In 2012 MONDO Media, creator of Happy Tree Friends, Dick Figures, and more, received $10 mil from Google to commission new animated content. They put out the call for pitches online and the flood gates opened.
Out of the millions of pitches received by MONDO, Pixelshow’s little comedy about two mismatched room mates was green-lit for pilot production. Frank and Frank may share the same name, but they’re from different planets.
DEVELOPMENT
What became Frankly Frank started as a flash project called Being Frank. The characters were developed as a mix between The Odd Couple and Laurel and Hardy.
The Franks first appearance was in an irreverent holiday special made for Aniboom. At The Holidays followed the boy’s relationship through every special day on the calendar.
The next stage of development included polishing the character design and creating a character bible. Moving the animation workflow from Flash to After effects led us to rebuild the whole project from the ground up with a new asset library.
Hairy Frank
Frank’s the kind of guy who could save the world – if the universe weren’t out to
get him. He can be nice to a fault but he’s hardest on himself – and that’s when he’s got a hair trigger. He tries hard but can’t seem to rise above – he’s the assistant graveyard manager at the fast food place, the substitute teacher’s student teacher, the temp telemarketer in training.
Cigar Frank
Frank’s the kind of guy who would challenge you to a fight to the death because you support capital punishment. He makes his own cough syrup (which means that he boils Wild Turkey, Listerine, and maple syrup in a pot for half an hour). He says what he says and means what he means. He doesn’t wear regular shoes because this is America. And whatever he may or may not smell like – at least he’s not a slave to the fragrance industry!
With a stack of new scripts recorded and the library in place, the wheels began to turn for an independent release. Production began on the first episode: Are You Gonna Eat That?
Basic animation on the first episode was in full swing when MONDO’s call for submissions went out. Since we had gone through so much development on the project thus far, putting together a pitch bible was fairly simple.
We heard back from MONDO within 48hrs, signed the papers a few weeks later, and began developing the pilot for Frankly Frank. In addition to creating the series, Pixelshow was also responsible for writing the script, recording the audio, voice acting, storyboards, and direction.
