That’s right, kids: it’s time for part two of our exclusive episodic unveilings of the cool toon origins stories featuring in season 2 of The Aquabats! Super Show! on Hub Network! Each of the first five episodes of the new season include one Bat’s recollection of how the musically gifted superhero team came to be—each told with a different style of animation. If you missed the first installment, check out the clip and additional info from show creator, exec producer and star Christian Jacobs (a.k.a. MC Bat Commander) here.
This week’s episode, which airs Saturday June 8, is titled “The Thingy!” and will find The Aquabats on their way home from a ski trip, only to have the good times spoiled by a body-snatching alien. Only one Bat, Crash, escapes and it’s up to him to overcome his fear and save his friends.
This episode’s clip tells Crash McLarson’s (Chad Larsen) memories of how the gang met up. True to the team’s goal of utilizing a greater variety of American animation talent in this season, Jacobs and cohorts turned to animator and cartoonist Shmorky—who is based in Pleasant Hill, MO.
“[Shmorky] just did it all,” Jacobs explains. “We came up with the story and sent it to Shmorky—we did that with all the stories, sent them to the studios and they would come up with boards. I really like attaching someone like Shmorky or Too Many Legs [who did the first episode clip], people who are really passionate about animation, and letting them do their thing instead of micromanaging it.”
Jacobs notes that the retro UPA-inspired Flash animation for Crash’s story was built on the loose style seen in Shmorky’s popular webtoons:
“[Shmorky] took a little more time with it … usually does simple, really cartoony stuff, and [Shmorky] did some great things with this animation—added extra movement with the characters, kinda put it all out there! And it shows, it looks really great.”
