Matthew "Matt" Alan Chapman (born November 1, 1976) and Michael "Mike" Raymond Chapman (born September 20, 1973), known collectively as The Brothers Chaps, are American writers, voice actors, directors, animators, producers and composers. They are best known as the creators of the animated series ''

Homestar Runner ''Homestar Runner'' is an American Flash animated comedy web series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of characters, headed by ...

''.

Early life

While Matt and Mike Chapman were born in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, they grew up in

Decatur, Georgia Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in ...

and later resided in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Growing up in the 1980s, the Brothers Chaps were creating comic books, filming Super 8 movies and eventually toying with a video camera. Mike attended the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and studied photography while Matt went to film school.

Career

Mike Chapman created the character of

in 1996 with friend

Craig Zobel Roger Craig Zobel is an American filmmaker and actor whose work includes music videos, film, and television. He has directed the films ''Compliance (film), Compliance'' (2012), ''Z for Zachariah (film), Z for Zachariah'' (2015), and ''The Hunt (2 ...

. The character debuted in the children's book ''The Homestar Runner Enters the Strongest Man in the World Contest,'' which was subsequently posted online as a series of images. In 2000, the Brothers Chaps began to create cartoons with the character using

Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia Computing platform, software platform used for production of Flash animation, animations, rich web applications, application software, desktop applications, mobile apps, mo ...

. As the series progressed, more characters were added to the series and spin-off series were created, notably ''Strong Bad Emails'' in 2001. During production of ''

,'' Matt has been the primary voice actor for the titular character as well as characters like

Strong Bad Strong Bad is a fictional character from ''Homestar Runner'', a series of animated Flash videos, who is inspired by "The Strong Bads" from the video game ''Tag Team Wrestling''. He is voiced by Matt Chapman, the principal voice actor and co-creat ...

. Mike has been responsible for much of the animation, as well as the technical aspects of the ''Homestar Runner'' site. Both brothers contributed to the writing and direction of the series. For a time, Matt Chapman worked as a writer and director for the children's television series ''

Yo Gabba Gabba! ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a children's musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz. The series is about five costumed toys come-to-life and their friend DJ Lance Rock ( Lance Robertson). It is co-produced by Magic Stor ...

.'' He also worked for the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

animated series ''

Gravity Falls ''Gravity Falls'' is an American mystery comedy animated television series created by Alex Hirsch for Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series follows the adventures of Dipper Pines (Jason Ritter) and his twin sister Mabel (Kristen Schaal) wh ...

'' and

The Hub The Hub may refer to: Places * The Hub, Bronx, an area of the South Bronx, New York, known for its convergence of subway and bus lines * The Hub (Edinburgh), former church in Edinburgh that is now home to the Edinburgh International Festival * T ...

live-action series ''

The Aquabats! Super Show! ''The Aquabats! Super Show!'' is an American action-comedy musical television series which aired from March 3, 2012 to January 8, 2014 on The Hub Network and resumed as an independent YouTube web series in September 2019. The series was created ...

'', where he also contributed occasional voice work and supporting acting roles. Matt wrote the ''

Wander Over Yonder ''Wander Over Yonder'' is an American animated television series that aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD. Created by Craig McCracken, it follows the adventures of the optimistic Wander, who rides across the galaxy to help the inhabitants of va ...

'' episodes "The Bounty" and "The Timebomb" in collaboration with the show's writing staff. Matt also appeared in the second-season finale of ''

Camp Camp Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC is an American digital media company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman, Rooster Teeth is a subsidiary of Warne ...

'', an animated series by

Rooster Teeth Rooster Teeth Productions, LLC is an American digital media company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2003 by Burnie Burns, Matt Hullum, Geoff Ramsey, Jason Saldaña, Gus Sorola, and Joel Heyman, Rooster Teeth is a subsidiary of Warner ...

, as the voice of Neil's father, Carl. Mike also provides intentionally poor imitations of his brother's voice work for the ''Powered by The Cheat'' cartoon series on the ''Homestar Runner'' website. In addition, he has served as a writer for ''

'', and — like his brother Matt — has collaborated with the ''Wander Over Yonder'' staff, credited for writing the episode "The Liar". The brothers had a general development deal with

Disney Television Animation Disney Television Animation (DTVA), formerly known as Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group and Walt Disney Television Animation, is the television animation production arm of Disney Branded Television, a sub-division of the Disney G ...

, and developed a series of short animations for

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years ...

titled ''

Two More Eggs ''Two More Eggs'' is an American animated sketch comedy web series produced by The Brothers Chaps for Disney XD's YouTube channel and Disney XD. The Brothers Chaps previously produced the web series ''Homestar Runner''. ''Two More Eggs'' is Dis ...

'' which ran from 2015 to 2017. They have directed several music videos, including "

Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" was the first single released by Polyvinyl Records from Of Montreal's 2007 album '' Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?''. Like the rest of the album, the song was written, performed and recorded by Kevin B ...

" by Of Montreal, "

Experimental Film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

" (featuring the Homestar Runner characters, most notably

Strong Sad This article is a list of fictional characters in the Flash web cartoon series ''Homestar Runner'' and episodic video game ''Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People''. Homestar Runner Homestar Runner is the title character of the series. A ...

) and "

Figure Eight Figure 8 (figure of 8 in British English) may refer to: * 8 (number), in Arabic numerals Entertainment * ''Figure 8'' (album), a 2000 album by Elliott Smith * "Figure of Eight" (song), a 1989 song by Paul McCartney * '' Figure Eight EP'', ...

" by

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

, " Brand of Skin" by

Folk Implosion The Folk Implosion is an American band founded in the early 1990s by Lou Barlow and John Davis. It was initially a side-project started by Barlow to explore different territory than that being canvassed with his primary band at the time, Sebadoh. ...

, and "LA Lindsay" by

Y-O-U Y-O-U, also known as the Pleaserock collective, is a rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, probably most widely known for their collaborations with The Brothers Chaps on projects such as Strong Bad Sings and the karaoke music from strongbad email.exe, ...

, the band who also collaborated with the brothers on ''

Strong Bad Sings ''Strong Bad Sings (and Other Type Hits)'' is a compilation album featuring songs by Strong Bad and other characters from the ''Homestar Runner'' web cartoon series.Hirsch, Deborah. (July 22, 2003) Orlando Sentinel ''"Tooned in" The curious ch ...

''. In 2017, the duo along with

Robert Schneider Robert Peter Schneider (born March 9, 1971) is an American musician and mathematician. He is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer of rock/pop band the Apples in Stereo and has produced and performed on albums by Neutral Milk Ho ...

and James Husband formed the Air-sea Dolphin project, which had two split singles with Honey Radar and the fictional band ''Sloshy'' from the ''Homestar Runner'' universe.

Television credits

Matt Chapman

*''

'' (2011, 2015) *''

'' (2012–2014) *''

'' (2012–2016) *''

'' (2014) *''

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

'' (2014) *''

Pickle and Peanut ''Pickle and Peanut'' is an American animated television series created by Noah Z. Jones and developed by Joel Trussell. It aired on Disney XD from September 7, 2015, to January 20, 2018. It is about two friends, Pickle and Peanut, an anthropomo ...

'' (2015–2016) *''

'' (2015–2017) *''

Amphibia Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

'' (2019-2022) *''

The Owl House ''The Owl House'' is an American animated fantasy television series created by Dana Terrace that premiered on Disney Channel on January 10, 2020. The series stars the voices of Sarah-Nicole Robles, Wendie Malick, Alex Hirsch, Tati Gabrielle, Issa ...

'' (2020–present)

Mike Chapman

*''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' (2011, 2015) *''Wander Over Yonder'' (2014) *''Two More Eggs'' (2015-2017)

References

External links

* * Living people Animators from Georgia (U.S. state) American Internet celebrities American animated film directors American animated film producers American comics artists American male voice actors Animation duos Artists from Atlanta Florida State University alumni Flash artists Animators from Indiana Sibling duos University of Georgia alumni Dunwoody High School alumni {{Authority control Year of birth missing (living people)