For a definition of the phrase "tête à claques", see the Wiktionary entry
tête à claques.
Le Willi Waller, one of the most popular shorts
Têtes à claques is a French-language humour website created on 16 August 2006. Over one million short videos are watched per day, making it one of the most popular francophone websites in Quebec (and eventually Canada as a whole).[2] As of December 2017, there are 290 videos. The most popular of these include Le pilote, Le Willi Waller, and Halloween.
The creator, Michel Beaudet, has expressed surprise at the popularity of his site, saying it has reached an audience he never anticipated.
In 2010, Mondo Mini Shows has picked up the English version of Têtes à claques and broadcasting it under the name TAC.
In January 2016, a release of its second English version, Knuckleheads. It was partly remastered to make jokes understandable for the English speaking audience (for example, the Prime Minister was made similar to Stephen Harper).
Description
The skits feature characters sculpted from modelling clay that are fairly simplistic. Michel Beaudet creates the figures himself, by superimposing his own moving eyes, mouth, and sometimes nose on their faces with a computer. In addition, Beaudet has a set of fake, grotesque teeth, which he puts in while his face is being filmed. The phrase tête à claques translates loosely as "a face so ugly, you want to slap it".
The site has also become very popular in France, not only because of the intentional humour and wit, but also because of a stereotypical Quebec accent. This differs greatly from pronunciations used in France, and thus provides its own humour, in addition to the frequent anglicisms (English words or expressions inserted into speech).
The site features a page for mobile phones that presents all of the episodes.
History
Beaudet has said that "Têtes à claques was an accident." He was originally trying to make a short video using stop motion animation, but quickly discovered that "90% of the time it takes to animate is spent moving the eyes and mouth." He tried doing it by hand, but because he was "too lazy", he decided to record his own face and superimpose his eyes and mouth on the figurines.[3]
From late 2007 to 2010, Beaudet received new offers from telephone companies and television stations. Incidentally, the first offer was from a French, not Canadian company.[4] The popularity has surged to the point that Beaudet has employed two other people, Simon Parizeau and Hugo Caron, to help with the production at his home in Boucherville. Work is underway to convert Têtes à claques to formats viewable on cell phones and iPods. In 2008, Vertigo Candy used Beaudet's animation and voice talent as advertising on their front page.
On 12 November 2006, Beaudet appeared on the Quebec television show Tout le monde en parle (Everyone's Talking About It) hosted by Guy A. Lepage. He noted many employers have blocked access to the site because it has become so popular that workers were watching it during the day. Numerous schools across Canada have blocked access to the site, mostly for its use of mature language and swearing.
On 1 February 2007, Têtes à claques announced a partnership with Bell Canada to provide videos and other media on Bell Mobility, Sympatico and Bell TV services.[5]
In 2007, Têtes à claques started pre-sales of its Region 1 DVDs. The DVD includes the first 45 clips, the history of Têtes à claques, character bios, and English, Quebec French and international French subtitles.[6]
English versions
On 14 August 2008, the beta version of the new bilingual "Têtes à claques" website was launched. Beaudet has recently admitted that making English versions of the comedy shorts is in his "game plan".[4] As of August 2008, Têtes à claques started producing videos in English.[7]
The first English version of most dialogues is interpreted by Canadian voiceover actor Bruce Dinsmore best known for the classic PBS series "Arthur". Dinsmore was chosen by Beaudet because he was similar to him in many ways from looks to the eyes, so the barrier would not be affected as not many people would tell the difference between the two actors except for the language. Beaudet still performs the voices of some of the characters (Captain Cooper, Raoul and a fast food drive-in worker). The shorts were reanimated and translated to English for better humor and quality for English speaking audiences; for example, the Super Bol has been reanimated to Beat the Buzzer. Mondo Media picked up the show under the name TAC.TV and as of now, 31 translated episodes are in English. Also, Le Willi Waller sketches have the products renamed because the episodes were produced later than when the product was made (for example Willi Waller 2006 becomes the Willi Waller Gold Edition and the LCD Shovel 2007 becomes the LCD Shovel Full HD because it was produced in 2008, later than 2006) Some fans complain that the jokes are meaningless since one of the main purposes of the series is to poke fun of the Quebecois accent which the English version did not follow. Others appreciated the translated jokes having some good humor and English-speaking viewers could now understand and watch the videos.
The second English version, entitled Knuckleheads, featured remastered episodes of full 22-minute Têtes à claques episodes (most of them now animated with CG and After Effects). Canadian actor Joe Cobden interpreted all of the dialogue and has played nearly all of the characters in each cartoon. This English version was developed by Toronto-based playwright Bobby Theodore. Just like TAC.tv, Knuckleheads' made several edits and changes to make jokes understandable for the English speaking audiences. They also made numerous name changes, even some different from TAC.tv such as the famous used character Uncle Tom now renamed as Uncle Ted (possibly to avoid any racial issues). The series finally premiered on Adult Swim Canada on January 2016, making it the first time Têtes à claques aired on English-speaking television.
List of Characters
- Raoul Robideux
- Lucien and Monique
- Uncle Ted
- Natasha
- Captain Cooper
- Co-Pilot Dwayne
- Gabriel and Samuel
- Jimmy and Ray
Complete list of Têtes à Claques shorts |
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I. TAC SHORTS
01. Les grenouilles [The Frogs]
02. SuperBol Part 1 [Super Bowl Part 1]
03. On sort Part 1 [We’re Goin' Out Part 1]
04. Top Gun [Top Gun]
05. Le Taliban [The Taliban]
06. Le juge [The Judge]
07. Le VJ Part 1 [The VJ Part 1]
08. La photo Disney [The Disney Photo]
09. Le boxeur Part 1 [The Boxer Part 1]
10. La secrétaire [The Secretary]
xx. So Sexy [So Sexy] (Withdrawn due to violations of copyright for use of the song ‘I'm Too Sexy’ by Right Said Fred)
11. Les martiens [The Martians]
12. Wow minute [Wait a Minute]
13. La voyante [The Psychic]
14. Le cauchemar [The Nightmare]
15. Les ti-papoutes [The Little ‘Papoutes’]
16. Le pilote Part 1 [The Pilot Part 1]
17. La visite [The Visitors]
18. Les Vikings [The Vikings]
19. On sort Part 2 [We’re Goin' Out Part 2]
20. Le lapin [The Rabbit]
21. Le camping [Camping]
22. La présentation [The Presentation]
23. Les ti-papoutes au zoo [The Little ‘Papoutes’ at the Zoo]
24. Le Willi Waller 2006 [The Willi Waller 2006]
25. Halloween Part 1 [Halloween Part 1]
26. Les orignaux [The Moose]
27. L'anniversaire [The Birthday]
28. La police [The Police]
29. On sort Part 3 [We’re Goin' Out Part 3]
30. Les cadeaux de Noël [The Christmas Presents]
31. Le pilote Part 2 [The Pilot Part 2]
32. Le père Noël Part 1 [Santa Claus Part 1]
33. Bonne année 2007 [Happy New Year 2007]
34. Move your body [Move Your Body]
35. La pénalité [The Penalty]
36. Le LCD shovel 2007 [The LCD Shovel 2007]
37. SuperBol Part 2 [Super Bowl Part 2]
38. On sort Part 4 [We’re Goin' Out Part 4]
39. Le ski [Skiing]
40. Capitaine Kung Fu Part 1 [Captain Kung Fu Part 1]
41. Le VJ Part 2 [The VJ Part2]
42. Le cannibale [The Cannibal]
43. Le politicien Part 1 [The Politician Part 1]
44. L'embuscade [The Ambush]
45. Le pilote Part 3 [The Pilot Part 3]
46. Le gars de Boston Part 1 [The Guy From Boston Part 1]
47. La cabane à sucre [The Sugar Bush]
48. Le chien [The Dog]
49. Le Body Toner [The Body Toner]
50. Le docteur [The Doctor]
51. Les scouts [The Scouts]
52. La prise d'otage Part 1 [The Hostage Taking Part 1]
53. On sort Part 5 [We’re Goin' Out Part 5]
54. Recordman [Record Man]
55. Paris [Paris]
56. Le mariage [The Wedding]
57. La réception [The Reception]
58. La commande à l'auto [The Drive-Thru]
59. Miss Québec Super Body [Miss Super Body Québec]
60. La rentrée [Back to School]
61. La prise d'otage Part 2 [The Hostage Taking Part 2]
62. On accouche [We’re Giving Birth]
63. Le Easy Storing System [The Easy Storing System]
64. Les douanes [Customs]
65. La chasse [Hunting]
66. Le western [The Western]
67. On sort Part 6 [We’re Goin' Out Part 6]
68. Halloween Part 2 [Halloween Part 2]
69. Le vestiaire [The Locker Room]
70. Le vendeur de char [The Car Salesman]
71. Le chip au ketchup [The Ketchup Chips]
72. Doc nature Part 1 [Doc Nature Part 1]
73. La parade de Noël [The Christmas Parade]
74. La crèche [The Nativity]
75. Bonne année 2008 [Happy New Year 2008]
76. Les survivants Part 1 [The Survivors Part 1]
77. Le mammouth [The Mammoth]
78. Le football [Football]
79. Les joies de l’hiver Part 1 [The Joys Of Winter Part 1]
80. La St-Valentin Part 1 [Valentine’s Day Part 1]
81. L’oeuf [The Egg]
82. L’ambulance [The Ambulance]
83. Les survivants Part 2 [The Survivors Part 2]
84. Le génie Part 1 [The Genie Part 1]
85. La bibliothèque [The Library]
86. Dans le sud [Down South]
87. On déménage [We’re Moving]
88. L’histoire de Jerry [Jerry’s Story]
89. La rue bloquée [The Roadblock]
90. Les survivants Part 3 [The Survivors Part 3]
91. Capitaine Kung Fu Part 2 [Captain Kung Fu Part 2]
92. Le golf [Golf]
93. Le boxeur Part 2 [The Boxer Part 2]
94. Le Shih Tzu [The Shih Tzu]
95. Le Gros Prix [The Grand Prix]
96. La pêche [Fishing]
97. La poursuite [The Pursuit]
98. La Saint-Jean [St. Jean-Baptiste Day]
99. Nascar [Nascar]
100. Le prix du gaz [The Price Of Gas]
101. La natation [Swimming] (Clip created in honor of the 2008 Olympic Summer Games)
102. Le 100 mètres [The 100 Meter Run] (Clip created in honor of the 2008 Olympic Summer Games)
103. La lutte [Wrestling]
104. Unbelievalbe Success [Unbelievable Success]
105. À l'école [At School]
106. La médium [The Medium]
107. Le Toaster [The Toaster]
108. Brandon Spy Part 1 [Brandon Spy Part 1]
109. Le politicien Part 2 [The Politician Part 2]
110. Galaxy One Part 1 [Galaxy One Part 1]
111. Les élections U.S. [The U.S. Elections]
112. Terreur Internationale [Terror International]
113. Doc nature Part 2 [Doc Nature Part 2]
114. Powerman [Powerman]
115. Le mécanicien [The Mechanic]
116. Le confessionnal [Confession]
117. Brandon Spy Part 2 [Brandon Spy Part 2]
118. Le sondage [The Survey]
119. Le party de bureau [The Office Party]
120. Le pére Noël Part 2 [Santa Claus Part2]
121. Bonne année 2009 [Happy New Year 2009]
122. Le Rhume [The Cold]
123. Galaxy One Part 2 [Galaxy One Part 2]
124. La St-Valentin Part 2 [Valentine’s Day Part 2]
125. Le génie Part 2 [The Genie Part 2]
126. La pièce d'identité [The Piece Of Identification]
127. Les joies de l'hiver Part 2 [The Joys Of Winter Part 2]
128. La bataille [The Fight]
129. Les retrouvailles [The Reunited]
130. Le cabanon [The Shed]
131. Le GPS [The GPS]
132. Galaxy One Part 3 [Galaxy One Part 3]
133. Le cabanon Part 2 [The Shed Part 2]
134. Galaxy One Part 4 [Galaxy One Part 4]
135. Les pirates [The Pirates]
136. Les autruches [The Ostriches]
137. Unbelievable Success Part 2 [Unbelievable Success Part 2]
138. Le stand de limonade [The Lemonade Stand]
139. Le speed dating [Speed Dating]
140. Le barbecue [The Barbecue]
141. Les joies de l'été [The Joys Of Summer]
142. Aux glissades d'eau [At The Water Slide]
143. Le club vidéo [The Video Rental Store]
144. Tarzan [Tarzan]
145. La cafétéria [The Cafeteria]
146. L'homme-canon [The Cannon Man]
147. Le vol [The Robbery]
148. Le répondeur [The Answering Machine]
149. Le lifting [The Lifting]
150. Les canards [The Ducks]
151. On sort Part 7 [We're Goin' Out Part 7]
152. Halloween Part 3 [Halloween Part 3]
153. Spread the Joy [Spread the Joy]
154. Mime en folie [Let's Mimic]
155. L'hypnotiseur [The Hypnotist]
156. Le virus [The Virus]
157. Le pet shop [The Pet Shop]
158. La guignolée [The Food Drive]
159. Le sapin de Noël [The Christmas Tree]
160. Bonne année 2010 [Happy New Year 2010]
161. La résolution [The Resolution]
162. Le cross-check [The Cross-Check]
163. La fraude [The Fraud]
164. L'ours [The Bear]
165. Le fleuriste [The Florist]
166. Le bobsleigh [The Bobsleigh]
167. La quarantaine [The Quarantine]
168. Les diapositives [The Picture Slides]
169. Le plombier [The Plumber]
170. Les nids de poule [The Potholes]
171. Le poisson d'Avril [April Fool's Day]
172. L'exterminateur [The Exterminator]
173. La commotion [The Concussion]
174. La grotte [The Cave]
175. La base secrète [The Secret base]
176. Les pandas [The Pandas]
177. La répétition [The Repetition]
178. Le soutien technique [The Technical Support]
179. La cabane [The Hut]
180. Le coiffeur [The Hairdresser]
181. Le terrain privé [The Private Land]
182. Les mouffettes [The skunks]
- Note:
- Shorts 01-90 filmed in Standard Definition with a 4:3 (1.33:1) Aspect Ratio
- Shorts 91 and up filmed in High Definition with a 16:9 (1.78:1) Aspect Ratio
II. TAC BONUS SHORTS (available as Extras at the TAC website)
B01. Gala les Olivier 2007 [The 2007 Olivier Gala]
B02. KARV l'anti-gala 2007 [The 2007 KARV Anti-Gala]
B03. Cécile et Johnny Boy [Cécile and Johnny Boy] (Originally available as an exclusive Extra on the TAC Volume 1 DVD)
B04. Le gars de Boston Part 2 [The Guy From Boston Part 2] (Created in support of the HABS at the 2008 NHL Playoffs)
B05. La femme pigeon [The Pigeon Woman] (Created for Quebec’s cousins in France, in honor of French cinema)
B06. Napoléon le magnifique [Napoleon The Magnificent] (Created for Quebec’s cousins in France, in honor of French cinema)
B07. Un amerloque chez les gendarmes [A Yank At The Gendarmes] (Created for Quebec’s cousins in France, based on French cinema's "Gendarmes de St-Tropez" series)
B08. C’est la fête à Cèline [It’s Celine’s Birthday] (Created as a gift to Quebec singer Celine Dion on her 40th Birthday, currently available as an exclusive Extra on the TAC Volume 2 DVD)
B09. Le laboratoire [The Laboratory] (Created with TAC's friends The Raving Rabbids)
B10. La drague [Drag] (Created with TAC's friends The Raving Rabbids)
B11. Le Pilote - Remix [The Pilot - Remix] (Created with TAC's friends The Raving Rabbids)
B12. Bonne fête Val-d'Or [Happy Birthday Val-d'Or]
- Note:
- Shorts B01-B04 filmed in Standard Definition with a 4:3 (1.33:1) Aspect Ratio
- Shorts B05 and up filmed in High Definition with a 16:9 (1.78:1) Aspect Ratio
III. TAC COMMERCIALS (available as Extras at the TAC website)
C01. Ça va ouatcher Part 1 [It Will Be Watched Part 1] (Created as a commercial for SFR-France)
C02. Ça va ouatcher Part 2 [It Will Be Watched Part 2] (Created as a commercial for SFR-France)
C03. Ça va ouatcher Part 3 [It Will Be Watched Part 3] (Created as a commercial for SFR-France)
C04. Alligator (Created as a commercial for Vertigo Candy-USA)
C05. Astronaut (Created as a commercial for Vertigo Candy-USA)
C06. Bus Stop (Created as a commercial for Vertigo Candy-USA)
C07. Caveman (Created as a commercial for Vertigo Candy-USA)
C08. Mariachi (Created as a commercial for Vertigo Candy-USA)
C09. Sandy And Jessica (Created as a commercial for Vertigo Candy-USA)
C10. Le rigodon du gros dindon [The Big Turkey Hoedown] (Created as a commercial for SFR-France)
C11. Aidez les Bégin [Help The Bégins] (Created as a commercial for Hitachi)
C12. Cinéma du Québec à Paris [Quebec Cinema In Paris]
C13. La Neufbox [The Neufbox] (Created as a commercial for SFR-France)
C14. Deviens le Gourou [Become The Guru] (Created as a commercial for Doritos-Canada)
C15. Le lion [The Lion] (Created as a commercial for Loterie Romande-Suisse)
C16. L'étoile filante A [The Shooting Star A] (Created as a commercial for Loterie Romande-Suisse)
C17. L'étoile filante B [The Shooting Star B] (Created as a commercial for Loterie Romande-Suisse)
C18. Le parachute [The Parachute] (Created as a commercial for Loterie Romande-Suisse)
C19. Le secret d'Édouard [Edward's Secret] (Created as a commercial for Microsoft SQL Server-France)
C20.
- Note:
- Shorts C01-C10 filmed in Standard Definition with a 4:3 (1.33:1) Aspect Ratio
- Shorts C11 and up filmed in High Definition with a 16:9 (1.78:1) Aspect Ratio
IV. TAC DVDs
Volume 1 - Includes Shorts 01-45, B01-B03, C01-C09 and documentaries (released 23 October 2007)
Volume 2 - Includes Shorts 46-90, B04-B08, C10 and documentaries (released 21 October 2008)
V. TAC GAMES (available at the TAC website)
G01. Le quiz TAC [The TAC Quiz]
G02. Faites la paire [Make a Pair]
G03. Le air hockey [Air Hockey]
G04. Le casse-tête [Puzzle]
G05. La machine à boule [Pinball Machine]
G06. Le Dippidy Babble [The Dippidy Babble]
G07. Le Ping-Pong [The Ping Pong]
G08. Beat Master Turbo Remix [Beat Master Turbo Remix]
G09. Les Pichenottes [The Pichenotte]
G10. Le Strip Poker [The Strip Poker]
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