Chowder Expired Leaves Greenblatt with Less on his Plate

Photo belongs to foodistablog

A peek inside the cartoon fridge should tell you that while most show items are still fresh and ready to be consumed, one in particular is fast approaching its expiration date. On August 13th, Animation Magazine reported that while Cartoon Network will be ordering a few new series and renewing Thurop van Orman's THE MARVELOUS MISADVENTURES OF FLAPJACK for their upcoming lineups, CHOWDER fans were left in the dark. A blog entry posted by creator C.H. Greenblatt that same day confirmed fans' fears - CHOWDER had been canceled. Though in spite of the cancellation, Greenblatt decided to focus on the positives.

"...it's like being the hot girl who just got out a bad relationship; your phone starts ringing from everyone else who's been wanting to date you. It's nice to hear from other networks how much they enjoy the show, especially when you don't really hear it from your own. Chowder has opened up a lot of awesome possibilities for me, and creatively I'm feeling more inspired than ever. There are some new ideas I'm working on that will hopefully find a good home somewhere in the next year" (Nerd Armada: "The Hot Girl").

So in honor of the little "cat, bear, rabbit...thingie," I'm highlighting my top 5 all-time favorite CHOWDER moments to whet your appetite. Enjoy!

5. I'm Not Your Boyfriend!
-"Chowder's Girlfriend"

Poor Chowder...that Panini just won't let up. A guy's gotta do something to dump his girlfriend, even if they are only going out in her own mind - and a song is just the way to show her exactly how he really feels.

4. Shnitzel's Joke
-"The Sing Beans"

Everybody loves a good joke...especially the other kind of joke. The thought of Shnitzel telling an adult joke is funny no matter what but it becomes even funnier when you realize you're trying to translate it in your head.

3. C.H. Greenblatt Puppet Cameo
-"Shnitzel Quits"

Here he is, the big guy himself. The random stop-motion throughout the show is always amusing, but for some reason there's just something extra amusing about Greenblatt appearing in puppet-form to persuade Shnitzel to come home.

2. Care For a Free Lollipop?
-"Shnitzel Makes a Deposit"

To a kid, the bank = free lollipop. But what's even funnier is how a common expression gets turned around into a seemingly never-ending string of "would 'I's" and "would 'you's". As the first series gag that kept me laughing hard, it never fails to get a few chuckles out of me.

1. Car Wash
-"The Shopping Spree"

Click to watch!

Some of the best moments ever are when the writers break that "fourth wall" in the CHOWDER universe and do something really crazy-creative. Like the whole cast holding a car wash to fundraise for the rest of the episode's animation. Hands down hilarious.

The cartoon fridge will definitely feel a bit colder without CHOWDER, but I'll be looking forward to not only the episodes left to air, but also to what else Greenblatt has brewing for the future. So far, it's been a recipe for success.

7-13-09 - Cartoon Network, Get Real!

While Cartoon Network thought it was a great idea, it seems many aren’t too thrilled about it. I can’t really blame them, I mean, it is CARTOON Network, after all. Developing live-action reality shows for a cartoon-based channel and expecting people to actually watch is like running down the freeway buck-naked and hoping cars don’t actually run you over. Okay, maybe that’s not the best analogy, but both have one thing in common – the possibility of a fatality.

But let’s imagine, for just a second, that we need not be so hard on CN. Everyone makes mistakes, right? And if you take to heart what I’m about to show you, the switch in programming might make more sense than you think.

I think after invading FLAPJACK, this guy must have threatened the rest of the network with his cartoon-self pitch. I’d take the REAL risk too if I thought this was the future of cartoons:



Then again, if he starts pitching his own reality show, we’re all in trouble.

Thanks goes to ArthurKade.com for the videos and photo (check out his post about his big day at CN here). A big thank you to Thurop for sharing the story.