Robot Chicken

Robot Chicken is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers,most prominently Green,also provide many of the voices.

The show mocks popular culture,referencing toys,movies,television,games,popular fads and more obscure references like anime cartoons and older television programs,much in the same vein as comedy sketch shows like *Saturday Night Live*. It employs stop motion animation of toys,action figures,claymation and various other objects,such as tongue depressors,The Game of Life pegs and popsicle sticks. One particular motif involves the idea of fantastical characters being placed in a more realistic world or situation (such as Stretch Armstrong requiring a corn syrup transplant after losing his abilities because of aging,Optimus Prime performing a prostate cancer PSA for the humans and Godzilla having problems in the bedroom).

### **Trivia:**

* Following the 2020 cancellation of *The Venture Bros.*,it is Adult Swim's longest running series,both in terms of years and episodes.
* Senreich,Goldstein and Root were formerly writers for the popular action figure hobbyist magazine *ToyFare*.

## **Production History:**

*Robot Chicken* was conceptually preceded by "Twisted ToyFare Theatre",a humorous photo comic-strip appearing in *ToyFare: The Toy Magazine.* The show's name was inspired by a dish on the menu at a West Hollywood Chinese restaurant,Kung Pao Bistro,where Green and Senreich had dined; other ideas for the series' name included Junk in the Trunk,The Deep End,and Toyz in the Attic (many of these rejected names would be reworked into episode titles for the first season). The show was created,written and produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich and produced by ShadowMachine Films (Seasons 1–5) and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios in association with Stoop!d Monkey,Williams Street,Sony Pictures Digital (Seasons 1–5) and Sony Pictures Television (Seasons 6–10). The series first appeared as *Sweet J Presents* on the Sony website Screenblast.com in 2001. Some television networks and sketch shows rejected *Robot Chicken*,including Comedy Central,*MADtv*,*Saturday Night Live* and even Cartoon Network. However,someone at Cartoon Network passed the pitch along to Adult Swim,around the same time that Seth MacFarlane told Seth Green and Matthew Senreich to pitch the show to Adult Swim. Green and Senreich cited the likes of *Monty Python's Flying Circus*,*Pee-Wee's Playhouse* and *Kentucky Fried Movie* as major influences for *Robot Chicken*.

## **Original Characters:**

While *Robot Chicken* uses a variety of famous real people and fictional characters, it also has original characters created exclusively for the show. These includes:

* Robot Chicken
* Cluckerella
* The Mad Scientist
* Mad Scientist's Son
* The Nerd
* Bitch Pudding
* Unicorn
* Mo-Larr: Eternal Dentist
* Composite Santa Claus
* Little Drummer Boy
* Humping Robot
* Daniel A.K.A Gyro-Robot
* Munson
* Gary The Stormtrooper
* Aliens
* Boopers Host
* Gummy Bear

## **Broadcast:**

The series has broadcast on both Teletoon Detour and its French counterpart from 2006 to 2019. Robot Chicken re-air as of 2022 in Télétoon La Nuit.