''Home Movies'' is an American television
sitcom
A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...
created by
Brendon Small and
Loren Bouchard. The show centers on an eight-year-old aspiring
filmmaker
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
, also named Brendon Small, who makes homemade
film production
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
s in his spare time with his friends Melissa Robbins and Jason Penopolis. He lives with his divorced mother Paula and his adopted baby sister Josie. He develops a skewed father-son-like relationship with his alcoholic, short-tempered soccer coach, John McGuirk.
''Home Movies'' premiered on
UPN on April 26, 1999. UPN cancelled the series after only five episodes due to low ratings, but
Cartoon Network purchased the rights to the series, seeing potential in it; the show premiered as the first original program on their nighttime adult-oriented
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
block on the night of the block's launch on September 2, 2001. The series ended on April 4, 2004, with a total of 52 episodes over the course of four seasons.
''Home Movies'' developed a
cult following
A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic ...
during its run, and is still considered a renowned cult show, having been well-regarded by critics in the years since its run. Co-creator Small later helped create the Adult Swim animated series ''
Metalocalypse'' and Bouchard later created the animated series ''
Bob's Burgers
''Bob's Burgers'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Loren Bouchard that premiered on Fox on January 9, 2011. The show centers on the Belcher family—parents Bob and Linda and their three children, Tina, Gene, and Louise—who ...
'' for the
Fox network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations a ...
, casting
H. Jon Benjamin
Harry Jon Benjamin (born May 23, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer and musician. Benjamin is primarily known for his voice roles in adult animated series, such as Sterling Archer in ''Archer'', Bob Belcher in ''Bob's Burgers ...
(the voice of Coach McGuirk, Jason, and Perry) as the voice of Bob.
Season plot summaries
Season one
Animated in
Squigglevision and heavily using
retroscripting, the first five episodes aired on
UPN in 1999. The show introduced the main characters in this season, and mainly consisted of episodes revolving around Brendon's movies. Much of the style of the writing is loose and improvised. The season ends with Brendon saying hello to his erstwhile
absent father on the phone.
Season two
Now animated in
Flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Barry Allen)
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Wally West, the first Kid F ...
, this is the first season commissioned by Cartoon Network as a result of mixed ratings of season one reruns. The episodes are now heavily scripted, but the creators now have much more freedom, allowing for creative episodes (“History”), introducing new characters (Fenton Mulley, the Adelbergs) as well as a multiple-story season
arc, which includes:
* Brendon meeting his father Andrew and his fiancée Linda, resulting in therapy sessions, leading up to a wedding.
* Brendon develops a crush on Scäb choreographer Cynthia, and tries to win her over.
* Paula loses her job and searches for a new one. Melissa's dad offers some advice.
The show also develops a
writing device that carries through the next seasons, in which the plots of one episode usually all have an underlying
theme. Emphasis on Brendon's movies becomes key here, and the
subtext
Subtext is any content of a creative work, which is not announced explicitly (by characters or author), but is implicit, or becomes something understood by the audience. Subtext has been used historically to imply controversial subjects without ...
of their creation is finally discussed.
At this point, Brendon is still enjoying his life making films and living in a fantasy world.
Season three
A bit looser than season two, the show loses the idea of a seasonal story arc, and many of the episodes air out of order. The episodes become racier, with more resounding sexual themes and cursing than before. Secondary characters, such as Fenton and Duane, are given more screen time, relative to the prior seasons. Another aspect is that the show begins to acknowledge actual movies more often than it had previously, and starts parodying them heavily. The season ends with Brendon's stepmother Linda having a child, but afterwards she and Andrew no longer make appearances in the show.
Season four
The final season: the creators apparently knew they were getting canceled throughout the entire production of the final thirteen episodes. Many of the episodes are straight parodies of movies, including three allusions to
Hitchcockian thrillers. The bulk of the episodes consist of plots that involve Brendon doing something other than making films. Part of this revolves around Brendon trying to figure out whether he still enjoys making movies, or if it is becoming more of a chore. An entire episode ("Curses") dealt with swearing and adult themes. The loose dialogue and long conversations lessen for humorous
plot device
A plot device or plot mechanism
is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelief ...
s and a speedier delivery at jokes and gags. The final episode ("Focus Grill"), was made in mind as a
series finale
A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...
, and brought back the long conversations and loose dialogue, as well as a resolution to the series as Brendon, Jason and Melissa finally make a conclusion to their first film, declaring their friendship before they come to the conclusion that their movies are not as good as they had always believed. Brendon accidentally drops his camera from a moving car while filming scenery in the final sequence and watches in distress as it gets run over, but is thereafter distracted from his grief by a discussion of fast food prompted by his mother and Coach McGuirk.
Characters
Style
In its first season, ''Home Movies'' utilized
Soup2Nuts'
Squigglevision animation but later abandoned that for the cheaper, more malleable
Macromedia Flash animation. The switch was initiated for several reasons, including scattered negative response to Squigglevision from both critics and viewers, limitations in regard to movement (fluid motion is rare in Squigglevision), and the producers' view that since Squigglevision was inherent to ''
Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist'', ''Home Movies'' should develop its own unique style.
The dialogue of ''Home Movies'' initially relied upon
spontaneous or ''ad-lib'' creation by the actors. The
scripts
Script may refer to:
Writing systems
* Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire
* Script (styles of handwriting)
** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of ha ...
were purposely left vague, with the plot of a particular scene merely outlined, and the dialogue
improvised
Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
by the actors, with the animation then created and matched to the edited soundtrack. Bouchard referred to this process as "
retroscripting," a technique he had developed on
''Dr. Katz''." The first episode was entirely improvised. Though retroscripting was used officially in only the first season, the dialogue in the following three seasons remained heavily improvised, with the written script serving mainly as a guide to fall back on for jokes if needed.
All music for the series was written and performed by Brendon Small.
Music
The soundtrack for ''Home Movies'' was released May 16, 2006 and includes fifty-two songs which were featured throughout the series. The CD comes packaged with the DVD release of the show's
fourth season box set. All music was written by
Brendon Small.
Home releases
Season releases
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
, through
Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyou ...
, released DVDs of ''Home Movies'' seasons, each on three-disc box sets. Each DVD has numerous special features and
easter eggs
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...
. Shout! Factory later on released all of the Home Movies episodes on
Amazon Video on Demand. Seasons 2 through 4 are available for free streaming with a public library card on the
Hoopla app and website in the United States. Some episodes are able to be streamed through the
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
official website and app on a rotating basis. The series also joined
HBO Max
HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netwo ...
on May 27, 2020.
Reception
The series has been highly regarded by critics upon and since its release. In 2009,
IGN included it on their list of the top 100 animated series of all time.
While reviewing the first season, ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, f ...
'' noted that "The animation serves one of the most impressive aspects: the fact that it was largely improvised", while ''
Variety'' praised the show's dialogue and humor, saying "''Home Movies'' manages to set itself apart, offering clever dialogue and sharp social commentary."
References
External links
*
*
{{UPN
1999 American television series debuts
1999 American television series endings
1990s American school television series
1990s American sitcoms
1990s American adult animated television series
2001 American television series debuts
2004 American television series endings
2000s American school television series
2000s American sitcoms
American animated sitcoms
English-language television shows
Squigglevision
American television series revived after cancellation
Television series created by Brendon Small
Television series created by Loren Bouchard
Television series by Soup2Nuts
Elementary school television series
Television shows set in the United States
Television series about filmmaking
Animated television series about children
Animated television series about dysfunctional families
Adult Swim original programming