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 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. 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 software platform used for production of animations, rich web applications, desktop applications, mobile apps, mobile games, and embedded web browser video players. Fla ...

. 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-cre ...

. 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 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) ...

'' and The Hub live-action series '' The Aquabats! Super Show!'', 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 v ...

'' 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'', 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 W ...

, 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 yea ...

titled '' Two More Eggs'' which ran from 2015 to 2017. They have directed several music videos, including " Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" 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) and " Figure Eight" 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 ...

, " 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 music, 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 ...

, the band who also collaborated with the brothers on '' Strong Bad Sings''. 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 H ...

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) *'' The Aquabats! Super Show!'' (2012–2014) *''

'' (2012–2016) *''

'' (2014) *'' Mickey Mouse'' (2014) *'' Pickle and Peanut'' (2015–2016) *'' Two More Eggs'' (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, arbor ...

'' (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, I ...

'' (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)