fosters home for imaginary friends

Mac and Bloo, the two main characters, also served as the hosts of Cartoon Network's "Cartoon Summer" promotion from May 29 (Memorial Day in the USA) through September 4 (Labor Day) of 2006, mostly during prime time Monday through Thursday nights. In addition, in that same year, Mac and Blooregard are serving as the North American spokescharacters for Trick or Treat for UNICEF.

Overview

Inspiration

When McCracken and his wife, Lauren Faust, adopted a pair of dogs from a California animal shelter, McCracken wondered what the dogs' lives were like before he got them. From this, the idea for Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends was created.

Animation technique

The show is produced in-house and overseas using computer vector graphics programs, including Adobe Flash, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe After Effects. This all-digital animation method is relatively inexpensive.

Mac's name could be pun or tribute to the original name of the Adobe Flash program, Macromedia Flash.

The World of Fosters

In this world, imaginary friends become real the instant a child imagines them. Unfortunately for the imaginary friends, the children outgrow them. When that happens, the friends are left to fend for themselves. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends was founded by the elderly Madame Foster to provide a foster home (hence the title) for abandoned imaginary friends; their motto is "Where good ideas are not forgotten." There are (according to "Setting A President") 1,340 imaginary friends at Foster's Home. It has been suggested that the house itself may, in fact, be imaginary. In one episode when they get the house a security system, careful viewing reveales that the code Mr. Herriman entered "at random" to lock the house is 7-5-8-7-5-8-2-9-5-2-2-8-7-2-8-7-1-8.

The show is not clear on exactly what city or state the events are set in. In the episode "Squeeze The Day", the Foster's friends are at a beach while Bloo watches a weather station on cable, which is reporting on the weather in Topeka and Spokane. In "A Lost Claus", it is seen that in winter there is snow. In "Imposter's Home For Um…Make 'Em Up Pals", the new imaginary friend, Goofball John McGee, says he is from Canada. These clues place the setting somewhere vaguely in the northern half of United States. In the episode " Bus The Two Of Us" We can partly see a sign for Northern New Hampshire. Even though the setting is never explicitly stated, there is some set formula on where everything is mapped out in the world where Foster's takes place. For instance, Mac lives in a row of apartments. Cheese and Louise live on the apartment to the left from Mac, while The Applebees (who appear in "Duchess of Wails" and "Infernal Slumber") live on the right. Fosters is walking distance from Mac's apartment complex, (Mac, himself, walks to Fosters and then back home every day). The foster house is located at 1123 Wilson Way, as stated at various points throughout the series. Old-Man Rivers lives across the street from Fosters according to "Neighbor Pains". In "Infernal Slumber", it is revealed that Goo lives in an apartment building as well, suggesting that the show takes place in a city.

In-jokes

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is known to attract older viewers with its quirky humor and odd plots. Hidden throughout the show are jokes, parodies, puns, and references aimed at older children and young adults, while the sarcastic, wise-cracking Bloo is a typical character among standard children's fare.

Cultural references

Pop culture is referenced with episode titles, parts of plots, and in-jokes, such as a stylized version of the Nintendo GameCube that the imaginary friends often play video games on, one of which is a parody of the 1979 arcade game, Galaxian. Another example is the statue of Elwood P. Dowd in the episode "Challenge of the SuperFriends"; Elwood P. Dowd imagined the "original" imaginary friend, the title character of Harvey, and is described in the episode as a "founding father."

In "Infernal Slumber," while trying to convince Terrence that the presence of Goo and the imaginary friends in Mac's apartment is part of a dream, Bloo strokes a log he is holding and speaks in a strange voice meant to sound like he's speaking backwards. This is a reference to Twin Peaks; in Agent Dale Cooper's dream, he meets a dwarf called the Man from another place whose speech is played backwards, and a recurring Twin Peaks character called the Log Lady speaks to and receives information from a log she carries with her.

Similarly, there are references to Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Nearing the end of "Bus the Two of Us" the episode, Mac prevents Bloo from picking up a hitchhiker wearing a bathrobe and holding a sign that reads, "MAGRATHEA". Also, in "Setting A President", Bloo says "If you want 2+3=42, vote for me."

At the end of the episode "Sweet Stench of Success", Eduardo is shown in a potato suit, rather than his soap themed costume. He is holding a potato and saying: "Potatoes, Potatoes..." It then reverts to his original costume, because Mac, Bloo, Coco, and Wilt are staring at him. Eduardo then holds up the potato and states: "This Spuds for you!" This is a reference to a Budweiser comercial, where someone says: "This Buds for you!"

In "Who Let the Dogs in?" when Frankie is trying to calm Mr. Herriman down Bloo walks by and says "Frankie says relax" a reference to the 1980s one-hit wonder "Relax" by Frankie goes to Hollywood and the actual phrase being derived from the popular shirt worn by the song's fans.

"The Big Picture" shows Bloo looking for a prankster imaginary friend, muttering "Where's Wally, where's Wally..." This is a reference to the Where's Waldo books. Also, Bloo's "logical explanation" is similar to a Star Trek situation. Another explanation seems similar to an incident in the cancelled show Time Squad, while the "galactic overlord" references the cosmic deities created by Jack Kirby, in particular Marvel's Galactus.

Mature in-jokes

There has been also some more mature humor, including Mr. Herriman's addiction to carrots and Mac's hyperactivism, both references to drug addiction. This content also extends to the nudism of numerous characters (specially Mac and Madame Foster). In one episode, Mac and Bloo mention they're going to watch a movie for adults which is implied to be a pornographic movie, when in fact it is shown to be a boring Howard's End type film that only adults (and apparently Bloo) can understand.

Characters

Main articles: List of main characters in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and List of secondary characters in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

Humans

• Mac — Mac is a bright eight(now nine)-year-old boy who lives with his mom and older brother Terrence. Mac almost always knows what to do when there is a problem.
• Francis "Frankie" Foster — Frankie is Madame Foster's 22-year-old granddaughter. She does almost every chore around the house and helps keep everything in order and, although Mr. Herriman's fixation with rules and cleanliness causes her tremendous stress, she is usually very friendly and easy-going.
• Madame Foster — Madame Foster is the founder of the Foster home. She is elderly, but she has a lot of spunk and loves to play tricks on others. Her imaginary friend is Mr. Herriman, whom she imagined when she was a child and never gave up.
• Terrence — Terrence is Mac's older brother. Exceptionally dense and lacking any sense of compassion, he constantly bullies Mac and Bloo.
• Goo — Goo is a friend of Mac who named herself Goo Goo Gaga when she was a baby because that was all she knew how to say, but her nickname (just to make things simpler) is Goo. Goo has an over-active imagination and has imagined over 750 friends.
• Mac and Terrence's Mother - Mac's mom who first appeared in the "House of Bloo's" pilot episode, is a 35-year-old woman. Her face is never shown in any of the episodes.

Imaginary Friends

• Blooregard Q. Kazoo — Blooregard, called Bloo for short, is Mac's best friend. He's a small, wise-cracking, blue blob who gets into trouble because of his mischievous mind and attention-craving ego. Bloo is extremely selfish and is often seen acting and behaving with no regard to anyone around him (such as eating all the food that Mac brought for their camping trip or throwing a bowl of chips on the ground when Wilt gets him the wrong variety, telling him to clean it up and get him the correct flavor). Despite being very irresponsible and unruly, Bloo is fairly intelligent and good at scheming out complex plans (which also supports his other personality quirk; his ability to manipulate others). Unlike the other friends who live at Foster's, Bloo is not up for adoption because of an agreement between Mac and Madame Foster.
• Eduardo — Eduardo is an imaginary protector friend who speaks "Spanglish." With his huge horns, purple hair, skull buckle, and grey pants, he resembles a Wild Thing from Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. His appearance scares people away. Unfortunately, Eduardo harbors a cowardly streak a mile long. In spite of his almost constant state of terror, he is unbelievably strong, but rarely uses his strength. He can, however, be trusted to come to his friends' rescue whenever they are in trouble.
• Wilt — Wilt is a tall, red, imaginary friend with a stubby left arm and a crooked left eyestalk. Wilt enjoys basketball and is generally very easy-going. He will always aid a friend in small tasks, prides himself on rescuing abandoned imaginary friends, and sometimes helps Frankie around the house. His defining aspect is his sense of fair play and good sportsmanship, which he applies to every part of life he can. Wilt also is extremely courteous, to a fault (he's often willing to perform anything asked of him, even if he has to go entirely out of his way to do so) and apologizes almost constantly. His name is an obvious homage to NBA star Wilt Chamberlain.
• Coco — Coco is a bird-airplane-palm tree imaginary friend who can only speak or write the word "coco" at various speeds and with different emphasis. One way to understand her is to break down each "coco" into syllables and then apply them to the situation. The other characters understand her without any apparent difficulty. In the pilot episode, Mr. Herriman appears surprised that Mac is able to understand her. The characters often repeat what she says, or close to it, so the conversation is understood by them. She can also lay plastic eggs with different items inside them (that can range from cans of soup to a large pile of money). Her personality is somewhat independent, not liking to be bossed around and unafraid to snap if someone becomes too pushy for her liking. However, she is also sensitive and can have her feelings hurt (as she shows in the episode "Cuckoo for Coco Cards" where she holds a grudge against Bloo for the entire episode when he mistreats her).
• Mr. Herriman — Mr. Herriman is a giant rabbit created by Madame Foster herself. He is often seen wearing a tuxedo coat and a stovepipe hat as well as a monocle over his right eye (though it periodically changes eyes, depending on which way he faces). He serves as the president of the home, expects the inhabitants to follow his rules (which he lists in a very big book that he keeps in his office) and prefers to have as many things around him in his control and rigidly scheduled down to the very minute. He is very formal and well-mannered, which leaves his tolerance for Bloo lacking in most regards. He hates the outdoors and is easily frightened by the woods (as evidenced by the episode "Camp Keep a Good Mac Down"). Though Frankie is Madame Foster's granddaughter, Mr. Herriman shows absolutely no respect to her and constantly angers her because of his inconsideration of her and her feelings. He often feels obligated to protect his creator (who is often found trying to wiggle around his stuffy attitude to express her free spirit) but doesn't mind to spend some private time with her where he entertains her (shown in the episode "World Wide Wabbit").
• Duchess — Duchess, as she is commonly called (her full name is much longer), is a cross, selfish, ungrateful imaginary friend, resembling a figure from a Cubist painting or a work from Pablo Picasso. Her tail resembles sculpture by the modern artist Alexander Calder. In fact, Duchess is literally two-dimensional, as shown in the episode "Partying Is Such Sweet Soireé". Due to an oath, everyone must cater and care to her every need, although she complains repeatedly, and wishes to leave the foster home. It was revealed in the episode "Duchess of Wails" that Mr. Herriman spends Foster's entire advertising budget to get Duchess out of the house.
• Cheese — This friend, created by Mac's next-door neighbor Louise, is a lactose intolerant (though he seems to ask for milk-based products, despite his intolerance to the foods), pale-yellow friend who debuted in "Mac Daddy." Cheese appears to be somewhat infantile and demented, often saying incoherent phrases and breaking into sudden bouts of screaming (as is his creator but to a lesser degree). Cheese enjoys socializing with real kids and other imaginary friends, despite the fact that he lacks social skills. He goes to Foster's constantly, even though he doesn't live there, often sneaking in and pestering the inhabitants, will agree to leave after being told to by saying "ok," yet still hangs around until it pleases him to leave. Sometimes the other characters will have to force him out (at which point he returns and they attempt to get him to leave again). He was originally thought to have been a second friend Mac created by accident during a dream. He later appears in the episode "The Big Cheese," where he proves to having the ability to memorize sound sequences, this case being a security code by the sequences of beeps and boops the keypad makes (which eventually forces all the inhabitants of the house to try to squeeze the code out of him when everyone is locked outside). Cheese has become popular thanks to regular appearances in Cartoon Network advertisments.

Episode list

Main article: List of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends episodes

This is a complete known episode list for Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Aside from the regular episodes, several two-minute shorts have aired featuring the Foster's characters.

Awards

Annie Awards

The show was nominated for four Annie Awards in 2004, and five more in 2005, winning two awards that year for Best Original Music in a Television Series (James L. Venable and Jennifer Kes Remington for "Duchess of Wails") and Production Design in an Animated TV Series (McCracken with Mike Moon, David Dunnet and Martin Ansolabhere for the Christmas episode "A Lost Claus").

Emmy Awards

The show has won a total of four Emmy Awards. The episode "House of Bloo's" won two Emmy Awards for art direction (Mike Moon) and character design (Craig McCracken). "World Wide Wabbit" won an Emmy for best storyboard (Ed Baker). The show's theme song (described by McCracken as "psychedelic ragtime" and written by Venable) was nominated for Best TV Show Theme in 2005, but lost to Danny Elfman's theme to Desperate Housewives. The episode "Go Goo Go" was nominated for Best Animated Program Under One Hour in 2006, and Character Design supervisor Shannon Tindle won an Emmy that same year for that same episode.

Merchandising

Other than in-house items such as Cartoon Network's internet shop (T-Shirts, a Bloo plush, etc.), there has not been much as far as major products. As of 2006, there has been a statue series with Bloo, Mac, and Eduardo featured in the first statue. Future statues will feature Frankie, Madame Foster, and Mr. Herriman in the summer of 2006, and one with Wilt and Coco will appear around Christmas. Two limited edition gilcee cels — one with the cast posing for a picture, the other styled like an cross-stitch — were also created. Since then, the merchandizing has begun to pick up steam. Burger King had nine toys in a kids meal give-away promotion in April and May of 2006, Scholastic Books has printed activity and story books based on episodes, and the complete first season of episodes were made available on Apple's iTunes downloading service. Future plans include a Game Boy Advance game created by CRAVE Entertainment debuting in the Fall of 2006. And starting in January of 2007, as part of an overall deal with Cartoon Network, Mattel will have items related to the mass marketing of the show.

On February 6, 2007, Warner Home Video will release the complete first season on DVD. [1]

On May 15, 2006, Cartoon Network introduced a new online game, Big Fat Awesome House Party, which allows players to create an online friend to join Bloo and the others in a one-year game online, and earn points that would give them gifts cards and other on-line "merchandise" for their albums and that friend made from one of over 900,000 possible characters could wind up in a future episode of Foster's.

Other countries

Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends is now seen in many languages on various channels worldwide. While most of these are Cartoon Network affiliates (except in Canada, where due to Canadian television rules the show airs on the English and French Teletoon networks), a few are not, mostly over-the-air or terrestrial channels.

In France, it airs on France 3 during the France Truc block, in the Philippines on RPN, in Mexico on Televisa, in Spain on Cuatro TV and in Germany on Super RTL.

Because of translation, the title for the show is not always the same in each language. The titles for the show vary from country to country.

See also

• Big Fat Awesome House Party

External links

• BLOGregard Q. Kazoo, the official production blog for the show.
• The Very Unofficial Guide to Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, a fan site with an interview with McCracken and show information hosted by Toon Zone.
• Never Forgotten, A Foster's fansite maintained by Cynthia "Sparky" Read.
• The full theme song for Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
• Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Live Stage Performance by the Anything Goes School of Masquerade Arts.