Superjail Super Interview
Superjail! While a pilot and episode one have already aired, the new Flash-animated Adult Swim series officially premieres this Sunday, Sept. 28, at 11:45 p.m. (ET, PT). The show, which was created by Christy Karacas, Stephen Warbrick and Ben Gruber, combines so much into one eye-popping soup; Superjail! merges Looney Tunes, Willy Wonka, Dr. Seuss, acid-trip psychedellica, raw-dog blood thirst with perhaps just a touch of Kubrick. The resulting hallucinatory collage is so unlike any other TV series in recent memory that it truly defies labeling. With that said, I’ll still try – Superjail! is simply “groundbreaking.” Here’s a clip from the episode title Superbar.
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Bunny Love, at adultswim.com, you can view a whole mess of commentary videos as well. In one, the creators discuss how each episode will feature some all-out madness – a no holds barred fight scene. It’s a legacy from Christy and Stephen’s short Barfight, which is boils down to the biggest, longest, most insane bar fight in this or any other galaxy. We also know there’s 10 11-minute episodes in the first season (all of which have been delivered), and that every frame of animation was produced in Brooklyn at Augenblick Studios. It ranks right up there with Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and El Tigre as the most intense TV production ever attempted with Flash. Plus, Superjail! surely features the highest volume of “traditional” TV animation created on US soil in over a decade. That’s not what anyone would have predicted 10 years ago when Flash debuted as a fancy new tool that could make shapes dance on screen. It’s all the more impressive when you realize that Augenblick did it on an Adult Swim budget, which are known for being thrifty. You gotta hand it to the Augenblick team, who pulled off a real coup here.
Aaron, Christy and Stephen
Aaron was joined on the animation front by Chris Burns and Kristofer Wollinger, character layouts we handled by Christy Karacas and M. Wartella, while background layouts were delivered by Jeremy Jusay and Will Krause.
That’s about as much as we know, so let’s turn to the show creators to learn more. We’re first joined by Christy Karacas and Stephen Warbrick. Following that, we again meet with Aaron Augenblick, a producer and animation director on the series. Aaron joined us for a 2-part interview back in 2005.
AARON SIMPSON: Christy and Stephen – this psychedelic world is extremely unique and sadistically hysterical. How did the concept come about?
Barfight
STEPHEN WARBRICK: We tried to come up with a show that was somewhat unique but also interesting… conceptually and visually.
CHRISTY KARACAS: Our buddy Dave Hughes showed Barfight to Adult Swim and they were psyched so they asked if we wanted to pitch something. Stephen and I then kicked around some ideas. I had an old pitch about a jail show but it was more like a reality show parody, and we were like, “eh, that’s boring.” What if it was the craziest most insane, dangerous jail ever created run by a psychopath who was more ‘supervillan’ than ‘superhero?’ And it all kind of came out of that. A Charlie’s Chocolate Factory that was a jail instead. Kind of like a kids show except but not for kids. I think the world itself happened because we all like fun, weird stuff. 
Christy Karacas
CHRISTY: I was a BG designer on Daria and Steve was on Celebrity Deathmatch. We met there and did Barfight – which is how we got introduced to Adult Swim because they saw Barfight (which is hilarious because it got rejected from every festival we entered it into). Its funny because not only did me and Steve work at MTV, but Aaron Augenblick, George Fort (BG designer on Superjail!), and Tom Marsan (character layout on Superjail!) all worked at MTV too. NY animation is a small world – I’ve known all these people for almost 10 years.
SIMPSON: The Warden has been described as “a sadistic Willy Wonka.” Is the original Wilder film a favorite of yours?
Stephen Warbrick
STEPHEN: Like Christy said, even though Superjail! was produced in Flash, there is nothing “untraditional” about it. Each episode is completely hand drawn.
SIMPSON: Stephen – your production experience has included work in both 2D and CGI production (Beavis and Butthead, Celebrity Deathmatch, Daria, Ice Age 2, Horton Hears a Who). Does a particular medium help or hurt comedy, or is it simply another tool?
STEPHEN: No. I don’t think the medium hurts the comedy. I think the oversaturation and the retelling of the same story does.
Cheeseburger’s music be featured in future episodes?
CHRISTY: We might turn up again. You can also hear it for a second when Jackknife carjacks the car in the pilot.
SIMPSON: What illustrators, shows and animators inspired the look of Superjail!?
Gary Panter, Crumb, Sally Cruikshank, Mad Magazine, Vince Collins, Looney Tunes, the Fleischer brothers, Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, School House Rocks, Sesame Street, Itchy and Scratchy, kids art, Muppets, outsider art, underground comics add Pee Wee’s Playhouse!
SIMPSON: What animated TV do you both watch regularly?
STEPHEN: No too much. Some Simpsons and some South Park.
Quiet Please
CHRISTY: I don’t really watch any animated shows regularly. My favorite things right now are Tim and Eric and I just saw Mike Grimshaw’s Quiet Please [not safe for work] which made my stomach hurt. I think the stuff I watch would be old Looney Tunes, weird stuff on YouTube and Popeye. I like anything that’s fun, gross, retarded, weird or awesome.
SIMPSON: Awesome. We now welcome Aaron Augenblick, founder of Augenblick Studios. Aaron, How did you and your studio first come to be involved with Superjail!?
Aaron Augenblick
AARON AUGENBLICK: We were working on Golden Age when Christy and Steve called me out of the blue. I met Christy years ago at a festival, and we were touring around with our thesis films after graduation; he was screening Space War and I was showing Midnight Carnival. Then in the late 90s, Christy, Steve and I all worked together at MTV Animation. Years later when they approached us, they had just been greenlit to make a pilot for Superjail! and were looking for a studio to produce it. I had always been a huge fan of Christy’s animation, so it was a very exciting project to take on. My regular Augenblick crew all jumped on the production. I had just worked on The Ten with David Wain and suggested him for the voice of the Warden, which ended up being great. So a lot of things fell into place in a short amount of time.
SIMPSON: When did Augenblick Studios start production on the series?
Drunky or Jared?
Yo Gabba Gabba‘s 2nd season?
AUGENBLICK: The people at Yo Gabba contacted me because they were fans of our work, especially Wonder Showzen. They asked us to do some cartoons for their show and it was really fun. They were super cool and let us do whatever we wanted.
This show will be amazing.
Superjail is the best show
This show has wonderful potential. So psychedelic!
Totally intense! I’d love to check out one of the scene files from the show to try and figure out their workflow! so much going on!
Great interview aaron, thanks!
Oh God !! This is really amazing !!
This show is just sick. I know a 14 year old girl who thinks it’s the greatest. You guys have no idea what you are doing do you? Great contribution to the world with your lives. Superjail sucks.
This show super sucked. I imagine it would be worth it if you’re tripping nuts, but even then I think I could find something more interesting to watch. It was hard to identify with any of the characters, the animation was all over the place, the color was abysmal, and the voice acting was bottom of the barrel, and there was barely a plot to speak of. I can’t believe [Adult Swim] bought 10 episodes of this… there’s a couple of grand they’ll never see again.
HA HA HA OH WOW, ISAAC IS PRECIOUS. His 14 year old girlfriend seems cool though.
When I first saw this, I thought it was a rare show AS picked up from the 90s! And to think it’s all done in FLASH?!? I didn’t think flash could look that good! OMG this is amazing! hopefully we will see more cartoons as great as this one.
The bar sinks to a new low with this pile of shit. Here’s to proving americans are becoming more idiotic by the day.
Number 11 and 12, you are idiots. This is probably the smartest animation since pre-disney. This show will go down as one of the most creative shows this decade. Go back to watching “One tree Hill” or something, fags.
If this replaced every show on Adult Swim, I’d be happy!
Tim & Eric can stay, too.
Everyone else leave.
A strangely, sickeningly addicting cartoon
This show has me on the edge of my seat laughing every time. I love it.
Normally, I don’t like anything this violent, but you have to admire the level of attention to detail. Augenblick’s entire staff must be on speed. (I always thought psych drugs had a higher purpose!)
Long live Superjail! Now, where can I get my own Jailbot?
Firstly:
Isaac, BurningTree, Ruiner and the like – STFU, plebes.
TD & ::smo:: – respect points for intelligent commentary.
All others in favor of SJ! – yeah, you’re cool too.
Secondly:
This show is superaddictive, superviolent, superhilarious and basically the only reason I haven’t chucked my TV out the window yet. There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t been said already (the colors! the animation! the adorably flamboyant psychopath in the purple suit!) except that there better be another season of this creamy rainbow goodness. And DVDs with hours of eye-burning extras. And Twins dolls. Because everybody loves Twins.
(Okay, done now.)
Im pretty sure the ridiculous amount of violence is sort of a satire on american idiocracy. Keep in mind. one of these dudes worked for mike judge, who made idiocracy. none the less amazing eye candy.
PS I would like to know what the people who hate this show watch. because there isnt shit on tv other than a fuck load of terrible reality tv shows. although its violent atleast its not another “someone in your family is try to kill you” prime time csi cop drama. or UFC which is real terrible violence
Super Jail is absolutely retarded. Granted, it’s likely a satire show of violence, but the creativity level in it is just pathetic. Sadly, I might be able write a better show than this crap.
John, most shows on television suck. Aside from Family Guy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and South Park (which are all funny/creative in different ways), I can’t think of any cartoons off the top of my head that that are truly funny anymore.
And if I want to watch gore, I’d check out rotten.com or watch films that have excessive amounts of blood in them (such as Eli Roth flims.) I don’t need this cartoon shit for that.
I love this show. I hope more episodes are forthcoming. This show is so primal, so funny, so raw. It’s witty and great and everything I want in late night humor.
This is by and far the worst show I have ever seen. EVER. I become enraged anytime it comes on an otherwise great lineup. I literally undergo physiological changes this show is so terrible. Any fuck that enjoys this is simply a fuck, I don’t even care to think of a clever insult because they aren’t worth the time. Fuck this terrible show.
I think Tazer should smoke a bowl before watching the show. Your opinion will be forever changed.
To those that have bashed this show, go watch something else on the line up. I’m not a big fan of Xavier: Renegade Angel but I don’t go to backwater comment boards and bash the show.
And to those who experiment with psychadelics, do NOT watch this show on psychadelics. Just the violence and sensory overload would be enough bring one into the throws of a “bad trip”, let alone the extremely trippy transitions. This show should be enough of a psychadelic trip without drugs.
Oh and to Tazers, you “literally undergo physiological changes”? My you must have the mental willpower of a wet paper bag. Or you just have a misunderstanding of the words you use, like literally.
Everybody involved with making this show had to be stoned out of their minds on mushrooms and pot. How {“YOU MIGHT BE ASKING YOURSELF”),does he know that? Because thats what I had to do to fully grasp it, and believe me ,once I had it dialed in, I nearly busted my side open from laughing so hard. I don’t know why there are haters out there,the show is refreshing and original.I can hardly wait for season 2 to get underway.
i looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove superjail alot!!but my brittney doesnt like.my favorit character is the warden.he is so cool and i dressed up as him for hallowen.i draw him too. i just love the warden!!
take me to the jail !