It's Not What You Say
A Follow-up Interview with the Creators of Aqua Teen Hunger Force
by Kristen Elde

The last time Flak spoke with the two men responsible for writing to life a box of fries, a goggle-eyed milkshake, and a aggregation of Grade D beef, it was 2003. Two years later, fans of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" are still subject to the same ill-fated interplay of Master Shake in his implausible leadership role, the insipidly cute Meatwad and the unfailingly logical Frylock — but ATHF has shifted gears.

"We've pushed the envelope on the gore these days, so we're able to do more with that. We still have a problem with Jesus, but hopefully that'll soon change," said Matt Maiellaro, one half of the ATHF creator/writer team, in a recent phone interview. "We try to do whatever the hell we want, and sometimes we get shot down, but we'll fight for some of our ideas."

Co-creator/writer Dave Willis, speaking to the issue of creative red lights, mentioned a recent presentation for ad buyers that didn't go over so well. They ended up having to pull, at the last minute, a few featured cuts from upcoming episodes. Willis acknowledged that one "had the Jesus thing."

Still, red doesn't have to mean stop. "We pretend to not do stuff for people and then we do it anyway," Maiellaro added.

"Aqua Teen Hunger Force," midnight mainstay of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim lineup, gained credibility on college campuses before catching the attention of night owls everywhere. These days, with viewership at an all-time high and popularity well established, one presumes Maiellaro and Willis "do it anyway" with a minimum of network fussing.

So why does "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" work? For the same reason other shows don't: ill-defined plot. With admirably fleshed-out characters, Maiellaro and Willis can skimp on story, veering the way of hilarious non sequiturs instead. In short, it doesn't matter what the team is nominally up to in a given episode — just so long as Shake's throwing his weight around, Meatwad's being stupid and Frylock's playing Daddy.

And voice is key. The series creators take a somewhat unconventional approach in that they rarely look beyond their own crew when casting character voices. Dana Snyder speaks for Master Shake, Willis for Meatwad and Carey Means for the throaty Frylock. Maiellaro talks the part of Err (the little red Mooninite), the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past and a host of other characters. Willis takes care of Carl and Ignignokt (big green Mooninite); both men lend voice to various lesser characters.

"We pitch in with voices whenever we can because it's too hard to audition and hire and direct. It's a lot easier to just do it yourself," said Willis.

Willis and Maiellaro have also looked to their friends for assistance.

"We've gotten to the point where we're animating friends into the show," Willis continued. "All of our editors have been animated; Matt was animated into a show as a pizza delivery guy. Drawing in friends is cooler than designing somebody, actually. We're working on a new show where I've cast my best friend from high school as one of the main characters just because he always did this funny redneck voice growing up."

Perhaps the funniest voice of all streams from Willis himself. The character of Meatwad, in Willis' words, "a grotesque wad of bacteria-filled meat ... straight out of 'Fast Food Nation,'" continually rates high in terms of viewer preference, and fan sites suggest this is largely due to that adorable, helium-infused drawl.

This hasn't always been the consensus.

"It's funny. When we first did the show, a lot of people — and not just our bosses, but people we had worked with closely in the past — were not big fans of the voice, the Meatwad voice. They felt like they couldn't understand it."

But as Willis suggested, comprehension isn't necessarily all that important.

"I look at really great cartoons, and they've all got characters that, when they speak, even if it's just a generic line, it adds that much more if the voice is really funny. Look at Cartman; look at Bobby Hill, Homer ... These are all great voices; even if they read a Chinese menu you'd laugh. Sometimes we'll use totally generic lines that end up being really funny. We're working on an episode now where Meatwad goes into Frylock's room and just says [Willis as Meatwad]: 'I wanna learn how to milk a cow.' It's just a matter-of-fact line, but it's kind of funny in that voice."

Willis is from Conyers, Ga., so the surfacing of the trademark drawl was perhaps inevitable. Still, it took some time.

"Early on, Meatwad sounded a lot more helium and not as Southern, but as the show progressed, it just seemed ... You know, you listen to early 'Simpsons' or any early cartoon and the voices progress over the course of that first season or two. I mean, take Homer — not just the way he's written but the way he sounds. Dan Castellaneta sounds totally different now than how he sounded in the first couple of seasons. So the drawl just kind of emerged over time."

Consistent with the increasingly emboldened content of ATHF has been the advent of Meatwad the Badass, characterized by an at-times menacing inflection and, yep, even the occasional cuss word. Not everyone's laughing.

"He's definitely acquired an edge. One of the people who really championed the show for us from the very beginning told me the first time she heard Meatwad cuss she sort of died a silent death. It gave him a different spin."

So is the voice demanding? Does speaking for Meatwad take a lot out of Willis?

"Actually, it's not hard to do at all; I turn it on and off. People ask me all the time if it's some sort of electronic modification. I might get a Dr Pepper and make my throat a little more phlegmy. That always seems to help, 'cause Carl [the Aqua Teens' neighbor marked by an affinity for wife beaters, track pants and mail-order brides] totally strips my vocal cords. But you know, it's just evolved. [Willis speaking as Meatwad]: It's very easy to talk this way."

Perhaps his adeptness is in part due to Willis' longtime relationship with Meatwad. An early incarnation debuted in his childhood years.

"I didn't do it 24/7. It was like one of those little voices you make up and then use when you're talking to kittens and pets and little babies, you know? Then when we were doing the first Aqua Teen read-through, it just sort of came out," Willis recalled.

These days, Willis has a little baby of his own — seven-month-old Max. Presumably, Baby Max's gurgles and coos compliment Meatwad's naive blathering quite nicely.

"Everything's baby-centric now. I speak in that voice all the time. It just sort of comes out, and you find yourself saying things like [Willis as Meatwad]: 'kissy kissy fishy, fishy kissy,' and 'chicken dooble.' I mean, 'chicken dooble.' It means nothing, but it just seems like something Meatwad would say."

When asked if the gravelly-voiced Carl ever dialogues with the wee one, Willis laughed.

"No, no. The Carl voice would scare my child immediately."

It's evident that Willis has a soft spot for all of the ATHF characters he portrays, but Meatwad seems to hold special significance. And is he partial to any particular lines? Apparently so, as he readily rattles off a slew of them in true Meatwad fashion.

"I'm gonna get tow-up.... The bun is in your mind.... When did you have fried catfish...? Please, God, kill me."

Jesus may enjoy the occasional cameo, but God won't be intervening anytime soon. As Maiellaro and Willis confirm, Meatwad, E. coli and all, is good for at least a few more years.

"Why would we stop now, when everyone loves it so much?" Maiellaro said.

E-mail Kristen Elde at kje7@u.washington.edu.