Monday, July 14, 2014

an [adult swim] short: Fist-Man: Strongest of the Slab-Bodied Slab Lords


Title logo created by David "Bulletrider" Göbel

Early last year, my old friend Dave Park (of the comedy troupes Dr. God and The Lusty Horde) and I pitched a couple of ideas to the producers at Stoopid Buddy Stoodios for their new Adult Swim shorts program. One of the ideas we pitched them clicked with them and we were on our way to writing and directing our own short for Adult Swim.

Dave and I both love the absurd, campy, cheesy-yet-somehow-compelling He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoons from the '80s and we felt they were ripe for a send-up. Somewhere along the line, we decided that vintage live action toy commercials could make for good cutaway gags.

Thus, Fist-Man: Strongest of the Slab-Bodied Slab Lords was born:

Fist-Man: Strongest of the Slab-Bodied Slab Lords from Pete Levin on Vimeo.

Animated by Stephanie Simpson.
As you can see below, we were lucky enough to get some very talented friends to help us with the project:
Original character designs by Vick Trochez

Alvah Smith came in and did a pass on the designs as well.
Storyboards by Kevin McShane (also the voice of Cannibaloid)
Colin Geller rocked the backgrounds, which really sold the vintage Filmation feel.

Lauren Horoszewski created the custom action figures. Collect them all!
Jessica Dalva fabricated their accessories.


Ben Wise created a full version of the Love Theme from Fist-Man. I'd love to see the opening credits to this!
Dave Park was the voice of Zantor, Kevin McShane as Cannibaloid, Neil Garguilo as the announcer, and the one and only SETH GREEN makes a cameo as the voice of the kids in the commercials! Lots of other amazing people contributed their time, effort, and talents to this short as well. Dave and I are incredibly thankful for their help. A full list of credits can be viewed by clicking here. Take a trip over to the official Robot Chicken website for more Stoopid Buddy Shortz.

And no, we're still not exactly sure what a Slab Lord is.