Home Movies (TV series)

Home Movies is an American adult[1][2] animated television sitcom created by Brendon Small and Loren Bouchard. The show centers on an eight-year-old aspiring filmmaker, also named Brendon Small, who makes homemade film productions 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.

This article is about the animated series. For the filmmaking method, see Home movies. For other uses, see Home movies (disambiguation).

Home Movies
Left to right: Melissa, Brendon and Jason.
Genre
Created by
Developed byTom Snyder
Directed byLoren Bouchard
Voices of
Theme music composerBrendon Small
Composer(s)Brendon Small
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes52 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Loren Bouchard
  • Tom Snyder
  • Bonnie Burns
  • Mary Catherine Micka
  • co-executive producers:
  • Brendon Small
  • Carl W. Adams
Producer(s)
  • Loren Bouchard (1999–2001)
  • Melissa Bardin Galsky (1999–2002)
  • Carl W. Adams (2002–03)
  • Jack Ferraiolo (2003–04)
Running time22 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor
Release
Original network
Picture format4:3 SDTV
Original releaseApril 26, 1999 –
April 4, 2004
External links
Website

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 block on the night of the block's launch on September 2, 2001.[3] 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 during its run, and is still considered a renowned cult show,[4] having been well-regarded by critics in the years since its run. Co-creator Small would later go on to help create the Adult Swim animated series Metalocalypse and Bouchard would go on to create the animated series Bob's Burgers for the Fox network, casting H. Jon Benjamin (the voice of Coach McGuirk, Jason, and Perry) as the voice of Bob.

Style
Brendon Small was a co-creator, writer, executive producer, composer and voice actor on the series
Loren Bouchard worked as co-creator, writer, executive producer, director and an occasional voice actor

In its first season, Home Movies utilized Soup2Nuts' Squigglevision animation but later abandoned that for the cheaper, more malleable Macromedia Flash animation.[5] 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.[6]

The dialogue of Home Movies initially relied upon spontaneous or ad-lib creation by the actors. The scripts were purposely left vague, with the plot of a particular scene merely outlined, and the dialogue improvised 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."[7] 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.[8]

All music for the series was written and performed by Brendon Small.[9]

Characters
Main article: List of Home Movies characters

Season plot summaries
Main article: List of Home Movies episodes
Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired Network
1 13 April 26, 1999 October 7, 2001 UPN (episodes 1-5)
Adult Swim
2 13 January 6, 2002 March 31, 2002 Adult Swim
3 13 August 4, 2002 May 25, 2003
4 13 November 11, 2003 April 4, 2004

    Season 1
    Main article: Home Movies (season 1)

    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 2
    Main article: Home Movies (season 2)

    Now animated in Flash, 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 included:

    • 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 of their creation is finally discussed. At this point, Brendon is still enjoying his life making films and living in a "fantasy" world.

    Season 3
    Main article: Home Movies (season 3)

    A bit looser than Season Two, the show ditches the idea of 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 Dwayne, are given more screen time, relative to the prior seasons. Another noteworthy 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 4
    Main article: Home Movies (season 4)

    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's 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 devices and a speedier delivery at jokes and gags. The final episode ("Focus Grill"), was made in mind as a series finale, 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 aren't 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.

    Home releases

    Season releases

    DVD NameRelease DateEp #Additional Information
    Season OneNovember 16, 200413This three-disc boxset includes all 13 episodes from season one. Special features include 10 commentary tracks, animatics, interviews with cast and creators, animation galleries, and short films by Brendon Small and Jon Benjamin.
    Season TwoMay 31, 200513This three-disc boxset includes all 13 episodes from season two. Special features include commentaries and interviews with Brendon Small, Melissa Galsky and executive producer Loren Bouchard, Winner of the “Small Shorts” film contest, animatics, songs from the series, Landstander, and the Decide Your Doom interactive adventure video game. It also includes a “how-to” guide to playing the Home Movies theme.
    Season ThreeNovember 15, 200513This three-disc boxset includes all 13 episodes from season three. Special features include commentaries, animatics and a featurette for “People who don't necessarily like Home Movies.”
    Season FourMay 16, 200613This three-disc boxset includes all 13 episodes from season four. Special features include 24 commentaries, animatics, and featurettes. Also included is the Home Movies: Bonus Soundtrack CD with 52 tracks composed and performed by Small for the show.
    Home Movies 10th Anniversary Set[10]November 4, 200852This 10th Anniversary thirteen-disc boxset includes every episode of Home Movies plus new special features, as well as the CD included in the Season Four boxset.

    Shout! Factory, through Sony BMG Music Entertainment, released DVDs of Home Movies seasons, each on three-disc box sets. Each DVD has numerous special features and easter eggs. 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.

    Music

    The soundtrack for Home Movies was released May 16, 2006 and includes fifty-two songs which were featured throughout the series.[11] The CD comes packaged with the DVD release of the show's fourth season box set.[12] All music was written by Brendon Small.

    Reception

    The series has been highly regarded by critics upon and since its release.[13] In 2009, IGN included it on their list of the top 100 animated series of all time.[14] While reviewing the first season, PopMatters noted that "The animation serves one of the most impressive aspects: the fact that it was largely improvised."[15] while Variety praised the show's dialogue and humor, saying "Home Movies manages to set itself apart, offering clever dialogue and sharp social commentary."[16]

    References
    1. "IN HONOR OF SOUTH PARK TURNING 20: THE 20 BEST ADULT CARTOONS, RANKED". InsideHook. August 11, 1997. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
    2. Williams, Ian (2014). "Home Movies". The Point. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
    3. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 413. ISBN 978-1476665993.
    4. "Promo pumps cult cartoons - Tags: CABLE television networks SMALL, Brendon". Connection.ebscohost.com. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
    5. Adams, Erik (May 17, 2018). "Before TV revivals happened every day, Adult Swim turned Home Movies' camera back on". AVClub. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
    6. Hansen, Tony (March 27, 2003) "Dr. Katz: Home Movies" Archived January 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved June 23, 2007.
    7. McCarrigle, Dale (April 26, 1999). "'Home Movies' a flat flop of a cartoon". Bangor Daily Times. Maine.
    8. Werthamer, Cynthia (April 24, 1999). "Poundstone heads talented cast of 'Home Movies'". Star-Banner. Ocala, Florida.
    9. Tracy, Dennis (May 7, 2016). "'Home Movies' and its sublime weirdness". Marquette Wire. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
    10. "Home Movies 10th Anniversary Set [Limited Edition] [Deluxe Edition]: Brendon Small, H. Jon Benjamin, Paula Poundstone, Melissa Bardin Galsky, Loren Bouchard". Retrieved April 29, 2014.
    11. "Home Movies Bonus CD - Album by home movies". grooveshark.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
    12. "Home Movies - Season Four". May 16, 2006. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
    13. "Home Movies: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
    14. "Top 100 Animated Series - #28". IGN. Archived from the original on July 24, 2013. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
    15. Hassenger, Jesse (December 27, 2004). "Home Movies, Season One". PopMatters. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
    16. Fries, Laura (April 26, 1999). "Home Movies". Variety. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
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