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RUBBER HOSE WONDERLAND The team behind Netflix’s delightful new Cuphead Show offer us a special sneak peek of their eagerly anticipated retro toon. By Michael Mallory
D
on’t think of Netflix Animation’s riotous new comedy series The Cuphead Show! simply as the latest TV translation of a highly successful video game (as if that were simple). Don’t even think of it as simply a throwback to the classic rubber hose animation of the 1930s (even though it is). At its heart, The Cuphead Show! is the story of two brothers who act like brothers everywhere; they fight, they get into trouble, but ultimately they look out for each other. Okay, sure, unlike other famous brother acts, they have coffee cups for heads, but there’s a reason for that. Heroes Cuphead, Mugman and their guardian Elder Kettle are the creations of real-life brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer. The characters first appeared in the Cuphead video game in 2017 published by their Ontario, Canada-based Studio MDHR. And yes, Chad and Jared did bring some of their familial experience to the project. “In the game there’s an older brother/younger brother dynamic,” says younger sib Jared Moldenhauer. Notes Chad Moldenhauer, “When
‘When we were showing the game at trade shows or press events, quite a few people asked which studio we had to buy the rights from.’ — Cuphead co-creator Chad Moldenhauer
we were growing up, I was always attracted to the main hero character while Jared, for whatever reason, liked the sort of out-of-the-box, weird characters who didn’t suit the perfect hero image.” Cuphead (readily identifiable by his red nose) is impetuous and eager for excitement, despite the danger that might come with it, while Mugman (blue nose), is “a little bit more dorky,” in Jared’s words, sometimes acting as his brother’s conscience. The characters’ chief antagonist, or “boss” in game lingo, was the Devil, whom they were at times pressed into serving.
THROWBACK TO THE ’30S
Both the game and the series are designed to replicate, at least visually, the style of the early Fleischer cartoons as well as Disney’s Silly Symphonies. Says Chad, “We asked ourselves, ‘How can we have a cool-looking char-
acter that feels like it was made in the 1930s, but doesn’t actually copy or look like a generic version of what already existed?’” After creating a body style they liked, the Moldenhauers then experimented with scores of potential heads. “It was a journey of ‘let’s throw anything at the wall and get crazy,’” notes Jared. “It could be a spaghetti-plate head or a cactus … anything that works.” It was flagons with faces that finally registered, with the addition of drinking straws sealing the deal. “It ties to the old Disney principle about the silhouetting of a character,” Jared says. “Once we found that we liked the Cuphead character and the straw was added, it was such a strong silhouette that the character instantly stood out.” It also achieved the purpose of looking right for the time period, when inanimate objects frequently sprung to life in cartoons. “When
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march 22
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