Channel Frederator Blog

Mike Hollingsworth’s animated series “Nature Break” is awesome. Now a hit on the YouTubes and the festival circuit, Mr. Hollingworth found a moment to talk about the series, its voice actors, and the coolest animal on Earth. Keep an eye out for the second half of this article “Nature Break Part Two - The Comedians” later this week, featuring interviews with the talented LA comics that voice Hollingsworth’s characters.

Channel Frederator: What gave you the idea for “Nature Break”?

Mike Hollingsworth: When Fuel TV picked up another season of Stupidface I wanted to do something new. I had created my little black and white Low Tide cartoons for season one and it was time to have fun with COLOR! The show was now a half an hour instead of a full hour so I thought it would be fun to make quicker cartoons. Two characters, quick conversation, no explanation. I was a wee bit inspired by a British show called Modern Toss.

It wasn’t just color time, it was also time to have fun with some more hilarious local comics. Hanging out after shows I noticed that a few people had a really funny conversational manner with each other. Bennie Arthur and Matt Peters were good friends and they had just finished making a funny series of shorts for Channel 101 called Lone Wolf. And Danforth France (a Low Tide veteran) seemed to be one of the only people who could deal with Erik Charles Nielsen in a calm and collected manner. I was really excited to turn Bennie and Erik into cartoon characters ’cause I think they both have very funny voices.

CF: What’s the writing process like?

MH: I went into the recording sessions with a handful of scripts but I also had a list of random lines of dialogue. The two actors would use the random lines to start an improvised conversation and I would push them in one direction or the other. Sometimes it went nowhere and sometimes it resulted in a cartoon like “Nature Break - Roommates”.

CF: Quick - 5 reasons why “Nature Break” is the best. Go!

1.) Armadillos can roll up into a ball.

2.) The Pigeon cartoons feature the TransAmerica Building in San Francisco. My FAVORITE building ever! It’s America’s most stretched out pyramid! C’mon.

3.) I spent SO much time drawing the car that runs over the Armadillos. DAYS! But it’s only on screen for, like, six frames.

4.) It was on FUELTV. America’s number one network dedicated to combustibles.

5.) They can’t be killed!

CF: For those of us without HBO, can you tell us what The Life and Times of Tim is about?

MH: Listen, HBO subscribers are a part of an exclusive club. We pay our dues so we can be privy to secret top notch entertainment. So to answer your Tim question, I’ll refer to Mr. Benjamin Franklin (historic American statesman and founder of HBO) who said, “join or die.”

CF: When will I be able to get a Bennie Armadillo plush toy of my own?

MH: The best I can do for now is send the REAL Bennie Arthur to your home, for a agreed upon amount of time, to cuddle with.

If I do Comic-Con or Ape I’ll print up T-shirts. ‘Til then you’ll have to be happy with a Low Tide shirt.

CF: Best random fact you know about animals:

MH: It’s a FACT that the best animal of ALL the animals is the chameleon for five reasons.

1.) clamp hands
2.) color change technology
3.) swivel eyes
4.) curl tail
5.) sticky tongue

CH: Chameleon wins! So do you, Mike. So do you.

Stay tuned for the second half of this article “Nature Break Part Two - The Comedians” later this week!

-Bailee DesRocher