Working from home, there have been problems with slow internet speed (an issue unintentionally demonstrated with technical glitches throughout this Q&A), but also aspects of convenience.Ĭurrently The Cuphead Show is estimated to premiere in Summer of 2021, though further delays aren't out of the question. Nobody knows, because they haven't finished an episode yet! Under normal circumstances, production would take 10 months from writing to completion, but the pandemic has slowed production down. One question that sounded simple but proved harder to answer is how long it takes to make an episode. However, according to Wasson, "at the end of the day, we wanted to look like it was animated on pencil and paper, so we’re using high tech equipment to make it look analog." The show keeps up the 1930s visual style, but the pacing is described as "snappier" than that of cartoons from that era.
Unlike with the game, which spent seven years in development, it simply wasn't possible to animate this series entirely with pencil-and-paper techniques. RELATED: Looney Tunes Artist Responds to Elmer Fudd Rifle Controversy Segurson focused on Ub Iwerks, the original designer of Mickey Mouse who went on to form his own studio after splitting with Disney, who "was using music in a way other studios weren’t using music at the time." Fernandez brought up some specific titles, the Disney short "Music Land" and the Fleischer Superman cartoons, as influencing the colors and background art. Segurson made it clear than he and Wasson are "old people," and though he couldn't play the game himself, he loved that "the game introduced a generation of kids to a style of animation that isn’t done as much any more."ĭiscussing the show's artistic influences, Wasson listed off all the classic cartoons you'd expect: Fleischer, Disney, Warner Bros. Fernandez put it most succinctly in answering "I had fun for like two seconds and then got bored of dying." Wasson watched his son get slightly further than him in the game, then resorted to watching YouTube videos to enjoy the rest of it. He’s a very juicy character, he’s a lot of fun to work with." Segurson noted, "Obviously a character called the Devil can go so many ways, and because we wanted the show to be funny, we leaned into his vanity." Annecy's "Work in Progress" video for The Cuphead Show offers up a taste of this entertainingly evil character, including an excerpt from one of the show's many musical numbers.Īll three crew members share similar feelings about the game: love and admiration for its art and characters, intimidation by its ridiculous difficulty. Wasson describes him as "very flamboyant and arrogant and he has a lot of style and panache.
The one boss everyone raved about was the series' main villain, the Devil. As far as villains go, all the bosses from the game are being worked into the series, though details are being kept secret for now.