A chat with the cast and crew of “Good Vibes”
Believe it or not, a decade or two back, MTV was pretty heavily invested in animation. There was the quasi-anime weirdness of “Æon Flux,” the high school snark-a-thon “Daria,” and, of course, Mike Judge’s epochal 1990s ode to bone-deep stupidity, “Beavis and Butt-head.” As of October 27, 2011, MTV is jumping back into the cartoon business with Judge’s retooled series about the pea-brained adolescent channel surfers. That’s not all. It will be followed by a show about a pair of actual teenage surfers, “Good Vibes,” that producers are touting as “‘Superbad‘ at the beach.”
Spearheaded by arthouse wunderkind turned doper comedy director David Gordon Green (“Pineapple Express,” “Your Highness“), this flash-animated production brings a bit more sexuality to cartoons than we’re used to. Viewers can bet on plenty of boob, butt, and even penis-related humor as well as some pot jokes. Animation-wise, it somewhat resembles “Family Guy” while the content is more story-oriented and good natured. Clearly, “The Simpsons” is an influence.
“Good Vibes” stars the voices of Adam Brody (of “The O.C.”) and Josh Gad (currently tearing up Broadway in “The Book of Mormon”) as Woodie and Mondo, respectively, a Mutt and Jeff pair of teen surfer buddies learning wacky lessons in life and love on the beaches of the very fictional California town of Playa del Toro. The show also features the talents of “Arrested Development” scene-stealer Tony Hale as Wadska, a McLovin-like uber-nerd, as well as second generation character actor Jake Busey as Turk, a loutish bully of a surfer dude. Also contributing is versatile “Firefly” favorite and comic actor Alan Tudyk, who voices a number of characters, including Lonnie, an aging surf bum who dispenses pot-infused wisdom to his young admirers. The show also features veteran actress Debi Mazar, up-and-comer Olivia Thirlby and David Gordon Green cohort Danny McBride.
At this year’s Comic-Con, Bullz-Eye was fortunate enough to get together with cast members Brody, Busey, Hale and Tudyk. Also present were executive producer Green and staff writer Christian Lander, an Internet star for his now-dormant blog, Stuff White People Like. As with the show they were promoting, the sheer mass of talent on hand made for a reasonably entertaining time.
Posted in: Entertainment, Interviews, Television
Tags: Adam Brody, Alan Tudyk, David Gordon Green, Good Vibes, Good Vibes interview, Jake Busey, MTV cartoons, Tony Hale