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Uncle Grandpa is also going to host his own Saturday morning block.

The post Cartoon Network Re-Ups ‘Uncle Grandpa,’ ‘Steven Universe’ appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Mexico's largest animation industry conference will take place next month in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Uncle Grandpa premieres this evening at 8 p.m. (ET, PT) on Cartoon Network. The show was created by Peter Browngardt, 34, who also voices the handlebar-mustachioed star of the show. Uncle Grandpa has been gestating since 2008 when it was part of Cartoon Network’s Cartoonstitute program. The original pilot gained a following online after it was posted on YouTube in 2010, the same year in which the pilot was nominated for an Emmy.

The show revolves around Uncle Grandpa, a fanny pack-adorned, propeller beanie-bedecked gentleman of uncertain origin who travels in a magical RV dispensing ‘Good mornins’ while helping children achieve their dreams. If it sounds like an unconventional setup for a children’s cartoon, the show’s style of humor is even more unique.

Surrealist visual humor, the type of which was practiced by cartooning giants like VIP Partch, Tex Avery, and Don Martin, went out of fashion sometime in the late-Eighties. Uncle Grandpa rejuvenates this strand of comedy with gusto: bodies disassemble and reassemble on command, random human limbs parts pop out of unlikely places, and parallel worlds exist in fanny packs (or belly bags, per the show’s lingo). Browngardt’s new show dispenses with the polite verbal banter of other animated TV series; it is visually vulgar and aesthetically abrasive, and because of its sheer audacity, it’s laugh-out-loud funny.

Cartoon Brew spoke to Browngardt about the show. We accompany the chat with a gallery of production and pre-production artwork from the series.

Cartoon Brew: Did you have an Uncle Grandpa-like figure when you were growing up or is it something that you wish you had?

Pete Browngardt: Actually, I think it’s sort of a combination. Growing up, I had uncles, but the funny thing is that neither one of them were actually blood-relatives. They were just my father’s really good friends. I think a lot of people have that, where you just call them Uncle Bob or Uncle Dan or whatever. And these guys were larger-than-life characters. Whenever they came to hang out, it was a nutty time. They let me drive when I was seven years old just to see me drive. We’d build potato cannons and all kinds of stuff that you probably shouldn’t be doing with kids. They were kids at heart as well and they had crazy stories of their life. Like, one of them fought in World War II and hid in a cave, and then got captured and escaped from a POW camp. It was always something adventurous or a good time when they showed up. And then also, I did have a lot of imaginary friends as a kid and I’d go out in the woods and play out scenarios, wishing I could get away.

Cartoon Brew: How many ideas had you pitched before you pitched Uncle Grandpa to Cartoon Network?

Pete Browngardt: It was my first time ever pitching to a studio. A friend, Stephen DeStefano, had a connection to pitch at the studio. I was living in New York at the time. We flew out, and said, ‘Let’s pitch three ideas each.’ I just did quick pitch bible things for three ideas, and pitched to Craig McCracken and Rob Renzetti. Craig and Rob really responded to Uncle Grandpa. And while I was out there, Carl Greenblatt from Chowder had seen my work and he hired me to board on that. I actually moved out to LA to work on that, and through that time period, Cartoonstitute started.

Cartoon Brew: This might be a good moment to talk about your background. I heard you started in animation when you were 19?

Pete Browngardt: I started making animated films when I was seven years old. My older brothers were into making films, they used to make Super 8 horror movies, so I was basically born into a household that liked filmmaking, acting and drawing and all these arts…it was odd to me that other families didn’t do it.

My brothers explained to me at an early age how animation works, and I was like, ‘Wow, you can actually do this.’ My dad and my brother helped me build a lighttable from the back of the Preston Blair animation book, and one of the first things I ever animated was a character swallowing a bee. I animated dog food falling on a dog. I always drew, and I started making animated films all through elementary school. In high school I made stop motion films and some live-action films, and also took a lot of drawing classes.

Got into CalArts and then made films there. After my second year at CalArts, they had that job fair and Producers’ Show, and one of the directors at Futurama saw my second-year film and offered me a job. Basically it was a summer job, and they wanted me to stay, but my parents and myself, I wanted to finish school and get a degree. I ended up going back to school. But yes, when I was 19 I did that. The following summer I got picked for an apprenticeship at Industrial Light and Magic, and I tried doing CG animation which wasn’t a good fit for me. Really missed drawing, but it was a great experience and it was amazing to be in an environment like that. Then, after that I moved back to New York, which is where I’m from, and worked at Augenblick Studios, MTV, World Leaders when they were doing Venture Bros. Then, when I was there, I ended up coming back and pitching to Cartoon Network.

Cartoon Brew: The original Uncle Grandpa pilot was one of the funniest and most original pilots I’d seen. But then you made the series Secret Mountain Fort Awesome, which was based on a gag in the pilot. Was that another one of the pitches? How did it work out that you made a pilot for one thing and got a show for something else.

Pete Browngardt: Well, it was kind of a thing where they weren’t sure about Uncle Grandpa for filling out a whole show. So they asked me to come up with some other things that spun off of it and Secret Mountain was one of those. It was an amazing learning experience for the whole process—of pitching something and then seeing how it can manipulate and change while you’re working on it.

Cartoon Brew: You used a lot of metal and thrash music in Secret Mountain. Can we expect Uncle Grandpa to contain the same?

Pete Browngardt: That music was really for that show. I love that music and when we were doing the animatics for Secret Mountain, I would throw in that music in the temp scores, and it blended really well with the imagery and what I was going for with the design. Now with Uncle Grandpa, there are aspects of that in the music, but we’ve tried to lighten the tone. This new Uncle Grandpa has evolved to be more light-hearted in the sense of a broad kids show, which I’m really excited about. It’s more like Pee-wee’s Playhouse with an expanded cast and expanded world, and I wanted to have more variety in the music and be able to go sort of a happier place, though it does go dark and heavy at times.

We’re actually breaking format on the shows, where within the eleven-minute episodes, we have two stories plus bumpers. We have a seven-to-eight minute story and a two-to-three minute story. Ren and Stimpy used to do that, and even Dexter’s Lab did it, and I really love it because we’re able to experiment. One of the shorts we’re doing is “Uncle Grandpa Sings the Classics,” and it’s Uncle Grandpa singing all the different genres of music. One of them is black metal, and it’s amazing. I was, like, they’re never going to let us put black metal into a kids’ cartoon, but they did.

Cartoon Brew: This is one of the few shows Cartoon Network has ever done, if not the only one, where the lead character is over the age of thirty. Usually, the stars of their shows are either kids or teens or in early-20s, but here you’ve got some older dude. I’m curious, within the studio, was that ever a point of contention or awareness that the show was different from everything else they’re doing?

Pete Browngardt: It definitely was talked about. The way I approached writing him, and we all do on the show, is that he may look like an old man but he’s basically a man-child. Once you see what he does, how he acts and talks, you’ll be like, ‘Oh he’s kind of a child.’ It never was a major concern. The [network would] want to veer us towards writing him like a kid because it is a kids’ cartoon and that’s what I wanted to do the whole time so it never was in contention.

Cartoon Brew: It’s funny that you say man-child because I looked at some of the YouTube comments and the most common adjective use d to describe him is ‘retarded.’ That’s not what he is, but that’s kind of another way of saying man-child.

Pete Browngardt: He’s a magical guy who shows up and takes kids on adventures, so we always say he’s like Santa Claus with a GED. And also, there’s this running theme that when he helps kids and stuff, we tell the story in a way where at the end, you don’t know if he’s an idiot or a genius. And I think that busts that whole thinking that he’s just an idiot because you’re wondering, ‘Did he have all this figured out from the beginning or is it all by chance?’

Uncle Grandpa Art Gallery

Cartoon Brew: I want to talk a little bit about the visual style of the show. I read MAD when I was a kid, and I see a lot of Don Martin influence in the show. Was that an influence at all, and what are your other visual influences?

Pete Browngardt: Definitely MAD magazine. I had older brothers and they had Seventies and early-Eighties MAD magazines around the house. I used to draw from them constantly when I was a kid. At a certain age, my mom was like, ‘I don’t know if you should be looking at these things,’ so I’d sneak in and check them out. But definitely MAD magazine overall, and Don Martin, and then I got into [Harvey] Kurtzman later when I discovered who he was and how he’s the genius behind the whole thing.

Loved Gary Larson’s Far Side as a kid. Really big influence. I had certain breakthroughs as an artist when I was a kid. Like, MAD was one of them. And then in junior high, the Crumb documentary came out. I’d never heard of R. Crumb and when I saw that and got into his work, he was a huge influence. Garbage Pail Kids was huge with me too, John Pound and all those guys. And then, I got exposed to Tex Avery at a really early age. I had a Screwball Classics VHS that I memorized every cartoon on, and old Warner Bros. too. I would say it’s a blending of all of that stuff. I’m also influenced by contemporaries around me, other artists like Pen [Ward] and Aaron Springer, Carl Greenblatt, lot of people. We all sort of feed off each other.

Cartoon Brew: It’s funny because we have a very similar set of influences because we’re so close in age. When I see your show,, I can understand a lot more where the influences are coming from as opposed to a show created by someone who’s in their mid-to-late 20s. That person will have a completely different set of influences that they’re using, not better or worse, but different.

Pete Browngardt: Absolutely. When I see some of the other creators at the studio and just in animation in general, I’m like, wow. It might not be that huge of a span of years, but it is what you grew up on. I don’t even know if I realized it at the time, but a lot of our crew were all around the same age, and it’s funny because it’s like a second language. You go, ‘Make that look like this or that,’ and everybody knows because we’re all around the same age. We do have some young people starting out, and some people that might be a little older, but especially around the board artists and writers, we’re all around the same age. We all watched the same stuff and we’re influenced by pop culture the same way.

Uncle Grandpa premieres this evening at 8 p.m. (ET, PT) on Cartoon Network. The show was created by Peter Browngardt, 34, who also voices the handlebar-mustachioed star of the show. Uncle Grandpa has been gestating since 2008 when it was part of Cartoon Network’s Cartoonstitute program. The original pilot gained a following online after it was posted on YouTube in 2010, the same year in which the pilot was nominated for an Emmy.

The show revolves around Uncle Grandpa, a fanny pack-adorned, propeller beanie-bedecked gentleman of uncertain origin who travels in a magical RV dispensing ‘Good mornins’ while helping children achieve their dreams. If it sounds like an unconventional setup for a children’s cartoon, the show’s style of humor is even more unique.

Surrealist visual humor, the type of which was practiced by cartooning giants like VIP Partch, Tex Avery, and Don Martin, went out of fashion sometime in the late-Eighties. Uncle Grandpa rejuvenates this strand of comedy with gusto: bodies disassemble and reassemble on command, conceited slices of pizza drive motorbikes, and parallel worlds exist in fanny packs (or belly bags, per the show’s lingo). Browngardt’s new show dispenses with the polite verbal banter of other animated TV series; it is visually vulgar and aesthetically abrasive, and because of its sheer audacity, it’s laugh-out-loud funny.

Cartoon Brew spoke to Browngardt about the show. We accompany the chat with a gallery of production and pre-production artwork from the series.

Cartoon Brew: Did you have an Uncle Grandpa-like figure when you were growing up or is it something that you wish you had?

Pete Browngardt: Actually, I think it’s sort of a combination. Growing up, I had uncles, but the funny thing is that neither one of them were actually blood-relatives. They were just my father’s really good friends. I think a lot of people have that, where you just call them Uncle Bob or Uncle Dan or whatever. And these guys were larger-than-life characters. Whenever they came to hang out, it was a nutty time. They let me drive when I was seven years old just to see me drive. We’d build potato cannons and all kinds of stuff that you probably shouldn’t be doing with kids. They were kids at heart as well and they had crazy stories of their life. Like, one of them fought in World War II and hid in a cave, and then got captured and escaped from a POW camp. It was always something adventurous or a good time when they showed up. And then also, I did have a lot of imaginary friends as a kid and I’d go out in the woods and play out scenarios, wishing I could get away.

Cartoon Brew: How many ideas had you pitched before you pitched Uncle Grandpa to Cartoon Network?

Pete Browngardt: It was my first time ever pitching to a studio. A friend, Stephen DeStefano, had a connection to pitch at the studio. I was living in New York at the time. We flew out, and said, ‘Let’s pitch three ideas each.’ I just did quick pitch bible things for three ideas, and pitched to Craig McCracken and Rob Renzetti. Craig and Rob really responded to Uncle Grandpa. And while I was out there, Carl Greenblatt from Chowder had seen my work and he hired me to board on that. I actually moved out to LA to work on that, and through that time period, Cartoonstitute started.

Cartoon Brew: This might be a good moment to talk about your background. I heard you started in animation when you were 19?

Pete Browngardt: I started making animated films when I was seven years old. My older brothers were into making films, they used to make Super 8 horror movies, so I was basically born into a household that liked filmmaking, acting and drawing and all these arts…it was odd to me that other families didn’t do it.

My brothers explained to me at an early age how animation works, and I was like, ‘Wow, you can actually do this.’ My dad and my brother helped me build a lighttable from the back of the Preston Blair animation book, and one of the first things I ever animated was a character swallowing a bee. I animated dog food falling on a dog. I always drew, and I started making animated films all through elementary school. In high school I made stop motion films and some live-action films, and also took a lot of drawing classes.

Got into CalArts and then made films there. After my second year at CalArts, they had that job fair and Producers’ Show, and one of the directors at Futurama saw my second-year film and offered me a job. Basically it was a summer job, and they wanted me to stay, but my parents and myself, I wanted to finish school and get a degree. I ended up going back to school. But yes, when I was 19 I did that. The following summer I got picked for an apprenticeship at Industrial Light and Magic, and I tried doing CG animation which wasn’t a good fit for me. Really missed drawing, but it was a great experience and it was amazing to be in an environment like that. Then, after that I moved back to New York, which is where I’m from, and worked at Augenblick Studios, MTV, World Leaders when they were doing Venture Bros. Then, when I was there, I ended up coming back and pitching to Cartoon Network.

Cartoon Brew: The original Uncle Grandpa pilot was one of the funniest and most original pilots I’d seen. But then you made the series Secret Mountain Fort Awesome, which was based on a gag in the pilot. Was that another one of the pitches? How did it work out that you made a pilot for one thing and got a show for something else.

Pete Browngardt: Well, it was kind of a thing where they weren’t sure about Uncle Grandpa for filling out a whole show. So they asked me to come up with some other things that spun off of it and Secret Mountain was one of those. It was an amazing learning experience for the whole process—of pitching something and then seeing how it can manipulate and change while you’re working on it.

Cartoon Brew: You used a lot of metal and thrash music in Secret Mountain. Can we expect Uncle Grandpa to contain the same?

Pete Browngardt: That music was really for that show. I love that music and when we were doing the animatics for Secret Mountain, I would throw in that music in the temp scores, and it blended really well with the imagery and what I was going for with the design. Now with Uncle Grandpa, there are aspects of that in the music, but we’ve tried to lighten the tone. This new Uncle Grandpa has evolved to be more light-hearted in the sense of a broad kids show, which I’m really excited about. It’s more like Pee-wee’s Playhouse with an expanded cast and expanded world, and I wanted to have more variety in the music and be able to go sort of a happier place, though it does go dark and heavy at times.

We’re actually breaking format on the shows, where within the eleven-minute episodes, we have two stories plus bumpers. We have a seven-to-eight minute story and a two-to-three minute story. Ren and Stimpy used to do that, and even Dexter’s Lab did it, and I really love it because we’re able to experiment. One of the shorts we’re doing is “Uncle Grandpa Sings the Classics,” and it’s Uncle Grandpa singing all the different genres of music. One of them is black metal, and it’s amazing. I was, like, they’re never going to let us put black metal into a kids’ cartoon, but they did.

Cartoon Brew: This is one of the few shows Cartoon Network has ever done, if not the only one, where the lead character is over the age of thirty. Usually, the stars of their shows are either kids or teens or in early-20s, but here you’ve got some older dude. I’m curious, within the studio, was that ever a point of contention or awareness that the show was different from everything else they’re doing?

Pete Browngardt: It definitely was talked about. The way I approached writing him, and we all do on the show, is that he may look like an old man but he’s basically a man-child. Once you see what he does, how he acts and talks, you’ll be like, ‘Oh he’s kind of a child.’ It never was a major concern. The [network would] want to veer us towards writing him like a kid because it is a kids’ cartoon and that’s what I wanted to do the whole time so it never was in contention.

Cartoon Brew: It’s funny that you say man-child because I looked at some of the YouTube comments and the most common adjective use d to describe him is ‘retarded.’ That’s not what he is, but that’s kind of another way of saying man-child.

Pete Browngardt: He’s a magical guy who shows up and takes kids on adventures, so we always say he’s like Santa Claus with a GED. And also, there’s this running theme that when he helps kids and stuff, we tell the story in a way where at the end, you don’t know if he’s an idiot or a genius. And I think that busts that whole thinking that he’s just an idiot because you’re wondering, ‘Did he have all this figured out from the beginning or is it all by chance?’

Uncle Grandpa Art Gallery

Cartoon Brew: I want to talk a little bit about the visual style of the show. I read MAD when I was a kid, and I see a lot of Don Martin influence in the show. Was that an influence at all, and what are your other visual influences?

Pete Browngardt: Definitely MAD magazine. I had older brothers and they had Seventies and early-Eighties MAD magazines around the house. I used to draw from them constantly when I was a kid. At a certain age, my mom was like, ‘I don’t know if you should be looking at these things,’ so I’d sneak in and check them out. But definitely MAD magazine overall, and Don Martin, and then I got into [Harvey] Kurtzman later when I discovered who he was and how he’s the genius behind the whole thing.

Loved Gary Larson’s Far Side as a kid. Really big influence. I had certain breakthroughs as an artist when I was a kid. Like, MAD was one of them. And then in junior high, the Crumb documentary came out. I’d never heard of R. Crumb and when I saw that and got into his work, he was a huge influence. Garbage Pail Kids was huge with me too, John Pound and all those guys. And then, I got exposed to Tex Avery at a really early age. I had a Screwball Classics VHS that I memorized every cartoon on, and old Warner Bros. too. I would say it’s a blending of all of that stuff. I’m also influenced by contemporaries around me, other artists like Pen [Ward] and Aaron Springer, Carl Greenblatt, lot of people. We all sort of feed off each other.

Cartoon Brew: It’s funny because we have a very similar set of influences because we’re so close in age. When I see your show,, I can understand a lot more where the influences are coming from as opposed to a show created by someone who’s in their mid-to-late 20s. That person will have a completely different set of influences that they’re using, not better or worse, but different.

Pete Browngardt: Absolutely. When I see some of the other creators at the studio and just in animation in general, I’m like, wow. It might not be that huge of a span of years, but it is what you grew up on. I don’t even know if I realized it at the time, but a lot of our crew were all around the same age, and it’s funny because it’s like a second language. You go, ‘Make that look like this or that,’ and everybody knows because we’re all around the same age. We do have some young people starting out, and some people that might be a little older, but especially around the board artists and writers, we’re all around the same age. We all watched the same stuff and we’re influenced by pop culture the same way.

Encouraged by its recent success in series animation, Cartoon Network created this video profiling its ‘next generation’ of creators and shows.

The remaining half of programming for San Diego Comic-Con has been announced, and for your convenience, we have separated out every animation-related program. The sheer number of programs is impressive, and fans of TV animation—past, present and future—have especially rich pickings. Nostalgia is rampant on Saturday and Sunday with panels devoted to The Simpsons, Futurama, Pinky and the Brain, The Tick, Batman: The Animated Series, and the Disney Afternoon.

Creators of current and upcoming TV shows are also well represented, including Alex Hirsch (Gravity Falls), Pete Browngardt (Uncle Grandpa), Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe), Skyler Page (Clarence), J.J. Villard (King Star King), Will Carsola and Dave Stewart (Mr. Pickles), Glen Murakami and Mitch Watson (Beware the Batman) and numerous others. Visit the Comic-Con website for program updates and additional information.

Animation Events: Saturday, July 20

Creating Animated Series
What does it take to create or develop an animated TV series? Do you have to be a writer? An artist or animator? Both? Neither? What do you have to have to pitch an idea, and what are the studios and networks looking for? Members of the Writers Guild of America’s Animation Writers Caucus who have created and developed series and network/studio executives who buy them talk about it and answer your questions. Ted Biaselli (VP, programming and development, The Hub), Steven Melching (Transformers Prime, Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Craig Miller (Pocket Dragon Adventures, Trash Pack), Bob Roth (Disney’s Legend of Tarzan, Penguins of Madagascar), and Dean Stefan (Matchbox Big Rig Buddies,Quack Pack) join the discussion.
Saturday July 20, 2013 10:00am – 11:00am
Room 9

Hasbro Studios: My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic
Representatives from Hasbro Studios and The Hub TV Network’s My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic share details of the making of the popular animated series and how the “friendship” and “magic” are brought to life. Also includes Q&A time.
Saturday July 20, 2013 10:00am – 11:00am
Room 25ABC

Marvel Television Presents
It’s the biggest, most animated Marvel Television panel ever! Join Marvel’s head of television, Jeph Loeb, for the latest from inside Marvel Universe on Disney XD, including what’s next for Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man, a new episode of the hit series Marvel’s Avengers Assemble, and the world premiere of Marvel’s Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.
Saturday July 20, 2013 10:30am – 11:30am
Room 6BCF

Avatar the Last Airbender: Beginning and Beyond
This panel is for fans who can’t get enough of the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe. Moderator Avatar_Mom, Kevin Coppa (Puppetbenders), Alisa Christopher (FatCat Gameworks), Gene Luen Yang (writer, The Promise/The Search), Gurihiru (artist team Sasaki and Kawano, The Promise/The Search), Sifu Kisu (martial arts coordinator), and Dante Basco (voice of Zuko/General Iroh) will be on hand to share their experiences and answer questions. Who knows, perhaps a surprise guest or two might stop in! Finally, the panel will end with a show of talented cosplay contestants.
Saturday July 20, 2013 11:00am – 12:00pm
Room 29A

Gravity Falls
Creator and executive producer Alex Hirsch (Grunkle Stan), creative director Michael Rianda, and series stars Jason Ritter (Dipper) and Kristin Schaal (Mabel) uncover the mysteries of Disney Channel’s hit series Gravity Falls. Find out what’s in store for television’s spookiest town with an exclusive clip from the show’s exciting season finale and an audience Q&A. The panel will feature a sneak peek of Wander Over Yonder, the new series coming from Craig McCracken (Powerpuff Girls).
Saturday July 20, 2013 11:00am – 12:00pm
Room 7AB

Mattel: Monster High 2013: Where SCREAMS Come True!
Celebrate the freaky fabulous year of 13 with the Monster High Team! Get a freak peek at exclusive scenes from the newest Monster High DVD, 13 Wishes (this fall from Universal Studios Home Entertainment). The freaky talented Monster High voice actors, including Erin Fitzgerald (voice of Abbey, Spectra, Scarah, and Rochelle), Debi Derryberry (voice of Draculaura), and America Young (voice of Howleen and Toralei), will discuss the making of the ghouls’ latest adventure. Moderated by Emmy Award-winning executive producer of Monster High, Audu Paden. But that’s not all…the Monster High team is just dying to share more secrets lurking the halls of Monster High! Garrett Sander, Rebecca Shipman, Natalie Villegas, and Javier Meabe (toy designers), Roy Juarez (packaging designer), and Eric Hardie (copywriter) will reveal uhhh-mazing new Monster High ghouls and how they came to un-life! Don’t forget to dress your monster best for a chance to win some scary cool prizes!
Saturday July 20, 2013 11:00am – 12:00pm
Room 25ABC

Futurama
We’re dooooooooomed! An epic panel for the ages will celebrate Futurama‘s latest and greatest final season. On hand will be most or all of Futurama‘s legendary voice cast, consisting of Billy West, John DiMaggio, Katey Sagal, Maurice LaMarche, Tress MacNeille, David Herman, Phil LaMarr, and Lauren Tom, performing never-before-heard scenes from the upcoming “Last Episode Ever.” Plus executive producer David X. Cohen, creator Matt Groening, and a cartooning showdown to the death! (Note: actual death not guaranteed.)
Saturday July 20, 2013 12:00pm – 12:45pm
Ballroom 20

The Simpsons
Celebrate The Simpsons’ 25th year on the air with creator Matt Groening, executive producer Al Jean, supervising director Mike Anderson, and consulting producer David Silverman, enjoy never-before seen footage from guest director Guillermo del Toro, and hear musical guests perform “We Put The Spring In Springfield!”
Saturday July 20, 2013 12:45pm – 1:30pm
Ballroom 20

Cartoon Voices I
Each year, moderator Mark Evanier gathers a bevy of the most talented cartoon voice actors working today and invites them to explain and demonstrate their artistry! This year’s lineup includes Scott Menville (Teen Titans Go, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Grey DeLisle (Scooby Doo, Pound Puppies), Christopher Cox (Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Family Guy), David Boat (Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Family Guy), Michael Leon-Wooley (The Princess and the Frog), and Kari Wahlgren (Bolt, Tangled).
Saturday July 20, 2013 1:00pm – 2:30pm
Room 6BCF

The Tick 25th Anniversary
Ben Edlund (the creator of The Tick), Chris McCulloch (Tick Karma Tornado artist/writer and Venture Bros. creator), and Bob Polio (art director of The Tick comic series) discuss the 25-year history of The Tick.
Saturday July 20, 2013 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Room 23ABC

Family Guy
The Griffins are back at Comic-Con for another raucous panel and a sneak peek at season 12, featuring Seth Green (Robot Chicken), Alex Borstein (MADtv, Shameless), and executive producer Rich Appel (The Simpsons, The Cleveland Show) plus other surprise guests.
Saturday July 20, 2013 1:45pm – 2:30pm
Ballroom 20

The Awesomes: A Hulu Original Series
The Awesomes is a new animated show for adults that combines the thrills of comic book storytelling with the irreverent and inspired comedy that is the hallmark of co-creators Seth Meyers (Saturday Night Live) and Mike Shoemaker (Late Night with Jimmy Fallon). It is the story of the greatest superhero team in history, The Awesomes, and what happens after all the most powerful members leave. Join co-creator/executive producer/ series star Meyers, co-creator/executive producer Shoemaker, writer/producer and comic book author Judd Winick (Batman: Under The Red Hood), and cast members Kenan Thompson (Saturday Night Live), Taran Killam (Saturday Night Live), Josh Meyers (That ’70s Show), Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live), and moderator Chris Hardwick (Talking Dead) for a special Comic-Con screening and audience Q&A. The Awesomes is the first animated Hulu Original Series and premieres August 1 on Hulu and Hulu Plus. It is a Hulu co-production with Broadway Video (Saturday Night Live) and Bento Box Entertainment (Bob’s Burgers). Watch The Awesomes first exclusively on Xbox 360 July 25-31.
Saturday July 20, 2013 2:00pm – 3:00pm
Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront

Abrams: An Adventure Time Encyclopedia Panel with The Lord of Evil and Marceline The Vampire Queen
A conversation moderated by Kent Osborne (head of story, Adventure Time) with Martin Olson (voice actor, The Lord of Evil), and Olivia Olson (voice actor, Marceline The Vampire Queen) about their new book from Abrams, The Adventure Time Encyclopedia, including a slide show and a dramatic reading from the book. Surprises may include a terrifying appearance by Hunson Abadeer himself, a music video from the Nightosphere, and Olivia singing with special surprise guests. Audience participation is encouraged for maximum chance of survival!
Saturday July 20, 2013 2:30pm – 3:30pm
Room 8

American Dad
Be on hand for an exclusive look at the new season, the world premiere of a song from the never-before-seen Christmas episode featuring the return of Krampus, and a Q&A featuring Wendy Schaal, Rachael MacFarlane, Scott Grimes (ER, Band of Brothers), Dee Bradley Baker (Phineas and Ferb, Star Wars: The Clone Wars), and more.
Saturday July 20, 2013 2:30pm – 3:15pm
Ballroom 20

Cartoon Network New Comedies: Uncle Grandpa, Steven Universe, and Clarence
Be the first to see an exclusive sneak peek of Cartoon Network Studio’s all new line up of chuckle-inducing comedies! The panel features Uncle Grandpa creator Pete Browngardt, creative director Audie Harrison, and Adam Devine (Workaholics) as the voice of Pizza Steve, Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar and creative director Ian Jones-Quartey, and Clarence creator Skyler Page. All your questions are sure to be answered and your anticipation is sure to be electrified!
Saturday July 20, 2013 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Room 6A

Pinky and the Brain 20th Anniversary Voice Reunion
Are you pondering what we’re pondering? How could two decades have passed since Pinky and the Brain first tried to take over the world? Celebrate one of the all-time funniest animated series when the original voices of the silly simpleton Pinky and his uber-genius pal Brain, Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche, join eight-time Emmy Award-winning dialogue director Andrea Romano for an hour of hilarious reminiscing. Narf!
Saturday July 20, 2013 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Lyceum

Spotlight on Paul Dini
As a writer, producer, and creator, Comic-Con special guest Paul Dini enjoys a flourishing career in all aspects of popular culture. Join Paul and moderator Bill Morrison (Futurama, Bongo Comics) as they look back at fan-favorite career highlights (Batman: The Animated Series, Arkham City, Lost, Tower Prep), some current projects (Hulk and the Agents of Smash, Black Canary and Zatanna), and a few surprises for the future.
Saturday July 20, 2013 3:30pm – 4:30pm
Room 24ABC

Spotlight on Vera Brosgol
Eisner Award winner and Comic-Con special guest Vera Brosgol (Anya’s Ghost) talks about her background and influences in writing, art, and animation with YA rock star Holly Black (The Coldest Girl in Cold Town).
Saturday July 20, 2013 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Room 4

Spotlight on Sam Kieth
Sam Kieth is one of the quirkiest and most eccentric artists in comics. His unique art style and incredible drawing ability have won him legions of fans worldwide. Now, in an extremely rare appearance at Comic-Con, you can join Sam, with his long-time friend and editor Scott Dunbier, in an informal gabfest covering the wild spectrum that is Sam’s career (Sandman, Wolverine, The Maxx, and much more).
Saturday July 20, 2013 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Room 9

[adult swim]: Rick and Morty
Premiering this winter, Rick and Morty is a show about a sociopathic scientist who drags his unintelligent grandson on insanely dangerous adventures across the universe. Executive producers Dan Harmon (Community, Channel 101) and Justin Roiland (Channel 101) will preview the new animated series and will be joined by writer Ryan Ridley and cast members Spencer Grammer (Greek) and Kari Wahlgren.
Saturday July 20, 2013 5:00pm – 5:45pm
Room 25ABC

Batman: The Animated Series Turns 21
Pop the champagne! The landmark television production Batman: The Animated Series turns 21 this year. Spend an hour with the creative core of this groundbreaking series — Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, and Eric Radomski — as they recollect the dynamics of crafting a series that would have a resounding influence on Dark Knight properties — and the entire animated television landscape — for two decades and counting.
Saturday July 20, 2013 5:45pm – 6:45pm
Room 6DE

[adult swim]: Aqua TV Show Show, Squidbillies, Superjail, King Star King, and Mr. Pickles
Dave Willis (Squidbillies, Aqua TV Show Show), Matt Maiellaro (Aqua TV Show Show), and Jim Fortier (Squidbillies) discuss the return of long-running animated series Aqua TV Show Show and Squidbillies. Christy Karacas (Robotomy) previews season 4 of Superjail. J. J. Villard (Monsters vs. Aliens), and Tommy Blacha (Metalocalypse) discuss King Star King. And get an exclusive look at Mr. Pickles from creators Will Carsola and Dave Stewart (Funny or Die Presents Nick Swardson’s Pretend Time).
Saturday July 20, 2013 5:45pm – 7:00pm
Room 25ABC

Animation Events: Sunday, July 21

DuckTales: Remastered
How do you take a beloved 24-year-old NES game and update it for today’s gamers while doing your best not to ruin anyone’s childhood? Go behind the scenes with Austin Ivansmith (director/designer), Matt Bozon (creative director), and Rey Jimenez (Capcom producer) for an in-depth look at how a great video game is made — from design, to art, to music, and more. Followed by a Q&A session, plus maybe a surprise or two.
Sunday July 21, 2013 10:00am – 11:00am
Room 25ABC

Emily the Strange Panel Experience
Join Emily the Strange creator Rob Reger and special guests to see the premiere of the Emily and the Strangers FIRST animated music video and single. See and hear private, behind-the-scenes footage in the recording studio and “making of” the animation. Take a sneak peek at the new comic book Emily and the Strangers #3 by Dark Horse Comics and hear more about the making of this new series and how it comes to life with Emily’s new band. There will be time for Q&A, including updates on the development of the motion picture with Universal Pictures and Dark Horse Entertainment. Reger will be encouraging “audience participation” to get giveaways, so bring on your strange and show him what you’ve got!
Sunday July 21, 2013 10:00am – 11:00am
Room 23ABC

LEGO Legends of Chima
The creators of LEGO Legends of Chima team up to discuss the development of the newest blockbuster LEGO property. Hear how the TV series is developed and see how LEGO model designers bring the characters and vehicles to life in LEGO form.
Sunday July 21, 2013 10:00am – 11:00am
Room 24ABC

San Diego International Children’s Film Festival
The San Diego International Children’s Film Festival presents creative, exciting, and imaginative short films from around the world — animation, live action, and documentary — good for all ages, throughout the day. Enjoy films from the U.S., Canada, Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Spain, and beyond. Animators and filmmakers will talk about their work, ways kids can make their own films, and careers in animation and filmmaking.
Sunday July 21, 2013 10:00am – 5:00pm
Room 9

World Premiere of Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map
Everyone’s favorite Great Dane splashes onto the screen with a new, groundbreaking look that combines state-of-the-art puppetry with a cartoon sensibility. Witness the world premiere of this entertaining film along with panelists like Tony Award winner Stephanie D’Abruzzo (Avenue Q), puppetmaster supreme Peter Linz (The Muppets) and the voice of Shaggy, Matthew Lillard (Trouble with the Curve), as well as filmmakers David Rudman (The Muppets) and Adam Rudman (Sesame Street) and Warner Bros. Animation’s Jay Bastian as they reveal their magical visual techniques during a fun postscreening panel. Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map will be distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment as a digital download and a Walmart DVD exclusive on July 23.
Sunday July 21, 2013 10:00am – 11:15am
Room 6A

Cartoon Voices #2
Yesterday’s Cartoon Voices Panel will have been such a hit that we’ll have to do another one with different but equally talented actors from the world of animation voicing. Once again, moderator Mark Evanier has assembled an all-star dais that includes Bob Bergen (Porky Pig), Alicyn Packard (The Mr. Men Show, Poppy Cat), Maurice LaMarche (Futurama, Pinky and the Brain), Candi Milo (Dexter’s Laboratory, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends), Neil Ross (G.I. Joe, The Transformers), and maybe someone else.
Sunday July 21, 2013 11:30am – 12:45pm
Room 6A

Teen Titans Go! Screening and Q&A
This is a must-Go! panel for all Teen Titans fans, as Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven make their triumphant return to Comic-Con! Fans will be treated to a brand-new episode, as well as exclusive footage that will be screened only at Comic-Con! Following the screening, join producer Aaron Horvath (MAD) and members of the voice cast for a Q&A as they give fans a peek behind the cape at all the upcoming comedic mayhem that will be going on inside Titans Tower. From Warner Bros. Animation, Teen Titans Go! airs Tuesdays at 7:30/6:30c on Cartoon Network.
Sunday July 21, 2013 11:45am – 12:45pm
Room 6BCF

Mattel: Max Steel: Rise of Elementor World Premiere Screening!
Be the FIRST to see Max and Steel team up to take on their biggest threat yet in Rise of Elementor. You will get to watch this exciting two-part broadcast event before it airs on Disney XD this fall! Will our heroes be able to defend Copper Canyon and rescue Ferrus from the evil Dredd? Come by to find out, and receive a free toy giveaway!
Sunday July 21, 2013 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Room 7AB

Spotlight on Charlotte Fullerton
Join Ben 10 himself, Yuri Lowenthal as he interviews Comic-Con special guest Charlotte Fullerton, the co-head writer of Ben 10: Omniverse, about her extensive career in children’s TV, writing for a wide variety of shows such as My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and Green Lantern: The Animated Series, as well as her involvement in making the now-legendary Star Wars comedy fanfilm Troops. On a personal note, Charlotte is the widow of renowned writer/producer Dwayne McDuffie, co-founder of Milestone Comics. Q&A session.
Sunday July 21, 2013 12:30pm – 1:30pm
Room 8

Beware the Batman Screening and Q&A
The Dark Knight makes his return to television in this new action-packed CG animated series. A cool new take on the classic franchise, Beware the Batman incorporates Batman’s core characters with a rogues’ gallery of new villains not previously seen in animated form. With backup from ex-secret agent Alfred and lethal swordstress Katana, the Dark Knight faces the twisted machinations of Gotham City’s criminal underworld, led by the likes of Anarky, Professor Pyg, Mister Toad, and Magpie. After screening a new episode, producers Glen Murakami (Teen Titans) and Mitch Watson (Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated) and others will take attendees into the shadows of Gotham City for a lively discussion on the adventures that await Batman this season. From Warner Bros. Animation, Beware the Batman airs Saturday mornings at 10:00 ET/PT on Cartoon Network.
Sunday July 21, 2013 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Room 6BCF

SpongeCon 2013: The Year of the Fan
Tom Kenny (voice of SpongeBob) hosts an interactive live SpongeBob event! Croon along with some of your favorite tunes from Bikini Bottom. Screen finalists from the SpongeBob SquareShorts fan film competition. Enjoy an exclusive sneak peek of the new half-hour special SpongeBob, You’re Fired! Plus a whole lot more. So get your goggles and dive on down. We want to have the Best Day Ever with you!
Sunday July 21, 2013 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Room 6A

Cartoon Network: Ben 10 Omniverse
It’s Hero Time! Set your Omnitrix for “Awesome” with the Ben 10 Omniverse panel, highlighting the Cartoon Network hero of a million alien faces! Voice talent Yuri Lowenthal (Ben 10), Steve Blum (Vilgax), Paul Eiding (Grandpa Max), and Eric Bauza (Dr. Psychobos), Matt Youngberg (supervising producer), and Derrick Wyatt (art director) talk about the show, premiere an unseen episode, and much more.
Sunday July 21, 2013 1:45pm – 2:45pm
Room 6DE

25 Years of the Disney Afternoon: The Continuing Legacy
Life is like a hurricane! Spin it! When there’s trouble, you call D.W.! It’s been more than 25 years since Disney Afternoon debuted on television screens, and the impact of “the golden age of Disney TV Animation” is still felt today. Let’s get dangerous with Tad Stones (creator, Darkwing Duck, Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers), Jymn Magon (DuckTales, creator of Talespin), Bob Schooley (co-creator, Kim Possible, co-ex producer Penguins of Madagascar), Rob Paulsen (voice actor, Darkwing Duck, Animaniacs), and Aaron Sparrow (Darkwing Duck: The Duck Knight Returns) for raucous recollections and never-before-heard stories!
Sunday July 21, 2013 2:00pm – 3:00pm
Room 7AB

World Premiere of Tom and Jerry’s Giant Adventure
Wind down Comic-Con with everyone’s favorite cat-and-mouse combo in an all-new original movie, Tom and Jerry’s Giant Adventure. Tom and Jerry are the animal assistants to Jack, the young owner of a fairy tale-inspired theme park “where dreams come true, if you believe.” Unfortunately, the theme park has fallen on hard times — until some magic beans provide the means for Jack, Tom, and Jerry to get their hands on a golden goose. Along the way, they’ll meet fabled fellows like Droopy, Spike and a massively mean and hungry giant. The voice cast includes Tom Wilson, Garrison Keillor, Paul Reubens, and Grey DeLisle. Producers/directors Spike Brandt (The Looney Tunes Show) and Tony Cervone (The Looney Tunes Show), and seven-time Eisner Award-winning screenwriter Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series) will be on hand to present the film, which will be released by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment as a Blu-ray Combo Pack and a digital download on August 6.
Sunday July 21, 2013 2:15pm – 3:15pm
Room 6A

Business of Cartoon Voices
Interested in a career doing voices for animation and videogames? There are plenty of people around who’ll take your money and tell you how to go about it…but here’s 90 minutes of absolutely free advice from folks who work in the field. Get the scoop from cartoon voice actors Gregg Berger and Candi Milo, agents Pat Brady (C.E.S.D.) and Heather Vergo (Atlas Talent) and your moderator, voice director Mark Evanier (The Garfield Show).
Sunday July 21, 2013 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Room 25ABC

Are you ready for Uncle Grandpa? And by that, I mean, are you ready for the trippiest cartoon you’ll likely ever see? Produced by Pete Browngardt for the Cartoon Network’s Cartoonstitute program, Uncle Grandpa has officially made my day.

Posted by John Martz on Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog | Permalink | No comments
Tags: Animation, Pete Browngardt, video