Chowder

**Chowder** is an American animated television series created by C.H. Greenblatt for Cartoon Network that premiered in the United States on November 2, 2007.

The entire series was made avaliable at launch.

## Premise

*Chowder* follows an aspiring young child named Chowder and his day-to-day adventures as an apprentice in Chef Mung Daal's catering company. Although he means well, Chowder often finds himself in predicaments due to his perpetual appetite and his nature as a scatterbrain.

## Characters

### Main

* Chowder
* Mung Daal
* Schnitzel
* Truffles Daal
* Kimchi
* Panini
* Ms. Endive
* Gazpacho

### Supporting

* Gorgonzola
* Kiwi
* Ceviche
* Paté
* Chestnut
* Reuben
* Sgt. Hoagie

## Production

During his time working on Nickelodeon's *SpongeBob SquarePants*, Greenblatt had been sketching various characters for his own animation series concept. Greenblatt originally based the premise on the idea of the sorcerer's apprentice style of story, such as *The Sword in the Stone*. The plot devices were modified so that the story revolves around a master chef who teaches his young apprentice how to cook. Chowder himself was developed with no specific species in mind, but rather with the intentions of invoking the image of a child's soft squeeze toy. Some of the inspiration comes from Richard Scarry, with other inspiration from Saturday morning cartoons.

Shnitzel was created originally as a personal character design exercise in the late 1990s.

Once Greenblatt pitched the concept to Cartoon Network, and after about two years, the series was approved for production with another year in production before the pilot episode aired. Greenblatt estimates he spent about seven years working on *Chowder* before the show made it to air, from 2000 to 2007.

Episodes are produced in seasons which consist of 20 half-hour episodes. Each episode is produced with a 30 second puppet sequence that is meant to run over the ending credits. Cartoon Network chooses not to air the puppet credit sequences, but starting on September 3, 2007, episodes have aired the puppet segments. Episodes can be purchased from the iTunes store in the United States which are delivered with the sequences as are episodes which are available on Cartoon Network's VOD website also within the United States.

One of the unusual design features of the show is the patterns used on the characters' clothing or skin. The patterns are developed as a full screen image and then sent to the production house where the characters are modified to fill the patterns in over the character clothing. Using this technique, when a character moves, their patterns do not follow, but display as a "static" background. A similar technique was used in the *Monkey Island* video game series and *Mr. Bean: The Animated Series*.

The show is also known for the very wide variety of mediums used in various episodes. These include animation using watercolors and ink & paint in addition to the cartoon's classic pattern style. It also uses stop motion animation with real food, action figures, and clay; live action scenes with the voice actors of the show, and puppets; both marionette and hand controlled. This was also sometimes used in *Courage the Cowardly Dog*. It boasts one of the most diverse varieties of mediums used in any single series.

## Reception

It received mostly positive reviews, as well as one Primetime Emmy Award win, six Annie Award nominations, and two additional Emmy Award nominations during its run.

## Cast

* Nicky Jones as Chowder
* Dwight Schultz as Mung Daal
* John DiMaggio and Kevin Michael Richardson (just in ep. 1) as Shnitzel
* Tara Strong as Truffles
* C. H. Greenblatt as Kimchi and Kiwi
* Liliana Mumy as Panini
* Mindy Sterling as Ms. Endive
* Dana Snyder as Gazpacho

## Appearances in other Cartoon Network media

### **Cameos and references**

* Chowder had a cameo in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy TV movie spin off, Underfist: Halloween Bash, where he was featured on a pumpkin float.
* Chowder and Schnitzel were both featured in the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode, Crossover Nexus.

### **Video games**

* Chowder, Schnitzel were introduced at the Birthday Bash event of the MMO online game, Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall.
* Chowder and Kimchi were paired as one playable character in Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion for Nintendo 3DS.

## Trivia

* Greenblatt pitched the concept to Cartoon Network in the mid-2000s, when he began working as a writer and storyboard artist for *The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy*, and two years later the series was approved with another year for production before the pilot episode aired. Greenblatt estimates he spent about seven years working on Chowder before the show made it to air in 2007.
* Chowder is a mix between a rabbit, cat and bear.

## Navigation

- Films: Ben 10: Race Against Time | Foster's Movie: Destination Imagination | Regular Show: The Movie | Steven Universe: The Movie