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Breadwinners is an American animated television series created by Gary "Doodles" Di Raffaele and Steve Borst for Nickelodeon. Two anthropomorphic, duck best friends, SwaySway (Robbie Daymond) and Buhdeuce (Eric Bauza) fly around the water-based planet, Pondgea, in a rocket-powered van delivering bread to their customers.

The series was originally conceived as an animated short from Di Raffaele's efficiency apartment in Studio City, Los Angeles along with Borst. The two had previously met in Burbank while working on an animated series, Mad, in 2012. Originally a one-off, Breadwinners premiered at a short film festival held at a bar in New York, and later was linked to the network, where they were contacted and the show was developed into a full fledged series. It premiered on February 17, 2014 as a "sneak beak" with mixed to negative critical reception.

Synopsis

Two anthropomorphic, duck best friends, SwaySway (Robbie Daymond) and Buhdeuce (Eric Bauza) fly around the water-based planet, Pondgea, in a rocket-powered van delivering bread to their customers. SwaySway, tall, thin and neon green, is the leader of the duo, and although he does not always use the best judgment, he is quite skilled at flying the van. Buhdeuce, short and round, is klutzier, but is also an enthusiastic and a loyal assistant to SwaySway. Often times when they get in over their heads, they will "level up", or transform (in a similar vein to video game characters) into a variety of forms they need to solve their problems.

Among the other main characters in the show include:

• Jelly, the Breadwinners' pet frog who fetches, pants and drools like a dog (Alexander Polinsky).
• T-Midi, a timid owl who is the Breadwinners' best customer. He speaks with a British accent and wears a tuxedo (S. Scott Bullock).
• Ketta, a white bird and a master mechanic. The Breadwinners go to her when they need upgrades or repairs to the rocket van (Kari Wahlgren).
• "The Bread Maker", a legendary figure who lives in the bread mines and can be summoned via rubbing a magical toaster (Fred Tatasciore).
• Rambamboo, a female, orange toad and a police officer. She teaches driving classes, and has been depicted as strict and impatient (Audrey Wasilewski).

Production

Breadwinners was created by Gary "Doodles" Di Raffaele and Steve Borst. It was conceived as a four-and-a-half minute animated short from Di Raffaele's efficiency apartment in Studio City, Los Angeles (dubbed the "Doodle Chamber"). The two had previously met in Burbank while working on an animated series, Mad, in 2012. The protagonists, originally unnamed, were drawn by Di Raffaele as part of a collaboration with Borst. Both were drawn tossing a piece of bread up in the air; Di Raffaele explained that the premise came as an extension of his appetite for bread, a staple of meals from his Italian-American upbringing, with friends sometimes calling him a "duck". The latter responded positively to the drawing, saying that he could produce something from it.

The short was written by Borst and produced by Di Raffaele in Adobe Flash over the course of two months. Daymond, who provides the voice of SwaySway, was found on a casting call website and invited into the apartment of Di Raffaele to audition. Originally a one-off, Breadwinners premiered at a short film festival held at a bar in New York, where they wanted to entertain their colleagues. The short was uploaded to YouTube to positive reception, and after obtaining 10,000 to 15,000 views on its first week, Borst explained, "it just took on a life of its own." The creators linked it to Nickelodeon after users expressed wanting more. Upon receiving an inquiry from a Nickelodeon executive, Di Raffaele was doubtful of the offer, joking that "I thought it was spam". After several months, the creators were hired to expand the short into a full-fledged series.

Actions in the series play out metronomically—that is, episodes are built around an underlying soundtrack, scored by Tommy Sica (who used to play in a band with Di Raffaele) and recorded before the animation phase. This process entails events in the show unfolding at a faster rate than most animated series like it. Test audiences comprised of children were shown to "bounce" accordingly to the beat. Animation is completed at a Titmouse, Inc. studio in Vancouver; like the short, it is also produced in Adobe Flash. A cartoony look was explicitly chosen as the art style, Di Raffaele noted, which gave way for elements such as dark, heavy outlines around the characters. In addition, retro-style video games were the inspiration for the art direction, with a pixel texture applied to backgrounds and the character's shadows.

Broadcast and reception

The series premiered on February 17, 2014 as a "sneak beak" on Nickelodeon, followed by a regular broadcast on February 22, 2014. It had been ordered for a 20-episode first season a year prior. Its original broadcast garnered roughly 2.8 million viewers, ranking 81st of the top 100 cable shows for adults aged 18 to 49. The network announced a month later in a press release that the show had risen as the top-rated show for kids aged two to eleven, averaging 1.7 million viewers and a Nielsen rating of 5.3. A second season, also consisting of 20 episodes, was announced in May 2014.

The series received mixed to negative critical reception. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media assessed its reliance on toilet humor as questionable while giving credit to the strength of the protagonists' friendship. She particularly praised the bread-related puns sometimes uttered by characters but acknowledged that "they're not likely to strike the same chord of hilarity with your kids." New York Daily News writer David Hinckley linked its style of humor as enticing to its target demographic. He ultimately stated that it "sprinkles in a few grownup jokes, particularly bread-related puns, but it aims mostly at the younger set."

Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Robert Lloyd found its visual style oddly pleasant and identified a slew of potential influences and references. While he saw the humor as "loud and often gross," the end result was "basically genial." Tori Michel of About.com dubbed its use of mixed media interesting, yet headache-inducing for parents. While she called the concept and the characters "definitely original," she stressed that its crude humor may call for avoiding it altogether for some parents. Tom Conroy of Media Life Magazine wrote poorly of the show, finding it unfunny throughout. He specified its "noisy and violent" content as too much for little kids as well as being "too stupid for big kids."

Episodes

Explanatory notes

1. It was established that Di Raffaele and Borst applied for the the Midsummer Night Toons festival in New York City.
2. Cold Hard Flash is an entertainment and news website dedicated to media produced with Adobe Flash, founded by Aaron Simpson.

References

1. ^ James, Meg (February 7, 2014). "Has Nickelodeon found its new bread winner?". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. pp. 1–3 (paginated). Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
2. ^ Keady, Cameron (March 7, 2014). "Duck Tales". Time for Kids. 4 (19). Time Inc. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
3. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (February 2014). "Nick's Plucky Newcomers". Animation. 28 (3): 32. ISSN 1041-617X. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
4. Simpson, Aaron (January 30, 2014). "Watch a Sneak Preview of Nick's Breadwinners". Cold Hard Flash. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
5. Simpson, Aaron (February 25, 2013). "About Cold Hard Flash". Cold Hard Flash. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
6. "Nickelodeon breaks bread with brand-new animated series Breadwinners, delivering Monday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT)" (Press release). Burbank, California: Viacom International. January 21, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
7. Andreeva, Nellie (February 26, 2013). "Nickelodeon Hits 'Reset' Button, Orders Toon Series Breadwinners, Renews TMNT". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
8. Bibel, Sara (February 19, 2014). "Monday Cable Ratings: WWE Raw Wins Night, Basketball Wives, Single Ladies, Teen Wolf, Switched at Birth & More". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
9. "Nickelodeon's New Animated Series Breadwinners Quickly Rises to Number 1" (Press release). Viacom International. March 18, 2014. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014 – via TV by the Numbers. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
10. ^ Patten, Dominic (May 8, 2014). "Nickelodeon Renews Breadwinners For Second Season". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014. Cite error: The named reference "Patten 2014" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
11. Ashby, Emily (February 14, 2014). "Breadwinners". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
12. Hinckley, David (February 17, 2014). "Cartoon ducks take a quack at baking in Nickelodeon's rewarding Breadwinners". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
13. Lloyd, Robert (February 17, 2014). "Review: Breadwinners gets its genial ducks in a row on Nickelodeon". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
14. Michel, Tori (June 25, 2014). "Is Breadwinners a Winner?". About.com. IAC/InterActiveCorp. Archived from the original on July 10, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
15. Conroy, Tom (February 11, 2014). "Breadwinners, ducks deserve better". Media Life Magazine. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

External links

• Official website
• Breadwinners at IMDb
• Template:Bcdb title
• Template:Tv.com show

Template:Nickelodeon original series and Nicktoons

• 2014 American television series debuts
• 2010s Nickelodeon shows
• 2010s American animated television series
• American children's comedy series
• Animated comedy television series
• Animated duos
• Animated sitcoms
• English-language television programming
• Flash cartoons
• Fictional ducks
• Nicktoons
• Television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters