Rick and Morty Dresses Up as Claymation for Halloween

We’ve seen Rick and Morty in Claymation kind earlier than, however by no means in a standalone Claymation brief—till now. That’s all due to Lee Hardcastle, the animator who created a string of sci-fi parodies for the smash-hit collection earlier than Adult Swim tapped him to create this yr’s Halloween particular.

While followers await Rick and Morty correct to return from hiatus—the remainder of season six begins November 20—they’ll take pleasure in Hardcastle’s creepy, surreal “Summer’s Sleepover” as slightly vacation deal with. io9 received an opportunity to talk with Hardcastle over video chat to be taught extra. You can watch the brief right here; what follows is a barely edited for readability and condensed model of our interview.

Cheryl Eddy, io9: How did you come to be concerned with Rick and Morty?

Lee Hardcastle: I used to be contacted by Adult Swim fairly just a few years in the past to do some [station identifications], the brief 10-second issues play in between the TV applications simply to remind the viewer they’re watching Adult Swim. I did fairly just a few of them, and that developed into doing Rick and Morty ones. I began out doing Rick and Morty parodies of mad scientist movies—like Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Re-Animator, The Fly. Adult Swim simply saved asking me to do extra, so I ended up making about 36 of them, and I’ve been doing that for about three or 4 years. Then final yr they requested me if I wished to do a brief movie, in order that’s how that happened.

io9: The set-up seems prefer it’s impressed by the slumber get together scene from season 4’s “Rattlestar Ricklactica”—however is “Summer’s Sleepover” your unique thought in any other case? How a lot artistic management did you will have?

Hardcastle: It was all my thought, my entire factor, my mission. I often do plenty of cinematic violence in animation kind—I’ve continually received pretend blood on my fingers on a regular basis. [Hardcastle holds up blood-stained hands as proof.] So I used to be going for that angle as a result of [I thought that’s] what they had been wanting me to do. But they stated they had been having an issue with the violence and stuff, and I wished to keep away from that. So that led me down a special route that I wouldn’t have in any other case have gone down. That was the one type of interference or steering. But aside from that, it was fairly free rein. It was a little bit of a wierd course of as a result of I’ve by no means been requested to do something like this earlier than, so I didn’t actually know what to anticipate. [Mostly] they simply let me get on with it. It’s all the time been fairly like that with Adult Swim, truly.

io9: Why did you resolve to make Summer the principle character?

Hardcastle: So yeah—one element I forgot to say, once they approached me, they stated “We’d like to do a Rick and Morty one-off, but the ones we’ve done previously have always been about Rick and Morty, so we’d like to do one that focused a bit more on one of the other family members.” So that’s why we ended up focusing much more on Summer and protecting Rick and Morty within the backseat.

io9: Did the concept for setting it at a sleepover come from horror motion pictures?

Hardcastle: Yeah, precisely. Like I stated, I used to be going for a bit extra of a violent, scary angle to start with, and the preliminary thought was all the time a sleepover and issues going unsuitable, mainly. I believe it’s a very good setting and, you already know, the concept of staying over at another person’s home—particularly when you had been to say over at Rick and Morty’s home, the place you’ve received a mad scientist within the basement and one thing’s all the time going to go unsuitable. So it was an ideal scenario for me to only really feel secure as a narrative author.

io9: What impressed the design of the monsters?

Hardcastle: To be trustworthy, I used to be taking a look at Gizmo from Gremlins. I simply wished to do one thing that was a rip-off of that, mainly, and I attempted to make it as ridiculous as I may. I used to be simply making an attempt to some up with one thing I may manipulate in a foolish type of manner, and that’s what I got here up with.

io9: Was The Thing additionally an inspiration? How does it really feel to be making the Halloween brief for Rick and Morty?

Hardcastle: I imply, The Thing has all the time been a giant inspiration all through my work typically. But for this one, yeah, positively with the creature becoming a much bigger creature and issues are coming out of it, that positively was impressed from The Thing. I’ve by no means been requested to do something like this, so it was fairly an honor and fairly a privilege—fairly thrilling to be acknowledged as somebody that does this type of stuff. I’ve all the time type of aspired to be a horror movie director as properly, so it felt fairly good, fairly particular.

io9: How lengthy did it take to make this brief from begin to end?

Hardcastle: It was about 4 months all in all.

io9: There are just a few different names within the credit aside from yours, however I assume this was principally a one-man present?

Hardcastle: So, it’s a 10-minute brief movie, and I used to be feeling plenty of strain as a result of I used to be truly anticipating a child as a first-time dad or mum throughout the manufacturing. So I used to be making an attempt to complete the manufacturing and racing in opposition to the organic clock on the infant arriving. To make it simpler, I got here up with this concept of going into various kinds of animation simply to share the workload; I received different animators concerned to only contribute brief little clips. [In the narrative, that worked out by having] the creature undergo totally different multiverses, totally different mediums. And in order that’s how that happened.

io9: I used to be going to ask about that, as a result of it seems like there’s not less than one part that’s CG as a substitute of Claymation. Is that the case?

Speaker 2: Yeah! There’s truly some CG in there that appears like Claymation. I wished to bridge the hole so [viewers] had been confused—am I watching Claymation or CG? Then it goes into full-blown CG. I used to be making an attempt to [go that route] so [the CG] wasn’t in your face instantly. I’ve by no means had any CG in my animations as a result of it’s not one thing that I understand how to do personally. So that is the primary time I’ve had CG concerned and received any individual else to do it. And I’ve all the time been fairly blown away by how good it seems as properly.

io9: There’s no dialogue within the brief, however the soundtrack is sort of attention-grabbing. How did you do the sound design for it?

Hardcastle: They requested me if I wished any voice-over actors concerned, however to maintain issues easy, I simply saved it as a silent movie. I handed over my brief movie a yr in the past, and I used to be left at the hours of darkness slightly bit about what the method was going to be with the sound. And then I received the sound about two, three weeks in the past, and I noticed it for the primary time, and it was all a little bit of a shock for me. I’ve by no means had that course of earlier than the place somebody’s simply performed the sound for me and stated, “Well, here it is.” I’ve all the time form of been concerned, so I used to be a bit disenchanted that I wasn’t concerned within the course of. So I responded to the observe that was offered and simply requested if I may change just a few scenes that didn’t really feel fairly proper, and I spent about two, three days simply checking out the soundtrack mainly. Then I despatched that again to them and so they simply accepted it; they didn’t actually give any suggestions, simply stated, “Ok. Great, cool.” So yeah, the audio is attention-grabbing as a result of it went by way of a little bit of a Frankenstein course of. I like that about it, I like that sense of rawness relating to animation.

io9: So it’s slightly bit you, slightly bit Adult Swim.

Hardcastle: Yeah. And the man that was doing it had actually good, polished, type of TV manufacturing library music, all that form of factor. What I delivered to it, I form of grunged it up a bit, and I believe that works for the narrative as a result of we’re type of leaping between two totally different worlds. So you’re left with this type of spacey, wonky sound in comparison with a pleasant polished TV manufacturing sound. It has an excessive to it.

io9: Is the largest publicity your Claymation work has had, or what else have you ever performed prior to now that folks would have seen?

Hardcastle: Actually final week I used to be concerned with one other Justin Roiland mission known as The Paloni Show, which is on Hulu. And once more, I’ve by no means been requested to do a brief movie. So I did a three-minute brief that’s in that. But aside from that, I’ve all the time been the form of man that’s simply received plenty of bits concerned in stuff. There’s a movie known as The ABCs of Death that got here out in 2012, and I’ve received a brief bit in that. But most of what folks know and acknowledge me from is my YouTube channel.

io9: Have you gotten any suggestions but on “Summer’s Sleepover” from Justin Roiland or Dan Harmon or any of the opposite Rick and Morty folks?

Hardcastle: No. [Laughs.] I used to be approached a couple of yr and a half in the past to do the brief, and the quantity of suggestions that I’ve had on it has been just about subsequent to nothing. I’m fairly excited for it to be broadcast as a result of I need to know what folks suppose!

io9: Rick and Morty followers are notoriously concerned within the present—are you apprehensive in any respect in regards to the response, or are you simply excited?

Hardcastle: I’m excited. I’m not fearful or something. It’s been such a very long time for it to return out, I’m simply glad for it to be going out. But as for the followers, I don’t actually care an excessive amount of in the event that they obtain it properly or not. I assume that’s all a part of the enjoyable for me. If they prefer it, they prefer it… in the event that they don’t, they don’t. I’m simply actually wanting ahead to it popping out and seeing what the result’s.

Rick and Morty’s Halloween particular “Summer’s Sleepover” debuted on Adult Swim final night time; it’s now obtainable on HBO Max and YouTube. Rick and Morty season six resumes November 20 on Adult Swim.