Program development for an animated series titled Rabble Hypothesis.
rab⋅ble1 [rab-uhl] noun, verb, -bled, -bling. A tumultuous or confused collection of things, a disorganized or disorderly crowd of people. c.1300, “pack of animals.”
hy⋅poth⋅e⋅sis [hahy-poth-uh-sis, hi-] a proposition,or set of propositions, set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena
I’m a cartoon band groupie. Especially if that cartoon band has its own TV series that includes a laugh track. A cartoon band, sometimes called a virtual band is any group whose members are not organic musicians, but animated or puppeteered characters. In some cases, bands like the Gorillaz, will list the illustrations as the writers and performers of the songs themselves. Below is one of my favorite cartoon bands The Bedrock Rockers. It’s a throwback from the Flintstones Comedy Hour where Pebbles (voiced by Sally Struthers) and Bam-Bam grow into creepy teenagers with their own musical group that preferred the slogan “We’ll have a groovy time” over the “gay old time” of their predecessors.
Some of my favorite musical stimulants came in the form of Saturday morning cartoons. All I needed was a heaping bowl of Lucky Charms and a few rounds of Schoolhouse Rock, and I knew it was going to be a great day. Ocassionaly sitcom families or friends become a rock band for just one episode, but there are a lot of established cartoon musicians. Everyone knows Alvin and the Chipmunks, Jem and the Holograms, and more recently Dethklok, but I’ve always had an affinity for seventies bands like Fat Albert and Josie and the Pussy Cats. Those were the groups that really started to shape my musical tastes in grade school. To see if your favorite cartoon band made the cut check out Flavorwire’s Top 10 Best Songs by Cartoon Musicians.
In honor of my childhood influences I began organizing and developing a concept for an animated series that follows the adventures of a dance and hip hip group of animals. Originally my idea was literally about The Rat Pack (a stop motion reality show about four vermin living in Vegas) Eventually I ended up with a band that’s a mixed bag of characters who, despite their different backgrounds, make great dance and hip hop music. Their only problem is that they live in the 70′s and their music is not yet appreciated by the general public. The result is Rabble Hypothesis.The name comes from a now debunked social theory by Frederick Winsow Taylor that states the best was to induce workers to work harder is to offer them more money. This flash animated series is about a group of hooligans who are usually broke and willing to do anything to get a gig. It’s a comedy interspersed with music videos.Their adventures begin when they finally land a break on a cross-country tour of dive bars in some of the strangest towns in America. As I started brainstorming and writing down ideas I realized that ultimately I created a Pitch Bible. It began with the logline and synopsis but I eventually even had a treatment. In my research on pitch books I learned the term treatment came about from when a studio would ask a writer to read a novel the studio had optioned or purchased and to write down how he or she would treat the novel as a screenplay.
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TITLE: Rabble Hypothesis
FORM/PAGES: Animation/ Script DRAFT/DATE: 1st/5-30-12
LOCALE: Cross-country AmericaGENRE: Comedy/Musical CIRCA: 1974
LOG LINE:This cartoon series follows a group of unlikely characters whose only common ground is music and the bonds they’ve made getting themselves out of trouble. Their mis-adventures and absurd situations are documented as the group tours small town America in the 1970′s.
THE BAND:Rabble Hypothesis is a dance/hip hop group with jazz and reggae influences. The not so legendary crew drops wary but uplifting soul saving grooves. With Hip Hop Anonymous leading the pack, he eloquently nudges you to at least give his lyrics some thought. The crew consists of six members, each with unique personalities and talents.
*Indari, the only female in the group, is a sassy elephant that doesn’t take any flack from the boys.
*Dingo Jones is not actually a monkey but a robot. It just so happens that he also plays a wicked keytar solo. No longer needed for his original function, he provides comic relief for the group as he tries to adjust to life in the human world.
*Leon is the rational one. Cool calm and collected, he keeps the group level headed.
*DJ Emilio was born and raised in Columbia. As the unpredictable wild cardof the crew, he keeps his bandmates on their toes on tour.
*My chemical Romouse is an emo mouse. He’s shy and has a reputiation of being kind of a dirtbag sometimes but he always manages to get the crew out of trouble when they need it.