Secret Mountain Fort Awesome is an American animated television series created by Peter Browngardt for Cartoon Network that debuted in 2011. The show revolves around a fraternity of five monsters who unleash wild stunts upon the public from their eponymous mountain fort. The series is loosely based on the antagonists that appeared in Browngardt's animated short, Uncle Grandpa, and employs Mike Conte of the heavy metal band Early Man as composer. The show premiered as a sneak peek on August 1, 2011, and had a formal premiere on September 26, 2011. The show has been panned by critics and audiences; despite this, designers Robertryan Cory and Chris Tsirgiotis both won awards for "Outstanding Individual in Animation" at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony. The Uncle Grandpa short that Browngardt had produced was eventually adapted as a full series of the same name, which he felt was a more lighthearted adaptation for children.
The series last aired on television on February 17, 2012, with the remaining episodes being released on iTunes from March 8 to 29, 2012.
plot[]
A race of monsters known as the Disgustoids are banished from society due to their unruly behavior and grotesque appearances. From their sentient and eponymous subterranean mountain fort, they unleash crazy stunts on the public. Their leader, a purple tusked creature depicted wearing a pair of underwear named Festro (voiced by Peter Browngardt), is a macho party animal willing to do anything to help out his group, even when his help is less than desired, Festro always. Dingle (also voiced by Browngardt), a scrawny, blue dog-like monster, who acts as their faithful pet, intelligible only to the group. Slog (voiced by Steve Little), an ugly furred proboscis monkey-like monster, is likewise blindly loyal, but lacks critical judgement skills—the more hazardous something is, the more likely he will be to follow it. Gweelok (voiced by Paul Rugg), an acned ball of mucus, has a demanding attitude and an obsession with technology. The Fart (voiced by Pat Duke), a giant monster made of buttocks who flatulates when touched—is the most sensitive and levelheaded of the group.
production[]
At their 2011 upfront, Cartoon Network announced Secret Mountain Fort Awesome, along with various other series. Billed as a comedy, the show was created by Peter Browngardt and based on his animated short Uncle Grandpa, which garnered praise, a cult following and an Emmy Award nomination. Both were produced at Cartoon Network Studios. Before landing his own show, Browngardt had worked at Augenblick Studios and MTV, as well as on individual programs, such as Futurama, The Venture Bros. The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and Chowder. Browngardt's work on the lattermost series began when its creator C.H. Greenblatt looked through one of his pitch bibles that he left at the studio.
The show borrows elements and its design style from his Uncle Grandpa short, which was pitched to the network as a pilot. According to Browngardt, Cartoon Network executives were unsure about having a series centered on the title character, and felt the monster characters from the pilot had more potential. Character designer Robertryan Cory and David P. Smith (a director and storyboard artist on Dexter's Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls) were brought on board to help shape the project's development, the series was animated by the Chinese animation studios Hong Ying & Sichuan Top Animation Company.
In an interview with Cartoon Brew, Browngardt called the process of pitching his pilot an "amazing learning experience" because it allowed him to propose an idea to the network and see "how it can manipulate and change while you're working on it". On the show, animation veteran Chris Reccardi served as creative director, whilst Sue Mondt (who had previously art directed Cartoon Network's Camp Lazlo) handled art direction and Robert Alvarez with Larry Leichliter directed the animation. Browngardt depicted the production schedule as "really tight", which called for them to manage their time and to pick their battles with the network.
Referring to his encounters with the network regarding content, Browngardt learned to let go and find the "right balance", as well as to ask himself, "Is my grandma going to notice this?" For the music, Mike Conte of the heavy metal band Early Man was employed as composer. The score, which incorporates heavy metal elements and "lots of riffage", was originally added to the animatics as a rough draft. Browngardt found that it harmonized with the imagery and what he envisioned for the design. Conte noted Browngardt's inspirations from Garbage Pail Kids and Don Martin of Mad magazine, but called the result "definitely its own thing".
voice cast[]
Peter Browngardt
Pat Duke
Steve Little
Paul Rugg
Clive Revill
Grey DeLisle
Pat Fraley
Tom Kenny
Donald Gibb
Heather Halley
Andy Merrill
David P. Smith
Dee Bradley Baker
Mark Bodnar
Dee Snider
Kath Soucie
Steve Blum
Brook Chalmers
Valery Pappas
Clancy Brown