Dave Stewart (left) and Will Carsola are co-creators of the Adult Swim cartoon "Mr. Pickles" (Photo courtesy Adult Swim)
“It’s based on a true story,” Will Carsola says without irony of the animated program "Mr. Pickles" that he created with Dave Stewart. While under normal circumstances this comment could be taken at face value, when one considers that the cartoon is based on a demonic canine who enjoys performing nefarious deeds around town, it's clear Carsola and Stewart are quick-witted and always ready to make a joke. And why not? The former Richmonders have a background in sketch comedy and are no strangers to the vulgar and profane. That history is evident in "Mr. Pickles," which returns for a third season this Sunday, Feb. 25, at midnight on Cartoon Network’s late-night lineup of adult-oriented, mostly animated shows known as Adult Swim.
The show is definitely for adults only, as violence and vulgarity are prominent, but the off-the-wall comedy throws in silly antics and hilarious scenarios that make you stop and wonder, “How in the world did they come up with this?” Carsola explains, “It’s kind of based around Dave’s dog, whose name is Edie, and she’s a girl [in the show, Mr. Pickles is a boy]. She’s like a smaller version of Mr. Pickles, the kind of dog that always has a permanent smile, and we could always look at her and imagine her doing these terrible things, and that’s kind of where the inspiration comes from.”
Originally Carsola and Stewart had the idea of a "Lassie"-type show with the dog and boy in a nuclear family in a conventional small town. Stewart says, “Our twist on it was that the dog would run off and do the most horrific things possible, and also imagining Edie doing stuff like that is pretty hilarious.”
In a scene from season three of "Mr. Pickles," (from left) Mrs. Goodman (Brooke Shields), Mr. Pickles, Mr. Goodman (Jay Johnston) and Tommy (Kaitlyn Robrock) say goodbye to Grandpa (Frank Collison). (Image courtesy Adult Swim)
Mr. Pickles lives with the Goodman family, including 6-year-old Tommy, in the seemingly ordinary Old Town. However, the family is completely unaware of Mr. Pickles' double life, thinking he’s just the family dog. Grandpa, on the other hand, is aware of Mr. Pickles agenda and is constantly trying to oust the canine for the demon he is, but the family just thinks Grandpa keeps making up stories.
Carsola and Stewart say the inspiration for the eccentric assemblage of characters in the show is a mix of things, including people watching or people they have met in the past. Stewart says, “There’s definitely … characters from Richmond [from our time] there over the years.”
Mr. Pickles isn’t all bad, though. He’s protective of the Goodman family, especially his best friend, Tommy. Stewart explains, “He has a deep love for Tommy, and in a way Tommy gives him a little bit of his good side, not all evil, but he’s always there to protect people from harm — people that he cares about, that is. But at the same time, you never really know what’s going on with Mr. Pickles’ brain. You know he’s evil, you know he likes pickles, and he loves Tommy.” Tommy often gives Mr. Pickles a pickle as a treat.
When it comes to episode ideas, Carsola says he, Stewart and the other writers participate in what is called a write-off, where they jot down whatever comes into their minds for about 20 minutes. They then read off those ideas. “Either one of the ideas will be something to build upon or it will give another writer another idea, and we build upon that. It’s kind of like a way to just change it up,” he says. Stewart adds, “There’s no direct method, really.”
The artwork of the show is based on Carsola’s designs. He draws most of the initial character sketches, and then the character designers complete his vision, usually putting their own spin on it.
The series has enlisted the voice talents of Brooke Shields, Frank Collison and Brett Gelman; with Frank Vincent, Pamela Adlon, Vivica A. Fox, Rob Zombie, Steve-O, “Weird Al” Yankovic, John Waters, Amy Sedaris and Iggy Pop all voicing characters. Carsola and Stewart also voice dozens of characters in the show.
For the third season, the pair say to expect a lot of heavily themed episodes including a zombie-, western- and ’80s-themed episode, and an episode that follows the town sheriff in the style of the TV show "COPS." Carsola says, “[In] the ’80s-themed episode we introduce a character who I think is our favorite of the season, which is a pair of shoes.” For those who watch the series, given the zany, nonsensical story lines, it’s not all that surprising to hear Carsola make this claim.
For a sneak peek of season three, visit adultswim.com/videos/mr-pickles.
It’s been 10 years since Carsola and Stewart traded Richmond for Hollywood. They’ve appeared on HBO’s "Funny or Die" in addition to two sketch comedy DVDs and numerous YouTube videos. Some Richmonders may remember the stunt the duo pulled at the DMV in 2004, where they made multiple trips dressed in crazy ensembles, including Carsola painting his face in neon red and Stewart putting in fake buck teeth, to see if they could keep getting their picture taken for a driver's license. They posted the videos of their DMV visits online, which garnered them national attention. The pair say only rarely do people recognize them for those antics anymore. When asked if they think they played a role in the strict photo-behavior rules at the DMV today, Carsola laughs and says, “They told us we were, like, the direct cause of that.” Stewart adds, “The DMV even called us and asked if they could use those videos in their training seminars of what not to allow people to do.”
Carsola and Stewart never expected "Mr. Pickles" to be received as it has, they say. According to Stewart, “I’m still baffled that Will and I ended up having a cartoon to be replacing sketch comedy that we focused on for so many years. But it’s been a windy road, and the success of the show has been a bigger surprise than basically everything else [we’ve experienced].”
When asked how life has changed for the pair since leaving Richmond, Stewart is quick to make a joke: “Will and I both are driven around only in limos,” at which they both laugh. However, Stewart notes there is a downside to their hectic production schedule. “In the last, I guess, five years now, 'Mr. Pickles' is so consuming that Will and I don’t have as much time for other projects like we used to, so that’s been a big change,” he says. “We really buckled down into working on the same thing.” Carsola adds, “That’s probably why we’re always making each episode drastically different from the episode before. It’s not the cool sitcom where everything’s happening in the living room … it’s crazier than that.”
In recognition of the third season, Adult Swim is presenting the 13-city Mr. Pickles Thrash-tacular tour, featuring metal/thrash bands Exodus and Richmond’s own Municipal Waste. “Municipal Waste are old Richmond buddies of ours, and we even made their first music video back in the day called 'Unleash the Bastards,' ” Carsola says. The tour will stop at the National on March 9. The show starts at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $25 at the door and $22.50 in advance. Due to schedule conflicts, Carsola and Stewart will not be present, but they say that Stewart’s border collie, Edie, may make an appearance.
