Broadcast on Télétoon and available on Disney, the animated series “Bob’s Burger” is coming to the big screen just in time for the summer season. The team gives a taste of what awaits the Belchers, this family like no other.
Bob (voice of H. Jon Benjamin in the original version) and Linda (voice of John Roberts) Belcher take care of the burger restaurant. But now a burst pipe in front of their establishment – and the subsequent huge hole – jeopardizes their business… especially since the bank demands payment. As the parents try to keep calm, the children, Tina (voice of Dan Mintz), Gene (voice of Eugene Mirman) and Louise (voice of Kristen Schaal) stumble upon a skeleton. And this mystery, which they seek to elucidate, could well save the whole family.
It was in the summer of 2017 that the idea for a film was first floated. With Nora Smith, co-writer of the series, creator and director Loren Bouchard finished the screenplay in 2018. The creative and technical team then began the storyboard, determined the scenes, added musical numbers. Lauren Bouchard then made the decision to make a feature film in traditional 2D animation instead of resorting to current 3D. Then the actors begin recording the dialogues in the summer of 2020.
The whole team therefore worked on the film at the same time as the series. “It was hard, remembered Nora Smith during the press conference which presented the film, in which the QMI Agency participated. At first I didn’t think it was wise to do both at all, but today I’m glad we did.”
“The series is already a full-time job…and so is the film. Also, we wanted to keep working on the show with focus and still be as good as ever. We really didn’t want one to suffer because of the other,” she added.
Complementarity?
In 11 years – the series began in 2011 – the whole team has taken its mark, the success surprising everyone, Loren Bouchard the first. “We started out feeling fear and humility, we thought ‘Bob’s Burgers’ would be canceled quickly, that’s a certainty that we kept for quite a few seasons,” said the creator.
“I feared that we were losing our originality. I always thought fear was part of the process. We are like Bob and in many ways we are still like him.”
Returning to the production of the film, Loren Bouchard indicated that “we were optimistic. We said to ourselves that the series and the film would feed off each other and that we had made the right decision to carry them out at the same time.
By the director’s own admission, the narration of “Bob’s Burgers” “is not set in a fixed time frame. Time is circular, this family seems more or less to relive the same year, with, of course, permutations in the events. We cannot therefore speak of continuity in the series or with the film.
“We made a pact with the fans, everything is consistent, we add more layers of intrigue and depth over time. The film is part of this approach and we have started to think about the episodes of the series that will follow this feature film and which will take place in its shadow. But, in a way, the film precedes the first episode of the series… Yes, it’s a strange game, but it’s fun.
“Bob’s Burgers: The Movie” has been in theaters since Friday.
