Lil’ Bo steps up to the plate confidently. Bo took that personally 💀

Short Commentary

When it comes to Giggle Gang shorts, one of the most important things I keep in mind these days is if the ideas are things that I could have worked on if I were hired by Warner Bros. for Loony Tunes. This is what inspires me now to make these shorts. I mentioned previously how I have been making moves to change Giggle Gang from a platform where I animate viral memes, to something where I can do original shorts. The transition has been going on for a long time now, but I think as time goes on I get happier with the results.

With that in mind, the goal of this short was to do a fun baseball gag. I’ve wanted to do more sports themed shorts because it’s a niche I haven’t really worked with. As with many of the modern slate of Giggle Gang shorts, this one too is very heavy with slapstick. The hard part about slapstick, is thinking of different ways in which the jokes occur. There have been a few shorts where Lil’ Bo or Bo get hurt in a funny way. The challenge is how to do the same type of joke, in a different way to keep things as funny as they can be? I remember when I was storyboarding this, that I thought “wouldn’t it be funny if after Lil’ Bo’s head gets ripped off, instead of falling, he just stood there with a stupid expression on his face?”. After that moment I remember laughing really hard to myself, and figured that had to be in. Often times what’s funny about slapstick is not the actual event of physical impact, but the aftermath of it (or the reaction). Having Lil’ Bo reactionless in a time where the audience might expect him to fall or do something else, is a fun inversion!

I think one of the most interesting things about this short in particular is that it was developed in a similar way to a previous short “Ball Buster”. They’re both slapstick shorts. They both have a similar setup and payoff, etc. But, I think I prefer this short more. While I thought “Ball Buster” was fun to make and funny to watch, I think “Perfect Pitch” really is a bit more surprising and entertaining.

Overall I’m happy with how this one came out. It gave me a chance to subvert expectations a bit, and I’ve enjoyed doing so. It’s something I would love to do more of in future shorts. The short was pretty fun and quick to produce as well, which is always a plus. I think it also serves as a new template for how the Giggle Gang can evolve. The future has a lot of exciting possibilities!