Uncle Grandpa

Uncle Grandpa
Genre	Fantasy Comedy[1]
Created by	Pete Browngardt
Directed by	Bill Flores & Mark Bodnar (art) Audie Harrison (supervising)
Creative director(s)	Audie Harrison Casey Alexander
Voices of	Pete Browngardt Adam DeVine Kevin Michael Richardson Eric Bauza
Composer(s)	Mike Conte Tommy Meehan
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	56 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Peter Browngardt
Producer(s)	Rossitza Likomanova
Running time	11 minutes
Production company(s)	Cartoon Network Studios
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television
Broadcast
Original channel	Cartoon Network
Original run	September 2, 2013 (2013-09-02) – present
Chronology
Related shows	Secret Mountain Fort Awesome Chowder Steven Universe

Uncle Grandpa is an American animated television series created by Peter Browngardt for Cartoon Network in 2013. The series is based on Browngardt's animated short of the same name from The Cartoonstitute. Uncle Grandpa is also a spin-off of Secret Mountain Fort Awesome. It is produced by Cartoon Network Studios.^[2]

The show is a surreal action-adventure comedy that relies extensively on visual gags and catchphrases. Creator Pete Browngardt has cited the work of cartoonists Don Martin, Gary Larson and Robert Crumb, as well as Golden Age-era animators such as Tex Avery when it came to developing the style of the show. Each 11-minute episode is presented in a unique format, consisting of a main seven to nine minute story, some short bumpers typically composed of a quick visual joke, and an original short that focuses on the show's side-characters.

History

The Uncle Grandpa pilot was created by former Chowder storyboard artist Peter Browngardt in 2008, but aired online in 2009 on Cartoon Network Video as part of The Cartoonstitute.^[3] Akin to the Regular Show pilot, the Uncle Grandpa pilot was successful, but it had yet to have been green-lit into its own series.^[3]

In 2011, the TV series Secret Mountain Fort Awesome (based on the creatures that appear as antagonists in the original short) aired on Cartoon Network, but was not particularly well-received as other shows on broadcast on the network, and was eventually put on hiatus in February 2012.^[4] Despite the failure, Secret Mountain Fort Awesome went on to win several awards, including the coveted Crystal Award for "Best Television Production" at Annecy International Animated Film Festival, the first US-based production to do so.^[4] This helped boost Browngardt's profile in getting Uncle Grandpa greenlit as a series.^[4] Finally, another factor that has contributed to the launch of the show was the redesign of the character by John Kricfalusi, The Ren & Stimpy Show's creator.^[5]

On July 27 and 28, 2013, Cartoon Network aired a sneak peek of the series as part of Big Fan Weekend, along with Clarence and Steven Universe.^[6]

Starting on August 21, 2014, new episodes are on Thursdays.

Plot

Uncle Grandpa, the uncle and grandpa of everyone in the world, stops by children's houses every day to see how they are doing. The children he visits have a problem of their own and Uncle Grandpa tries to help them through a series of chaotic and surreal misadventures. He lives in a recreational vehicle (RV) and is accompanied by a red talking fanny pack named Belly Bag, an anthropomorphic dinosaur named Mr. Gus, a photo cutout of a tiger named Giant Realistic Flying Tiger, and a talking pizza slice named Pizza Steve.

Characters

Main characters from the series; from left to right: Uncle Grandpa and Belly Bag, Pizza Steve, Mr. Gus, and Giant Realistic Flying Tiger (bottom)

Main

• Uncle Grandpa (voiced by Peter Browngardt) – The series' protagonist. Uncle Grandpa has a large L-shaped head, a red horseshoe moustache, pink nose, a red fanny pack that talks, a propeller hat, and an outfit consisting of a white shirt, lederhosen with rainbow suspenders, knee high tube socks, and black shoes. His outward appearance is very childlike and simplistic, and he is well-meaning, fun-loving, supporting, somewhat wise and surprisingly competent. In "Uncle Grandpa Sitter" he reveals that one of his abilities is to create a duplicate of himself, which he does in many episodes. His catchphrase is "Good morning!"

• Belly Bag (voiced by Eric Bauza) − Uncle Grandpa's talking red fanny pack and his closest friend, who carries all of his priceless valuables especially Uncle Grandpa's weapon of choice, his laser hammer. Belly Bag's insides contain many weird objects and dimensions, including a castle where Frankenstein's Monster lives. Despite being practically attached to Uncle Grandpa, Belly Bag has the ability to walk and can produce multiple hands from inside his body. He even has the ability to see despite having no visible eyes. In the second Uncle Grandpa short, "Secret Mountain Uncle Grandpa", he is referred to as "Fanny Pack" and is voiced by Paul Rugg. His catchphrase is "What's cookin', good-lookin'?"

• Giant Realistic Flying Tiger − A static photographic cutout of a tiger that Uncle Grandpa rides on to get around. Tiger is Uncle Grandpa's other best friend, and while she exhibits normal tiger traits such as only being able to communicate by roaring, she is able to fly and leaves a rainbow trail as she goes. The rainbow trail is also expelled from Tiger's rear end when she passes gas. Her personality is a cross between that of a stereotypical teenage girl, a house cat and a real-life tiger. In order for Tiger's emotions to be shown, only certain parts of her body (specifically her face) are animated; this is done in a stop motion style.

• Pizza Steve (voiced by Adam DeVine) − An anthropomorphic talking pizza slice with sunglasses and a member of Uncle Grandpa's crew. He tells people how cool and awesome he is, which annoys his nemesis Mr. Gus. Pizza Steve is depicted as extremely vain. Despite this, he is very popular, is a hit with women, and is a good friend of Uncle Grandpa. Pizza Steve is featured in his own cartoon shorts entitled "A Slice of Life with Pizza Steve", which usually involve Pizza Steve exaggerating his abilities. In "Tiger Trails", he claims to be a black belt in Italian Karate, but he wears the black belt over his eyes instead of around his waist. His catchphrase is "I'm like a modern-day Thomas Einstein except a brazillion times better!"

• Mr. Gus (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) − Mr. Gus is usually the voice of reason. He is a large, firebreathing green dinosaur who was Uncle Grandpa's rival in "Leg Wrestler", but eventually became his friend and bodyguard. He is unfazed by most of Uncle Grandpa's eccentricities and seems to have an even temper despite his roommates, but often loses his temper, especially where Pizza Steve's antics are concerned. One of Mr. Gus' favorite parts of the day is 9:00 pm, which is his designated bathroom time, and during that period he likes to take a bubble bath and read for an hour. His catchphrase is "You're just sayin' that to get under my skin."

Recurring

• Beary Nice (voiced by Audie Harrison)  – A teddy bear accompanied by Hot Dog Person, and who sees the world as being very nice, but doesn't notice Hot Dog Person when he is in danger, and he usually ends up with good experiences. His catchphrase is "That's me!".

• Hot Dog Person (voiced by Eric Bauza) – A hot dog accompanied by Beary Nice, and who sees the world and new things as being very dangerous, he usually ends up having bad experiences. His catchphrase is also "That's me", but in a sad, depressed voice.

• Tiny Miracle (voiced by Tom Kenny) – Tiny Miracle is a robot that can perform miracles by just a series of unnecessary moves, and then technically performing the miracle only to lead up to another tiny miracle. He sounds like a 1980's microphone. According to Mr. Gus, he is Uncle Grandpa's helper. He can be summoned by saying "It'll take a tiny miracle to..." and then the task the person is attempting. His catchphrase is "Did somebody say Tiny Miracle?"

• Charlie Burgers (voiced by Brian Posehn) – A talking dog that befriends Uncle Grandpa and his friends. He can be well behaved and he enjoys going on adventures with Uncle Grandpa. His catchphrase is "I love my ball!"

• Frankenstein (voiced by Mark Hamill) – A tag-along with Uncle Grandpa in his adventures. Frankenstein appears randomly in the series, but rarely, if ever, has anything to do with the plot. Because of the condition, he is unable to talk, though he will occasionally roar. He is usually seated next to Uncle Grandpa in his chair.

• Xarna, She-Warrior of the Apocalypse (voiced by Eric Bauza) − An overly-muscular, masculine female warrior. She is on a mission to get some gas for her motorcycle. Her catchphrase is "I don't like your mouth."

Human children and adults

• Benny (voiced by Zachary Gordon) – A kid who has a big belly. He was first ashamed of it, but Uncle Grandpa taught him the best features of having a big belly. He appeared in "Belly Bros".

• Caleb (voiced by Jonathan Adams) – A boy that Uncle Grandpa takes out of a math test to go battle Evil Wizard in outer space. He appeared in "Tiger Trails".

• Melvin (voiced by Jarid Root)  – Melvin is a bratty kid who likes to play Space Emperor, with him being the emperor. When Uncle Grandpa accidentally sent him into another dimension, he was sent to a planet where he's the emperor. He discovered what it's like being a servant, and learns his lesson after Emperor Krell bosses him around. He loves dinner sandwiches, and hates mayonnaise. He appeared in "Space Emperor".

• Melvin's Babysitter (voiced by Grey DeLisle-Griffin) – an attractive teenage girl with braces who babysits Melvin in the episode "Space Emperor".

• Eric (voiced by Eric Bauza) – Eric is a kid who doesn't have a nickname but Uncle Grandpa helps him. Uncle Grandpa helps him be legendary to get his nickname. In the process of becoming legendary he becomes tall and muscular. In the end he gets the nickname, "Cupcake", because he loves cupcakes. He appears in "Nickname".

• Mary (voiced by Pamela Adlon) – Mary is a nervous girl. She takes her driver's test, but fails. Uncle Grandpa takes her on a test and helps her pass. Uncle Grandpa gave her her own "Freedom and Independence USA" truck for passing her test. She appears in "Driver's Test".

• Dennis (voiced by Tom Kenny) – Dennis is a kid who wanted to finally pass his teacher's hard class and avoid going to summer school, until Uncle Grandpa comes and eats his homework and putting Dennis in danger of going to summer school. So Dennis and Uncle Grandpa go to Egypt to get a real pyramid to make sure Dennis gets an A+++++-+ on his project. Dennis appears in Uncle Grandpa Ate My Homework!".

• Mrs. Dumpty (voiced by Grey DeLisle-Griffin) – Dennis' teacher. She appears in "Uncle Grandpa Ate My Homework!".

• Guillermo (voiced by Eric Bauza) – Guillermo is a kid who had an awesome new bike, until the RV crushed it. So in Uncle Grandpa and Belly Bag's absence Mr. Gus and Pizza Steve help Guillermo by giving him a trashcan and saying it was a "Magical Uncle Grandpa Bike". Guillermo appears in "Uncle Grandpa for a Day".

• Susie (voiced by Tara Strong) – Susie is a little girl who was afraid of the dark, but learned how to combat her fears by imagining herself as a scary monster. She appears in "Afraid of the Dark".

• Adam (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) – Adam is a kid who couldn't become the master of a very hard video game, until Uncle Grandpa and Pizza Steve shrink to get inside his brain to become better at video games. He would always have his eyes barely open showing that he's been playing videogames too much, and his eyes are sore from playing too much. Adam appears in "Brain Game".

• Angry Man Johnson (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) – Angry Man Johnson is a grumpy old man who hates Charlie Burgers. Judging by his name, he is always angry at everyone, including Uncle Grandpa. Angry Man Johnson appears in "Charlie Burgers".

• Austin (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui) – Austin is a kid who had a lot of imperfections so he asked Uncle Grandpa to turn him into a robot to become the most perfect kid, and to eliminate all imperfections. Austin appears in "Perfect Kid".

• Shaquille O'Neal (voiced by himself) – The former Professional Basketball Player who is an old friend of Uncle Grandpa. In the past, Uncle Grandpa helped Shaq realize his dream of being a stand-up comedian. He appears in "Perfect Kid" after Uncle Grandpa is chased into a comedy club that Shaq was performing at where he helps Uncle Grandpa fight against Austin 2.0, by combining with the audience in a manner similar to a giant robot. Uncle Grandpa finds the jokes Shaq makes to be very funny. Shaq's appearance in Uncle Grandpa may be a reference to Shaquille O'Neal's other animated appearances as himself.

• Akira (voiced by Jessika Van) – Akira is a Japanese kid who wanted to make the best action packed monster movie of all time. Akira appears in "Big in Japan".

• Kev (voiced by Jon Heder) – Kev is a destructive teenager who thought art was dumb until Uncle Grandpa convinced him that art is pretty fun. Kev appears in "Viewer Special". The character originally appeared in a live-action film starring Browngardt called The Last American.

• Riley (voiced by Scott Menville) – Riley is a teenager who fails a test, so his father grounds him and demands him to fold laundry all weekend instead of going to a party. Riley appears in "Grounded".

• Josie (voiced by Tara Strong) – Josie is a girl who was trying to make duck lips for a site called "face hole" and trys to get a lot of followers and likes. Josie appears in "Duck Lips".

Pilot

• Ham Sandwich (voiced by Steven Blum) – A rotund nerdy teenager who started out hating Uncle Grandpa, but later grew to like him. In the Secret Mountain Fort Awesome episode "5 Disgustoids and a Baby", he appeared as less responsive, and more stingy while intensely playing a portable gaming system. He can be seen in the show's intro and has a very brief role in "Big Trouble for Tiny Miracle".

• Little Judy Jones (voiced by Grey DeLisle-Griffin) – Ham Sandwich's fat mother.

• Remo (voiced by Tom Kenny) – A destructive popular kid, who similar started off hating Uncle Grandpa, but ends up warming up to his antics. He appears in Secret Mountain Fort Awesome episode "Secret Mountain Uncle Grandpa".

• Remo's Friends (voiced by Steve Little and Tom Kenny) – The cool-dude friends of Remo.

• Remo's Dad (voiced by Paul Rugg, Kevin Michael Richardson) – A man who wears framed glasses, who is the somewhat "uncool" father of his son Remo. He reappears as a driving instructor in the Uncle Grandpa 's 7th episode "Driver's Test", and claims to be the father of a crazy baby from another universe.

Episodes

Crossover

On February 19, 2015, Cartoon Network announced that it would air a special crossover episode with Steven Universe entitled "Say Uncle", which premiered on April 2, 2015.^[7]

Broadcast

In Canada, it premiered on September 2, 2013 on Cartoon Network.^[8] It also premiered on Cartoon Network channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland on April 14, 2014^[9] and in Australia on May 5, 2014.^[10]

Related media

Comic books

On April 30, 2014, Kaboom! has announced that Uncle Grandpa comics are in the works and are due November 2014.^[11]

Accolades

See also

• Secret Mountain Fort Awesome

References

External links

• Official website
• Uncle Grandpa Game
• Uncle Grandpa on Facebook
• Uncle Grandpa at TV.com
• Uncle Grandpa at the Internet Movie Database

Peter Browngardt Television Secret Mountain Fort Awesome list of episodes Uncle Grandpa list of episodes "Christmas Special" Related Cartoon Network Studios The Cartoonstitute Uncle Grandpa pilot "Say Uncle" (Steven Universe)