little animal

Strong Bad Email #23

watch ← sb_email 22 the bird →

"A little animal comes up to me... I'd kick it."

This article is about the email where Strong Bad is asked what he would do if a little animal came up to him. For the email where Strong Bad makes up an animal, see animal.

Ashley and Anthony ask what Strong Bad would do if a little animal came up to him.

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, The Cheat, Strong Mad, Old-Timey Strong Bad (Easter egg), Strong Man (Easter egg), The Sneak (Easter egg)

Places: Computer Room, The Field (Old-Timey version; Easter egg)

Computer: Tandy 400

Date: Monday, April 15, 2002

Running Time: 1:16

Page Title: Tandy 400!!!

DVD: strongbad_email.exe Disc One

SBEmail Menu Description: The origin story of kicking The Cheat.

Transcript

STRONG BAD: Oh! What's this? An email? For me?!

What would you do if a little animal came
up to you.

crapfully yours,
Ashley and Anthony

STRONG BAD: {typing} Um, I don't really know. Let's find out. {He turns left and calls for The Cheat.} Oh, The Cheat! Come here for a moment!

{The Cheat comes to Strong Bad.}

THE CHEAT: {The Cheat noises}

STRONG BAD: Ummmm...

{Strong Bad kicks The Cheat hard, causing him to fly offscreen. Strong Bad turns back to the computer and resumes typing.}

STRONG BAD: So, there's your answer. A little animal comes up to me... I'd kick it. {stops typing} Okay so until next week, everything is awesome an—

{Suddenly, Strong Mad appears next to Strong Bad looking very angry. He is gnashing his teeth at Strong Bad.}

STRONG BAD: Oh, er, hey big guy. Er, you know, I's just kicking The Cheat.

{The Cheat appears beside Strong Mad, also looking angry. Strong Mad leans in menacingly.}

STRONG BAD: Er, it's a little joke. You know we got the people watching at home. Just trying to be kind of funny for 'em, with the joke. A joke-kick... {rapidly} I'ma kick you, too!! {kicks Strong Mad's knee}

STRONG MAD: RAAAAH!!

{Music starts playing as Strong Bad runs away across the room with Strong Mad chasing behind him. The Paper comes down. The chase scene loops continuously and the music eventually fades.}

Easter Eggs

• Once Strong Bad starts running, click on his head or hit the 'o' key to toggle between a modern-style chase and an Old-Timey-style chase.

Fun Facts

Explanations

• While Strong Mad chases Strong Bad through the house, they pass by the computer repeatedly in a manner similar to that of older cartoons, especially Tom and Jerry, where the background would paradoxically repeat itself over and over. This process was actually created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera in 1947 and was done in animation to save time and money, since only a section of background had to be drawn and was then looped over and over.

Trivia

• This email marks the first appearance of the Floppy Disk Container.
• This was the first email that was created with an Easter egg that opens in the same page as the email itself (sb_email 22 was actually created much later).
• This is the first instance of Strong Bad kicking The Cheat on the site.
• This is the first appearance of Strong Man and The Sneak.
• This is the first appearance of Strong Mad in a Strong Bad Email.
• The YouTube description for this email is "The origin story of kicking The Cheat."

Remarks

• The Old-Timey chase scene loops every 7 frames (about 103 times a minute), which is slightly slower than the normal chase scene's 6 frames (120 times a minute).
• When switching to the Old-Timey chase, The Paper is still in color.
• Because Strong Mad's heavy breathing mouth animation simply consists of scaling and stretching it, his teeth change size and shape as he breathes.

Goofs

• Strong Bad's right arm disappears right after he kicks Strong Mad and starts running, until the cut to the repeated background.
• During the chase, Strong Mad's left arm overlaps Strong Bad's head for a few frames in each loop.
• When Strong Bad is about to kick The Cheat, the kicking sound effect is a bit too early.

Glitches

• The Tandy's contrast buttons can still be clicked on while Strong Bad is running. It is also possible to adjust the contrast when Strong Mad is in front of the Tandy.
• When The Cheat and Strong Mad appear, the contrast on the Tandy cannot be changed. However, the buttons still act the same when you pass the cursor over one to click it. This occurs even while Strong Mad's frame is covering them.

Inside References

• The music played when Strong Mad chases Strong Bad is from the montage in Where's The Cheat?.

Fast Forward

• In do over, Strong Bad imagines how he would correct the "stnank" he commits in this email.

DVD Version

The Future… Sorta.

• Selecting a hidden Strong Bad head in front of Strong Mad's foot will play an alternate version of the Old-Timey Easter egg. The Paper changes to the "Supra Modern Telegram", the music changes to "Now I'll Do a Dance", and Old-Timey Strong Bad speaks:

  OLD-TIMEY STRONG BAD: Dear feets. Stop. Don't fail me now! Stop. Signed, Strong Bad.

After the Easter egg plays, it returns to looping the regular version of the ending.

Fun Facts

• Old-Timey Strong Bad's dialog is done in the style of a telegram, referencing his Easter egg appearances in 50 emails and flashback (which were released between the creation of this email and the production of the DVD).

External Links

• watch "little animal"
• watch "little animal" on YouTube
• watch "little animal" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "little animal"