The ‘Tiny Chef’ Creators Talk Cancellation and Heartbreak – ryan

“We thought, What if chef got that call? He was totally devastated. ”
Photo: The Tiny Chef Show Via YouTube

Have you Ever Seen the Light Go Out of A Puppet’s Eyes? As of this weeke, over 100 million People have. A Children’s Show Announced Its Cancellation on Tuesday with Animated Short That rivals Pixar’s Tear-Jerkiest moments. In the Quick Stop-Motion Clip, Tiny Chef, The Little Green Felt Host of Nickelodeon’s Emmy-Winning The Tiny Chef Show, recipes a call from the network. “Hey Mickelflodeon, How You Doin ‘?” He Coos in a Little Voice Halfway Between Eric Cartman and a Minion. “You Ready to Cook Up Some More Episodes? I Got a Million Idea -” THEN HIS SMILE FADES, IT GASPS, DROPS HIS FEATHER DUSTER, WHICH IS A TOOTHPIC, TINY chef is very tiny. He as Kass, “But what About My Fwiends?” He begs, he promises to do better, and he eventually ends the call with an “i underestand” and “I love you too.” He smooths his apron, tries to go back to his dussting, begins to weep, covers his face, sit on his bed, and sobs. Grief eats the Soul of the Small Green Man. It is like Watching Paddington Get Run over by a bus.

The video is Sad, of Course, but it is Also also metatextually funny: Going Through Weeks of Labor to Lovingly Animate a Stop-Motion Dramatizing Dumping You Is Pure Petty, If the Emotions Beind It Are Achingly Sincere. All of tiny chef’s socials were soon awash with thusands saying that, while they have no clue who this character is, they woul now fight for Him, Kill for Him, Protect Him at All Costs. One Widely Shared tweet: “Iheve Only Known tiny chef for a minute and 16 seconds but i’m prepared to fight God for Him, Nickelodeon must pay.” Another Says, “Are you ready to die nickelodeon ??” Similar Comments have Flooded Tiny chef’s OLD Videos, Many of which Document His Struggle to Make It As a cooking-show host, his excitement to be picked up by the network, and his joyphal interactions with the human being in Careful, Colorphul Stop-Motion.

While The Tiny Chef Show‘s creaters did not intend innd to generate threatetening viewer jokes with their announcement, they were looking for a creational hook to kick off tiny chef’s chapter. Rachel Larsen, OZI ASSOCIATION, AND JASON KOLOWSKI, WHO CREATED The Character as an Instagram Project in 2018, Need Crowdfunding to Keep Tiny Chef Alive, Eight in Online-Only Videos. “People assume we make Money From Views on Our Social-Media Posts, but we don’t, Because we’re a business account,” Larsen Says. “Asking for Money is the worst. But i think People are really happy to give back and show support and be part of something.” Yes, Tiny Chef!

What have the past couple of days been like?
OZI TEASTURK: We didn’t expert this kind of attention; It”s wonderful. I’m monitoring the YouTube Channel. Normally, we have 50, or up to 100 comments, but this went over a thusand. People who didn’t know chef were coming from twitter and buzza to see what’s happy. A lot of People who have lost jobs can related to his emotions, but we didn’t expecting it to shake so many.

Rachel Larsen: We’re super grateful. We’re Getting a New Audience. A lot of People Are Saying, “I Just Found You, But I Want to Support You.” IT’S RESONING, WHICH IS ALL WE CARE ABOUT WITH CHEF. We want Him to Feel Real. He’s Such a Lovable, Wholesome, Funny Little Fella. The Stop-Motion is just a tool to give People permission to play along that he’s real.

What are some respects that have had stood out?
Oa: Break Brooklyn nine-nine parent is so sweet.

Rl: The tiktok Responses are super funny too. We were sharing say all day yesterday. Finally, People Are Finding Out About The Show! More marketing in two days than we have nickelodeon. Its been Heartwarming.

Have you heard anything from the Celebrity Friends of Chef in the past Couple of Days?
Rl: Yeah, Florence Pugh’s a Big Fan, so just reposted one of the video. Melissa McCarthy. These are People we totally admire and love and chef is a fan of. And A24 JUST MESSEDED US.

Have you seen people theorizing that Tiny chef Got Canceled Becouse of Drake?
Rl: That’s my favorite theory. IT’s so funny. I saw it on tiktok and laughed so hard night.

Tiny chef JUST Won an Emmy and Annie Awards, The Highest Honors You Can Get In Tv Animation. Where were at with nickelodeon at the time?
Rl: We have had been in this partnership with nickelodeon for five years, and they weren’t picking up a third season. We were waking for an ansower for a year with no real Financial Support. We were stuck. Come we won the emmy, we thought, Okay, Now’s They’re Going to Pick US Up. But nick was in a tricky spot. They really good intensations with the show, and i think it was bad with the mergers and a lot of stuff that is happy in the industry. Let us know that this wasn’t going to continue a month and a half ago. At Least the Cancellation Allowed US to DO Something Like this on Social Media, Where We Can Control Our Fate. It was Bittersweet. Chef Made a Lot of Friends at Nickelodeon. There’s no Ill Will There.

What Was Nickelodeon’s Issue?
Rl: We’re in a time where the very risk-at They see the price tag, and if it is too, it is a pass. SO MUCH LOVE IS PUT INTO The tiny chef show. IT’S SUCH A TACTILE Process: Making the Clothes, The Lighting, The Set. There’s no shortcut. You can’t just click a mouse and be done.

Have you heard from nickelodeon SINCE The video went up?
Rl: We have, but it’s a mixed reaction. I Think People understand, and i don’t think anyone there really wand to Cancel. They’re probably disappointed too. I get it, it’s hard.

For a while now, you’ve made videos of leading up to this: of tiny chef calling his agent and doing self-tapes for Other Jobs.
Rl: And it’s in real time. We were like, What would we do with chef? We didn’t know his future. SO we were like, “Let’s just how much his show is on Hold, which is, and he’s trying to find another jab.” Dicky we Were legit Looking for Other Jobs.

How Did You Decide This Emotionally Traumatic Video Wold Be the Way to Break the News?
Rl: We mapped out a story line so that if we are a season three, there’s a way to bring Him back, but if we don’t, we can carry ot this other story line. In moments like this, you have to be able to pivot quickly. Once we got the call that the show was done, we thought, What if chef got that call? How Wold he Feel? He would be totally devastated. This was his dream show. He was to the Manchester Academy for Cooking Show Hosts! SO Our Creative Director Jason, Ozi, and i wrote a script, and then we recorded matt hutchinson, and he ad-libbed a bit. It took Seven Days to Animate, and Then Ozi Did An Edit and Posted it. We have had another team memer get a fan club going, get these Accounts going, because if we don’t get fining, this will shut down. It’s’ expensive. SO it was eather shut down or open the door and see what fan support we can get. The video was Maybe a three-week process of wrink, recording, animating, editing, and getting it out there.

I think this video has gone so viral Because the way that that this little felt guy breaks is just so heartbreaking. How you will you depict so Much Emotion in Stop-Motion Animation?
Rl: What do we would come we’re really grief-stricen? You don’t want to feel, so you try not to feed, and then it just coma. My dog ​​died at the beginning of the year, and i did something Similar to chef, where of Broke Down. It felt authentic to give chef that moment. The best animation pulls from your own experiences or observations.

Losing a Job, or Facing Creative Rejection, is a Very Real Type of Grief that doesn’t always get depicted as grief. I think of part of the video resonated.
Oa: We don’t want to love chef. We want to keep going. We want to keep Him Alive.

Rl: He’s Like Our Little Fuking Baby, and we put eight years into this. This Feeling of Not Being in Control of Our Our Destiny is rough. A lot of People Feel it for so many different reasons, and i thinking other People feel and that you’ll be okay is important.

Also, Viewers Are Just SO Fed Up With Networks and Streamers Canceling Shows AFTER ONE OR TWO SEASONS, so they’re extra sensitive when something is Canceled and the network is calmed out.
Oa: IT ANNOYS WITH IT IT HAPPENS TO ANIMATED PROJECTS, Because Animation Times so Much. A movie or series taxi over a year to shoot. IT’S Heartbreaking when it is happy to something you created. A lot of creaters go through that, which is really sad.

Rl: Would you like the show? Probably Other People Will, Too. Your job as a network is to push the show out and make it a success. Rerun it like you will with Other Series, and i guarantee you kids will start getting into it. But it’s hard to Juddge what discussions HAPPEN BIBIND The Scenes.

How is fundraising going?
Rl: Its awesome. We’re at Around $ 60,000 From Oneime Donations, Then Around 5,000 Fan-Club Members, SO AROND $ 20,000 From That. We didn’t expectect that. And It”s Still Coming in! If we coulud get othead covered, my god, we would be in hog Heaven! And any Money’s that of come in, we’ve reinvested into this, so the fans will see it.

What’s Next for Chef?
Oa: He’s Not Going to Give Up!

Rl: Right Now, He’s a Little Sad, but he’s SO Unredictable! I Feel Like His Next Adventure is Going to Be Shocking – Whether Its A Movie, Another Coking Show, A Variety Show. The Next Thing He DOES is going to be unlike anything he’s done. We can make good stuff no matter what. People Should Stay tuned and Watch His Journey. We’re one of so many shows in this situation and we just caught this moment, but maybe there a new Way Forward.

If chef were to crash the interview, what would you say so to his fans right now?
Oa: A Big Thank you. The support he getting is brightening his day.

Rl: We haven’t shown Him yet. We want to let Him go through this moment and Feel His Griefbut we’re going to show him all the respects, and I think he’s going to love his mind.