of the media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or da ...
'' wrote poorly of the show, finding it unfunny throughout. He specified its "noisy and violent" content as too much for little kids as well as being "too stupid for big kids."


Home media


DVD releases


Explanatory notes


References


External links

* * * {{Former Nickelodeon original series 2010s American animated television series 2010s Nickelodeon original programming 2014 American television series debuts 2016 American television series endings American children's animated comedy television series American flash animated television series English-language television shows Nicktoons Animated television series about ducks