OIAF: Big Mouth Creators discuss Season Three and Upcoming Spin-Off

 

 

 

With the exception of the world falling down around us, 2020 has been a great year for animation fans. 

The global pandemic that has changed our lives has also brought us closer to some of our favourite shows. Conventions and festivals have been forced to adapt, which meant that events like San Diego Comic-Con went digital and at our fingertips.

We got to see into the background of shows like The Simpsons and Rick and Morty without ever having to leave our homes. Or deal with the massive crowds and line-ups of major festivals.

However, while we got the chance to see panels from a slew of animations, there was one significant series that was absent from the virtual conventions, Netflix’s hit series Big Mouth.

No worries, Big Mouth is still in good condition regardless of global pandemics. In fact, the series has received multiple award nominations through 2020 including scooping up two Primetime Emmy Awards.  

And now, Big Mouth may add some more metal to the mantle as it is in competition at the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) for best-animated series. The beloved show that rocked us with last season’s “Disclosure the Movie: The Musical” has some stiff competition this year with Ballmasterz: 9009, and the Amazon Prime’s masterful Undone.

While we await the announcement of the winners, OIAF had some surprises in store for their weeklong festival that has gone virtual this year. Besides an impressive list of animations and shorts available to watch, they have also created some fantastic talks and panels. Including bringing together creators and producers of Big Mouth and its upcoming spin-off, Human Resources.

Moderator and OIAF Artistic Director Chris Robinson hosts some of the masterminds behind the series including creators Mark Levin, Jennifer Flackett, Andrew Goldberg, music director Mark Rivers, and exec producers Victor Quinaz and Anthony Loi.

During the panel, the talents discuss many topics such as Covid-19 impacting production and the amount of improvisation that goes into an episode. The creators also share how they landed on producing the show in animation (mostly because children are masturbating). Additionally, touched upon is the emotional component that slides between the often-gratuitous nature of the show, and how that reflects on the real teenage experience of having large, uncontrollable feelings.

While Nick Kroll was not in attendance for the virtual panel, his contributions were not ignored. The comedian was given credit for adding many personal stories to the show and being responsible for the impressive cast that the show boasts. And with “Disclosure the Movie: The Musical” the episode in nomination, credit again goes to Kroll for choosing the awkward 90s film as the direction for the school play.

Along with the insights, the Big Mouth panel was open about how they connect with their audience. Most prominently, the struggle of writing a show about children that children themselves cannot watch. But also, how the writers have spent time with teenagers of today to help understand what they are going through. Although, much of the inspiration for the series comes from the writer’s own experiences, as Andrew Goldberg admits how he actually got a boner while slow dancing with a girl in middle school.

Finally, the panel touched on what to expect next. And while not much information was shared about the upcoming fourth season, we did get to learn a bit more about the new spin-off series coming to Netflix. The creators promise that Human Resources will showcase much of the hormone monsters workplace that we saw in season two. Described as The Office meets Big Mouth, the show will feature more of the day-to-day workings of the hormone monster offices.

And when talking about a possible release date for Big Mouth season four and Human Resources, Mark Levin confirms that it will be available “as soon as we can get it done”. Not very helpful, but enough to get us excited.

The full panel is available to watch on the OIAF official website alongside episodes of the other animated series’ in competition. Netflix has yet to confirm a date for the release of Big Mouth season four, but it is expected to be released in Fall of 2020 which means we can expect news at any time.