Atomic Shopping Carts

A Bell Boy in an Atomic Shopping Cart

The **Atomic Shopping Carts** were costumes/props created for The Residents' unfinished feature film, *Vileness Fats*, shot between 1972 and 1976. The Residents modified the vehicles from shopping carts ("graciously 'provided' by Safeway"), and they would have been featured in the film in an elaborate sequence which was mostly shot in stop-motion animation.

The Cryptic Corporation occasionally used the Atomic Shopping Carts to tease the never-released film and visually represent The Residents during the mid-to-late 1970s; they notably appear in the title sequence of the 1977 short film *The Third Reich 'n Roll*, and on the back cover of the 1978 album *Not Available*. An instrumental theme of the same name was composed in 1984 for the soundtrack of the 1984 featurette *Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?*.

## Role in *Vileness Fats*

Armored Safeway shopping carts with drills on the front, the Atomic Shopping Carts serve as one of the Bellboys' most potent weapons, constructed in a cave just outside the village of Vileness Flats. The Bellboys planned to use them to ensure they ended victorious in their next raid on the town after the sudden appearance of Weescoosa at their last attack caused the group to flee.

The Atomic Shopping Carts represent a huge threat for the villagers of Vileness Flats, who are defenseless against the armored weapons. Weescoosa summons conjoined twin tag team wrestlers Arf and Omega Berry to defend the village. The carts are no match against the Berry Boys, and the Bellboys are easily crushed by the twins.

The loss takes a massive hit on the spirit of the Bellboys, and after watching the carts retreat to the cave, their leader Lonesome Jack decides to execute his Master Plan.

## Legacy

Due to the quartet formation and their disguised faces, The Cryptic Corporation began using photos of the Atomic Shopping Carts to represent The Residents in promotional releases, during a time in which the group were rarely photographed, even in masks or costumes.

While their role in the overall plot of *Vileness Fats* was short, they became one of the most visually recognizable elements of the project. A drawing of an Atomic Shopping Cart was featured in one of the intended promotional posters for the film. Some stop-motion footage of the carts was repurposed for the opening title sequence of The Residents' 1977 short film *The Third Reich 'n Roll*, and a photo-montage depicting the carts on the main Vileness Flats set was featured on the back cover of the album *Not Available* in 1978 (an intentional nod from The Cryptic Corporation to the music's origins in the intended score for *Vileness Fats*).

Clips from the film's sequences showing the construction of the carts and the subsequent battle with Arf and Omega are featured in the 1984 VHS featurette *Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?*, in the "concentrate" version of the film featured in the 2001 DVD video compilation *Icky Flix*, and in outtakes featured in the 2016 documentary film *Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents* (and its promotional materials).

The carts received an instrumental theme in 1984 for the soundtrack of *Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?*, appropriately titled "Atomic Shopping Carts". They were featured on the cover of the 2014 reissue of the album, as well as on the cover art of the RSD EP, *RZ VF*.

They appear in the 1995 comic book *Stalking Ralph* by Matt Howarth and Lou Stathis, which goes as far as presenting a brief diagram of the inside of the carts.

## See also

* *Vileness Fats*
* Scene 2 (Vileness Fats)
* *Not Available*
* *Whatever Happened to Vileness Fats?*
* "Atomic Shopping Carts" (song)
* List of disguises
* The Third Reich 'n Roll (video)

## External links and references

* *Vileness Fats* at The Residents Historical

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Portfolio Info Continued", *Evidence of Residents Volume 1*, 2004
2. ↑ Tzoq, "Vileness Fats", RZWeb (archived via archive.org)

**Scene by scene**
1: Arf and Omega · 2: Bellboys & Townspeople Battle 1 · 3: Town 1 · 4: Mother's House 1 · 5: Weescoosa & Ninnie 1 · 6: Cave 1 · 7: Weescoosa & Ninnie 2 · 8: Weescoosa's Flashback · 9: Weescoosa & Ninnie 3 · 10: Bellboys & Townspeople Battle 2 · 11: Town 2 · 12: Desert 2 · 13: Lonesome Jack & Peggy · 14: Desert 1 · 15: Mother's House 2 · 16: Town 3 · 17: Banquet Hall · 18: Cave 2 · 19: Bridge 1 · 20: The Master Plan · 21: Cave 3 · 22: Desert 3 · 23: Night Club 1 · 24: Desert 4 · 25: Night Club 2 · 26: Desert 5 · 27: Cave 4 · 28: Night Club 3 · 29: Desert 6 · 30: Night Club 4 · 31: Cave 5 · 32: Night Club 5 · 33: Mother's House 3 · 34: Night Club 6 · 35: The Window of Never
**Cast and characters**
Saint Steven / Lonesome Jack (Jay Clem) · Weescoosa (Sally Lewis) · Arf and Omega Berry (Palmer Eiland and George Ewart) · Ninnie (Danny Williams) · Steve's Mother (Marge Howard) · Peggy Honeydew (Margaret Smyk) · Weenie (Danny Williams) · Uncle Willy (Hardy Fox)
with
Irene Dogmatic · J. Raoul Brody · Barry "Schwump" Schwam · Hugo Olson · Bill Dewalt · Diane Flynn · Homer Flynn · Tony Logan · Dennis Sealy · The Mysterious N. Senada as himself

**Crew**
The Residents: direction, screenplay, music, sets, costumes · Graeme Whifler: lighting, sets, second unit direction · Diane Flynn: costumes · John Kennedy: editing
**Settings**
Vileness Flats (Mother's House · Ninnie's House · Banquet Hall · Willy's Hot Spot) · Motel · The Cave · The Desert · The Window of Never
**Soundtrack music**
"Aircraft Damage" · "The Importance of Evergreen" · "Eloise" · "Kamikaze Lady" · "Lonely At The Top" · "Fever" · "Russian Love Song" · *X Is For Xtra* ("Theme From X" · "Slow Texture" · "Asonarose" · "Soundtrack Music Piece 17")
**Related works**
The Boarding House performance · *Santa Dog* · *Meet The Residents* · *Not Available* (*X Is For Xtra*) · *The Third Reich 'n Roll* (video) · "March de la Winni" · Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! performance · *Fingerprince* · *Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?* (soundtrack · *PAL TV LP*) · *Video Voodoo* · *Twenty Twisted Questions* · *Icky Flix* (soundtrack · "The Knife Fight" · *RZ VF*) · *Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents* · *Double Trouble* ("Junior's Double Trouble Nightmare" · trailer) · *Triple Trouble* (soundtrack)
**Related articles**
**Atomic Shopping Carts** · The Bell Boys · Residents, Uninc. · "My Mammy"· Sycamore St. studio · Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · The Ugly Grey Theater