Cuphead creators Chad and Jared Moldenhauer are taking their popular old-timey video game characters and giving them a television series. The Cuphead Show! premieres this Friday February 18th on Netflix. The Moldenhauers are joined by series developer Dave Wasson for this Animation Scoop Q&A.

Jackson Murphy: Chad, you and Jared created this phenomenon Cuphead game, which came out in 2017. And then just a short while later, you got a special award from the Annie Awards. What a whirlwind year you guys clearly had!

Chad Moldenhauer: It was crazy. The whole team is still reeling from how this all went down. We started off this journey with this idea of making this tiny little game. That eventually blew up into this slightly bigger game, and we were hoping there would be fans that would latch onto this kind of style and type of game that we were going for. It’s just wild… especially from where it started: the idea and then where it ended-up, and still how it’s going is mind-blowing.

Jared Moldenhauer: It’s insane to start with such a small team and be like, “Let’s part-time this. Let’s work full-time jobs and see what we can do in the nighttime” and realizing there is some interest but who knows how much that is. To finding a lovely team — so extraordinarily talented — and to be able to share that with the world and have the fans respond in such a way. It has been a crazy ride.

JM: The game plays homage to classic cartoons. I love what we get into with the show as well. Jared, tell me about going from this video game mentality… to then transitioning to a television series, where you have to take these characters and give them scripted stories [that are] 11-minutes long.

Jar.Mol.: Well the beauty of it is having a new, talented team that has a better understanding of television and timing and how to do storyboarding and blocking for the whole series. The switchover is kind of different. The video game is more arcade-y — and retro / action. It has a story, though the story is minimal. Having this opportunity with Netflix to expand on all the characters and all the possibilities of adventures and finally give them a little bit more room to show their personality — it’s been so wonderful. And the whole team got it. They all felt out how the characters could be [and] how silly it could get… what you might do with the Devil that’s not just strictly from what the video game had. All these uniqueness that’s brought into the series… I think the fans are gonna eat it up.

JM: You’re right that the personalities shine. These characters go to some wild places and get into crazy interactions. Dave, you’re satirizing classic cartoons: Disney, Warner Bros., MGM, Fleischer… but you’re not going over the line where you’re making fun of them in a negative way. Tell me about trying to create that balance with this show.

Dave Wasson: That’s interesting. I don’t know that we ever consciously thought about that so much. We had a great love of that era: the rubber hose animation. Huge fans. Everybody on the crew is big fans of that rubber house stuff, the early Disney “Silly Symphonies” and all the Fleischer techniques. And also we’re springboarding off of the characters from the game. It was just taking all that inspiration and then bringing them together in a way that also felt like a modern comedy. It was that alchemy that came together and did it. But I don’t think we ever consciously thought, “We’re going to satirize those cartoons.” It’s more like we’re trying to write a love letter to those cartoons but also make those characters that felt funny.

JM: Interesting. Yeah, it’s a fun and funny show. There are punchlines. There are clever gags. There are visual details. And in the episode “Carn-evil”, Cuphead says, “When I’m not sure, I double down.” Chad, was there a moment when you were making [Cuphead] and you decided, “Well, I’m gonna double down” and go for it?

CM: I think we basically did double down. Maybe we were 10% more sure than Cuphead was in that episode. But when we were working on the game part-time and things kept growing and growing and our fanbase started growing, there was an actual pivotal point after E3 2015, where we decided to go all in. We mortgaged our homes and built a bigger team and did a whole bunch of other stuff. And that technically was our “double down” moment. (laughs)

JM: Wow. All in. And in that episode as well, we get the game of skee-ball. And you’re right that when you don’t do well when you play skee-ball, it does suck the soul out of you. Jared, have you ever played skee-ball like Cuphead and Mugman do in this and realize, “Gosh, I’m not doing so hot and it’s sucking the energy and soul out of me”?

Jar.Mol.: Absolutely! I spent large portions of my youth in the arcades and equal to having the arcades, there was always the ticket zones. The skee-ball, if you could hit those 100-point shots, would hand out 50 or 60 tickets. So you would always dream. But at no point did you quite reach the max of those tickets. You settle for realizing, “Not everything’s possible.” (laughs)

JM: I had to watch the episode “Roll the Dice”. I’m a big game show fan. And you got Wayne Brady to voice King Dice. I interviewed Wayne a couple years ago. Dave, how was it getting Wayne to voice a game show host? That’s perfect casting.

DW: Oh man! Well, you said it. Perfect casting. We knew for King Dice we needed an actor who could be funny. We needed a guy who could sing. And we needed a guy who hosts a game show. We couldn’t have gotten luckier to get him. First of all: the fact that he exists is amazing. And second of all: the fact that he was interested was another giant stroke of luck. It was great and so fun working with him and seeing what he brought to it. He had a strong sense for how he thought King Dice should go. But he was also open to direction. It was a joy working with him.

JM: Good. Chad, the character of the Devil… for those who aren’t as familiar with Cuphead going into this… how would you describe him? I sort of see him as a little bit of Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Mr. Burns-ish, but he’s a character all his own, too.

CM: Yeah. The Devil was always very ambiguous and kind of this overarching evil in the game. The whole crew on the Netflix show took it in directions that we couldn’t even expect. They’re brilliant, right? He’s got a temper. He can be caring when he wants to. There’s so many moods he can go to, but they still fit his core character. We can’t be happier with how the Devil’s been represented.

JM: Jared, you have this brand new game coming… on June 30th, “The Delicious Last Course”. And during The Game Awards this past year, there was this whole musical number involving that. Tell me about how that musical number, which has gotten a lot of attention, came together?

Jar.Mol.: We wanted to do something with a little bit bigger of a splash. It’s been a long time coming that we’re finally gonna get “The Delicious Last Course” out to the fans. When we had this opportunity to do something bigger at The Game Awards, and it was presented that it could be a song & dance type of thing, which matches so thoroughly with the ’30s rubber hose musicality and the whole Netflix series singing songs and joy. With our composer Kris Maddigan, we were like, “Why shouldn’t we do something to let his music shine?” It’s such amazing musicianship. So we teamed-up to do a little ’30s revival song & dance number leading to a puppet trailer, which was created by Screen Novelties. The whole feeling of it — that whole olden era celebration, it was so exciting. I’m glad all the fans also enjoyed it.

JM: And that must be really something to be making a game and a television show at the same time. Is it as crazy as it sounds?

CM: Yeah, but it has the one layer of crazier because we’re making a game based on old TV that got turned into TV that’s based on old TV. It’s this whole weird… coming full circle but also on an infinite loop, so it messes with your head a little bit, but in a good way.

JM: (laughs) And Dave, you have worked with Mickey Mouse and the Looney Tunes and also directed The Buzz on Maggie, which I remember watching on the Disney Channel years ago. Where does this experience with Cuphead rank for you among your animation career?

DW: Oh my God! Well this has been a huge career highlight. I knew early on when I first was applying to get the gig I was like, “If I get this, this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity.” Absolutely. It’s taken all the skill that I’ve learned over the years to do this. I think if I had gotten this job any earlier in my life, I don’t think I would’ve been prepared for it. It’s all the experience and all the knowledge that I’ve gained that has all poured into this. We also got really lucky and got an incredible crew. It’s been great. So good. I love all those cartoons of that era and to be handed something from Chad & Jared that was so visually complete and suggested so many different locations… it was a visual smorgasbord of things to pick and choose from. Incredible. To take that and turn those into solid, fully realized characters, it’s been incredible.

JM: Smorgasbord is the right word… and also plethora. It’s a plethora of cartoon love that you get to see with The Cuphead Show! Before we go, I’m gonna give each of you a Lightning Round question. Chad, what is your other favorite animation comedy duo of all-time?

CM: I think that one’s pretty easy: Ren and Stimpy.

JM: Nice! Jared, fill in the blank: Cup of ____. What’s the go-to drink as you’re trying to get energized in making this show?

Jar.Mol.: Cup of Joe. There is definitely something where you burn the midnight oil. You put in the extra work and you need A LOT of extra caffeine to keep going.

JM: I bet! Good choice. And Dave, if Cuphead was able to travel back in time to some of those other classic cartoon eras… which classic cartoon character do you think Cuphead would get along with the most?

DW: Wow. I’ve thought about this! I would actually love to see Cuphead meet Popeye. I think it would be great to see an adventure between Cuphead and Popeye.

JM: Yes! I think with their personalities they’d get along well. You are right!

DW: Yes. Both pretty scrappy. Feisty. They’d be fun to watch together.