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John Allman

If you’ve ever wandered the aisles at the video store or surfed the DVR pay-per-view options and seen a bunch of movies that you’ve never heard of, chances are John has watched them. Why? He loves movies. All kinds of movies. Good, bad, so-bad-they’re good, even the truly unwatchable ones. He mostly loves horror and science-fiction and drive-in exploitation movies that most upstanding model citizens wouldn’t dare watch. Then he writes up his thoughts so you can decide - watch, don’t watch or avoid at all costs. Sometimes he even gets to talk to the cool folks who make some of your favorite films.

Blood, Violence and Babes
John Allman

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A Conversation With: Matthew Senreich

Posted Jul 26, 2011 by John Allman

Updated Jul 26, 2011 at 08:25 AM

Since its debut back in February 2005, “Robot Chicken” has given fanboys and fangirls everywhere cause to celebrate.

It’s the most improbable of premises, a rapid-fire sketch comedy show built around stop-motion animation using iconic and little-known action figures and toys, mostly from the 1970s, 80s and 90s, to tell incredibly silly but undeniably hysterical stories.

Despite the odds, it has worked, and in a big way.

Each 15-minute episode is packed with pop culture references that fly so fast and so smart that multiple viewings are almost mandatory in order to catch every subversive gag. There are no sacred cows, no shows or celebrities or tabloid fodder deemed untouchable.

Co-creators Seth Green and Matt Senreich managed to capitalize on a burgeoning nerd revolution and become the movement’s creative Force, paving the way for a group of people previously relegated to the fringe – comic book enthusiasts, role-playing gamers and toy aficionados – to proudly step out of their bedrooms and proclaim their geek love for everything from “Thundercats” and “Transformers” to “The A-Team” and “G.I. Joe.”

Without “Robot Chicken,” I think it’s fair to say that there might not have been as welcoming a reception for Team Unicorn (look them up on You Tube, you will be glad you did) or Felicia Day and her ever-expanding presence in sci-fi shows like “Eureka,” comic books and live-action, online role-playing fantasies, fantastic female voices in a formerly male-dominated universe.

These guys exist in a creative stratosphere home to a few greats – creative visionaries like Joss Whedon or Seth MacFarlane – but they never come off as pretentious or pandering.

Their love for the franchises that shaped the collective consciousness of an entire generation extended into that most rarified air in 2007 when “Robot Chicken,” with the blessing of George Lucas himself, unveiled its first “Star Wars” special – an entire show built around delving deep into the rich mythology and vibrant worlds that Lucas created.

A second special followed in 2008, and now, three years later, the gang is unleashing “Robot Chicken: Star Wars III,” its third and likely final trip to that galaxy far, far away.
Senreich took time recently to talk by phone with BVB: Blood, Violence and Babes about the challenges of tackling such a beloved entity as “Star Wars,” the creative spark that sets their brand of humor apart and the wonders of being paid to play with toys all the time.

BVB: You guys have got to be excited with “Star Wars III” coming out yesterday. It struck me that so many people have taken a crack at “Star Wars.” Was there ever any trepidation on your part in tackling such an iconic series to spoof?

MS: You know, it’s one of those things where I don’t think we ever thought about it like that, and if we did, we would have been way more intimidated. Because when we first did our first few Star Wars sketches, they were in our regular season and our regular seasons, we mock everything. So when we got that Lucas Films call, we thought we were getting sued. Then we honestly pitched them on the idea of doing it, expecting a ‘No,’ and surprisingly they said ‘Yes’ and it just spiraled out of control ever since, in a good way.

BVB: I love what you guys have done with that, and I’m curious, from your perspective, what sets your take on Star Wars apart from some of the others? What is it that makes people gravitate to what Robot Chicken is doing with that series?

MS: I think our whole motif for Robot Chicken is taking these absurd worlds and making them very mundane. It’s kind of how we always phrase it. I think what we did was, giving a lot of credit to Kevin Smith for “Clerks.” He had the conversations that all of us were having in the early ‘90s about Star Wars and how much it cost to build the Death Star. We just now have the ability to kind of show it, take the normalcy of what’s going on in Star Wars without the wars, and that’s what made it fun.

BVB: It’s kind of like the skit with the Mos Eisley (Cantina) and I can’t think of his name…

MS: Ponda Baba’s Bad Day…

BVB: That’s just a riot because it is making it real.

MS: Yeah, it was literally, what was that guy doing before he got to that bar? Putting him in that situation and his friend just seemed to have a few. We just found that really funny. Our writer Tom Root put that together and when we read that page, we were like this is exactly what we want to do.

BVB: I’m curious, do you guys actually do the shopping for the figures and toys? Are you involved in that, the ones that are used on the show?

MS: We actually have a guy, if you look at our credits, his title is Toy Wrangler. His name is Hugh Sterbakov and we give him a boatload of cash and say these are the figures we need to find. Good luck. And that’s what he does. Usually we can’t use the actual figures themselves because they don’t pose the ways that we want, but we can use parts of them to get what we need. But, yeah, this is that guy’s job and it’s the best job in the world.

BVB: That is a great job. That would be amazing. What was, I’ve got to ask, what was your favorite toy of all time that you owned as a child? And I will preface this by saying mine was the original 1979 Kenner Alien doll, which was dubbed the scariest toy ever made at that time.

MS: That’s a really hard question because I have everything. It varies. I actually was just back at my parent’s place this last weekend and I was going through my old Darth Vader carrying case…

BVB: Yep

MS: And it’s amazing how I have all these figures just in complete condition even though some of them I just beat the crap out of, but you know, I found the old Hoth playset where the stuff crumbles?

BVB: Oh yeah…

MS: Picking your favorite is like picking your favorite baby.

BVB: Have you thought about other films or TV shows that you’d like to take a crack at like this? Where you could extend it beyond just a skit on “Robot Chicken” and actually do something where it’s fully based on another property?

MS: We have talked about it. The question is how and when. We would have to do it differently, I think, because there aren’t many universes that are as expansive as “Star Wars” with the amount of aliens and creatures that have gotten their own mythology. That said, there are a few. It’s just a question of, would they want us to do it (laughs) and how it would fit into the schedule.

BVB: Talk to me a little bit about “Stoopid Monkey.” What can fans expect?

MS: That title card at the end of “Robot Chicken” just took on a life of its own and people would just be quoting it on You Tube or wherever else. So we started goofing around with it. We started selling T-shirts as a little side project. Next thing you know, we’re doing these animated shorts with him and giving him a life of his own. And we find girls really think he’s cute. And I think that’s awesome. I like that there’s this optimistic, stupid monkey out there that does dumb stuff and gets into trouble but keeps a smile on his face. That’s kind of what he’s going to get himself into as we partner him with some live-action stuff.

BVB: Is it kind of cool to you to think that years from now some kid could look back and say that Stoopid Monkey was his favorite toy of all time

MS: If that ever happens 20 years from now, I look forward to shaking that guy’s hand and giving him a hug and saying thank you. I can only hope that’s the case.

BVB: It really seems like the gaming, the toy, the geek community is really starting to have its moment. So many other little communities, fringe communities, have had their time and now it seems like the time for us. How do you feel about that? Is it exciting to you?

MS: Yeah, it is. I never thought I would be in a day and age where Batman and Transformers and all my ‘80s properties growing up are being developed and turned into major motion pictures. It’s mind-boggling for me. I still remember when the Tim Burton “Batman” came out. I thought it was the greatest day of my life…

BVB: Right!

MS: But yeah, I think we are in a day and age where it’s cool to be a geek, and I don’t mind that. I think it’s fun. It makes the underground stuff even more underground, which is the stuff I find myself becoming even more interested in. And in 20 years, that will be the popular stuff.

BVB: OK, couple of just geek questions. At the end of every episode, you guys always have special names for particular people, like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Mila Kunis. Whose idea was that and who comes up with those names?

MS: (Laughing) That came out of our first season when they were doing voices for us. I think it started with Mila, if I’m correct. She was like, well, I want a credit at the end of it, because she couldn’t believe we actually had our own show. We’re like, all right. We didn’t really think much of it. And then with Sarah, I think she heard that Mila was doing it, and she was like, well if she gets one, I want to get one, and we were like, all right. It’s just kind of continued and gone on. That’s something our editorial department runs past Seth and I before every episode goes out.

BVB: That’s awesome.

MS: That’s our nod to our friends.

BVB: I just saw where she is going to a Marine ball with a guy from You Tube, which was kind of crazy.

MS: I’ve known her for a very long time now and she is just a wonderful person. It’s great to see her exploding onto the scene even though she’s been working for however long…I’m always impressed…I just saw “Black Swan” for the first time. I should have seen it when it was out, but I have a 2-year-old, and I thought she was amazing in it. It only makes me want to bring her back to “Robot Chicken” and have her do a parody of herself for that.

BVB: All right, so this is my best friend’s question, which I have to ask. Is there a bionic dog item on the Kung Pao Bistro menu?

MS: A bionic dog?

BVB: He was curious what else is on the menu that you got robot chicken from.

MS: There is no bionic dog, but there is a Seafood Commissioner. I’m not sure what that is.

BVB: That’s kind of scary sounding.

MS: I know. Perhaps we’ll do a show called that one day.