Fall Float Parade

"That's very... overt."

Coach Z and Marzipan host the 4Tst Annual Fall Float Parade.

Cast (in order of appearance): Coach Z, Marzipan, Bubs, Pom Pom, Homsar, Homsar, Homestar Runner, Strong Mad, The King of Town, The Poopsmith, The Hornblower, The Knight, Strong Bad, Strong Sad, The Cheat

Places: The Field, Bubs' Concession Stand, Laundry Room of the Brothers Strong (Easter egg)

Date: Monday, November 21, 2005

Running Time: 3:28

Page Title: Reign On, Parade! Reign On!

DVD:Everything Else, Volume 2

Transcript

{A leaf logo appears with the words "The 4Tst Annual Fall Float Parade".}

ANNOUNCER: We now return to the firty-tirst annual fall float parade.

{Cut to Coach Z and Marzipan wearing scarves and earmuffs. Marzipan is holding a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows, and is glaring at Coach Z. Generic marching-style music is playing in the background.}

COACH Z: Okay, den, welcome back. First, please allow me to apologize to my co-host, here, for any inapprapriate comments I may have made while we was at commercial.

MARZIPAN: {nearly under her breath} That's two strikes, Coach Z!

COACH Z: Yes, yes, what fun!

MARZIPAN: {suddenly cheerful} So, next up is good old Bubs.

COACH Z: Yes, good old my favorite type o' guy who I'm just all the time hangin' around and doin' stuff with, Bubs!

{Cut to Bubs on a giant float with the words "COACH Z, YOU JERK" written on a model rainbow, next to a model of Coach Z's head with a no symbol over it. There is a banner hanging on the float that reads, "Happy Thanksgiving!!"}

BUBS: {through a megaphone} Coach Z, you jerk!

MARZIPAN: {surprised; almost sympathetic} Ohhh.

BUBS: Coach Z, you jerk!

COACH Z: Oh, I see then...

BUBS: Coach Z—

COACH Z: That's very—

BUBS: {with more emphasis than before} —you jerk!

COACH Z: —overt.

{Cut to a close-up of a giant balloon in the likeness of Pom Pom.}

COACH Z: Oh, now here's somethin' that doesn't appear to be makin' fun of me. It's the Pam Pam b'loon!

MARZIPAN: That's "Pom Pom balloon" for those of you who don't speak Coach Z. Always a hit with the ladies, that Pom Pom.

{Cut to a wide-shot with the Pom Pom balloon being led offscreen by Pom Pom. A pair of fez-wearing Homsars are coming in behind the balloon driving miniature red cars.}

MARZIPAN: And never a hit with anyone, it's Homsar! Oh, and there's another Homsar.

HOMSARS: {both of them in unison} Let's sing a song of Pennzoil!

{A new float enters the frame behind the two Homsars. This float has a big pile of sweatshirts in the center, a giant shooting star on the front, and a bee suspended by a giant spring on the back. "SWE ATSHIRTS" is printed on the base of the float. Homestar Runner is buried in the pile of sweatshirts with only his head visible.}

COACH Z: Oh, now this is just adorable. Homestar Runner's sweatshirt float.

MARZIPAN: {referring to the noticeable space in the float's wording} Looks more like a "swee-atshirt" float to me.

COACH Z: You say tomater, I zader matermorts.

{Cut to a close-up of Homestar buried in the pile of sweatshirts.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Marzipan, help! I woke up in this pile of swee-atshirts and I don't know how to stop it! I'm s'posed to be watching Bubs' concession stand while he's in some ridiculous parade! {looks down} And I'm pretty sure a rat just bit my knee.

MARZIPAN: Oh, that's great, sweetie. Say hi to that bee for me.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {annoyed} Hi, bee.

{Cut back to the wide shot. Strong Mad walks into the frame carrying Bubs' Concession Stand, which has clearly been ripped out of the ground recently, as there are missing bricks and bits of sod still hanging from the bottom.}

COACH Z: Well, it looks like Bubs has come to his senses and entered a proper float in the parade. 'Attaboy, Bubs!

MARZIPAN: I'm pretty sure that's just Strong Mad absconding with Bubs' Concession Stand.

COACH Z: Oh. Serves him right, then.

{Cut back to Coach Z and Marzipan.}

COACH Z: Oh, and here comes one of my favorites: the K.O.T.H.S. Junior Varsity Marching Band!

{Cut back to the parade. The band enters, made up of The King of Town waving The Poopsmith's shovel like a drum major's mace, The Poopsmith playing cymbals, The Hornblower blowing his horn, and the Knight playing a bass drum. The band comes to a halt. Cut to a close up of The King of Town.}

THE KING OF TOWN: A-break it down for me, fell-as!

{Cut to a wide shot of the band again. They face the camera and resume playing, now in a hip-hop beat.}

COACH Z: Oh, yeah! I'm feeling this! {begins rapping} One two, one two, keep it "flond"! Listen to me cause Coach Z's, he's got it goin' on!

{Cut to a close-up of Coach Z as he continues rapping.}

COACH Z: I'm a pretty nice guy with fairly good teeth! C'mon, watch me—

MARZIPAN: {breaking into the frame} No more free-styling. It's really annoying.

{Cut back to the parade route. A new float enters. Strong Bad is on the float standing between two snowmen and beating them with nunchucks. The base of the float, which appears to be a mattress on a wagon, reads: "Celebrating 04 Glorious Seconds of Nunchucking Snowmen." The "04" is a digital sign that counts up as the scene continues.}

COACH Z: Ah, and here's Strong Bad's annual not-even-remotely-fall-related float.

MARZIPAN: Is it just me, or does one of those snowmen look suspiciously like Strong Sad?

COACH Z: Nah, Strong Sad's yellow.

{Cut to a close-up of Strong Bad and the snowman on the left, who is in fact Strong Sad. He spits out the carrot that had been in his mouth.}

STRONG SAD: Ptooey! Strong Bad, I thought you said our float was going to be "Celebrating Our Nation's Covered Bridges!"

STRONG BAD: No, I said our float was going to be "Sticking-You-in-a-Fake-Snowman-and-Beating-You-Senseless-With-Nunchucks... Covered Bridges."

STRONG SAD: Well, how on earth did I misunderstand all that?

STRONG BAD: I don't know, man. You hear the words "covered bridges" and you just go into a trance.

STRONG SAD: {eyes widen as he goes into a trance} Ohhh, covered bridges...

{Strong Sad starts moaning, but snaps out of it when Strong Bad resumes beating him with the nunchucks. A looming shadow crawls across the scene and ominous music plays.}

MARZIPAN: And, as always...

{Cut to a close-up of a giant balloon in the shape of Marshie.}

MARZIPAN: ...bringing up the rear, it's the Marshie balloon!

COACH Z: Man, that thing has got to frighten some children!

MARZIPAN: Is anyone guiding that balloon?

{Ominous music plays again as the camera pans down and The Cheat can be seen hanging from one of the balloon ropes, clearly not in control of the balloon. Cut to a wide shot of the platform Coach Z and Marzipan are standing on.}

MARZIPAN: Run for your lives!

{The Marshie balloon collides with the platform, knocking Coach Z and Marzipan off.}

COACH Z: Argh! I regret everything!

{The television signal cuts out as the platform collapses. It is quickly replaced by a technical difficulty screen with a turkey not knowing what to do with a plug. The caption at the top reads "Pardon our problems..." and "The End" appears at the bottom.}

Easter Eggs

• Click the top left question mark at the end to see what happened to Bubs' Concession Stand.

{Strong Mad and Strong Bad are in what seems to be their laundry room, as there's a dryer nearby. Strong Mad is still holding the concession stand.} STRONG MAD: CAN I KEEP IT? STRONG BAD: No, you can't keep it. Now go put that thing back. STRONG MAD: IT FOLLOWED ME HOME! STRONG BAD: Uh, yeah. That's not true.

• Click the top plug outlet at the end to see an additional scene with Homestar Runner.

{Homestar is standing in what seems to be the Field.} HOMESTAR RUNNER: Homestar Runner, you have truly outdone yourself! {Pan out to reveal Homestar in a box labeled "blue face man's store" over the removed Bubs' Concession Stand's foundation.} HOMESTAR RUNNER: Old Mista' Bubs will never know the difference!

Fun Facts

Explanations

• The page title is a reference to the expression of "raining on someone's parade".
• K.O.T.H.S. stands for "King of Town High School". Many American high schools have marching bands that perform in float parades.
• A covered bridge is a bridge with enclosed sides and a roof, usually made of wood. These single-lane bridges are found throughout rural areas of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States.

Trivia

• Due to a discrepancy between the names of the HTML file and the Flash file, this toon didn't load properly when it was first released. A corrected version of the HTML file became available about two hours later.
• The YouTube description for this toon is "It's the 4Tst Annual Fall Float Parade in Strong Badia!"

Remarks

• The Field is a bitmap image for the entirety of the toon, with the exception of the Homestar Runner Easter egg.
  • The bushes in the background have fall colors (red, yellow, and brown) while the bushes in the Homestar Runner Easter egg have normal green leaves.
  • There is just one stream of clouds in the sky, unlike most times when there are two curls of clouds.
• The colors of Coach Z's hat on Bubs' float are reversed (it should be a purple hat with a blue brim).
• The Homsars' fezes do not float in the air as long as Homsar's usual bowler hat.
• Marzipan may have requested that Homestar say hi to the bee for her because she is very sensitive to bees.
• When Strong Mad is holding Bubs' Concession Stand, he apparently has two right hands.
• Marzipan's smile reverts to an earlier form temporarily while Coach Z is announcing the K.O.T.H.S. Junior Varsity Marching Band.
• Although the Hornblower seems to be playing when the K.O.T.H.S. Marching Band "breaks it down", there is no sound of the horn. Also, when the cymbals crash, there is a sound of a snare drum, though there is none in sight.
• When Strong Bad's float comes in sight, the K.O.T.H.S. continues playing their "broken down" song, even though they are back in their original formation.
• Strong Sad apparently goes into a trance upon hearing the words "covered bridges"; however, he does not enter said trance when Strong Bad says the words for the first time, or when he says the words himself.
• The text on the "blue face man's store" box is in Strong Bad's handwriting font, AhnbergHand, even though it is Homestar's work.
• It's possible Bubs' Concession Stand does not have a basement (contradicting the Broken Compy Menu, geddup noise, and winter pool), or that Homestar's box is covering the hole that leads to it.

Goofs

• After Marzipan drinks from her hot chocolate, the mug is still full.
• When Strong Bad's float gets covered with the shadow of the Marshie balloon, the shading that overlays the float extends outside of the float in a wavy curve.
• At the end when the Marshie balloon crashes into the stand, and Strong Bad's float is visible in the background, the seconds counter showing how long he's been "celebrating glorious seconds of nunchucking snowmen" has nothing on it. Also, the carrot is back in Strong Sad's mouth.

Inside References

• The two Homsars are another instance of duplicate characters and Homsar's unusual powers.
• When the K.O.T.H.S. band first appears, it plays the theme song from The King of Town DVD.
• Coach Z stating that he has "fairly good teeth" despite his apparent lack of teeth. This could also be referring to his consumption of Listerine.
• The nunchucks Strong Bad uses are from Dangeresque's Nunchuck Gun.
• Sticky notes are used for the snowmen's features.
• The wagon supporting Strong Bad's float is the Wagon Fulla Pancakes without the pancakes.
• The "pardon our problems" screen is in the same format as the "technical difficulties" screen from pizzaz.
• As Strong Bad remarks, Strong Mad's claim that Bubs' Stand "followed him home" is a blatant lie.

Real-World References

• The theme of a "Fall Float Parade" is a reference to many holiday parades, most notably the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades in New York.
  • In a striking coincidence, an errant balloon knocked over a light pole and injured two people during the 2005 Macy's Parade, just three days after this cartoon was released. A similar event also occurred in the 1997 Macy's Parade.
• "You say tomater, I zader matermorts" is a reference to George and Ira Gershwin's 1937 hit song "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off", which compares the pronunciations of several words, including "tomato" ("to-may-to"/"to-mah-to").
• The fez-wearing Homsars in the little cars are modeled after the Shriners, who also appear often in parades driving small cars.
• Homsar's line "Sing a Song of Pennzoil" is a reference to the old nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence," also commonly known as "Four and Twenty Blackbirds".
  • Pennzoil is an American motor-oil company, which has sponsored many holiday parades and sports events.
  • The mention of Pennzoil also references the Macy's parade having most of its floats and balloons representing major corporations.

Fast Forward

• Strong Bad attempts to add lyrics to a song similar to this toon's score in portrait, during an aborted attempt to present a musical Strong Bad Email.
• The sweatshirts are later used to make laundry caves in hygiene.
• Coach Z again says "I regret everything" in Homestar Ruiner.
• "K.O.T.H.S." is later referenced in the updated page title and description for the Yearbook Character Page.

YouTube Version

• When Coach Z introduces "the K.O.T.H.S. Junior Varsity Marching Band", the beginning of "Marching" is slightly cut off. In the regular version, Coach Z begins to say "Marching" before we cut away from Marzipan and Coach Z. In the YouTube video, only the cutaway audio is heard, possibly due to an error in exporting to video.

DVD Version

• The Strong Mad Easter egg is accessible by pressing right until the star is orange and pressing enter. The Easter egg showing Homestar manning Bubs' Concession Stand is accessible by pressing down until the H*R logo lights up and pressing enter.
• The DVD version features creators' commentary. To access it, switch your DVD player's audio language selection while watching.

Commentary Transcript

(Commentary by: Mike Chapman, Matt Chapman)

MIKE: Matt, we are now returning to the 4Tst annual fall float parade.

MATT: We like to mess with things like numbering like "first"... Forty-tirst, Mike... Tooty-two.

MIKE: Yeah.

MATT: That doesn't make any senses! What do you think he said to her, Mike? He said some inaprapriate comments, I feel like.

MIKE: Yeah, it was probably about her marshmallows that she's got in her hot chocolate there.

MATT: You think?

MIKE: Yeah. {as Coach Z} "I like your marshmallows there, Marzipan."

MATT: Yeah...

MIKE: ...and she took offense.

MATT: Yeah. {chuckles at the Coach Z, You Jerk float}

MIKE: What do you think Coach Z did to Bubs to—

MATT: I feel like he did not do anything. I feel like Bubs calculated out that that would sell the best— {both laugh} I don't know what he's selling. I feel like he just did some market research and he's like, right now, people like to hate Coach Z, so like after this they went out and had some beers together and there weren't... there's no hard feelings. {Homsars go by} ...Two Homsars.

MIKE: Mm hmm.

MATT: Pennzoil, Mike. Not tin foil.

MIKE: ...There used to be this thrift store in Athens that had like a giant pile of clothes and you get a bag for five bucks and fill it with as many clothes, so, that's kind of what this is like, like you could just, I mean it was twenty feet high and you could bury yourself, but they got shut down because there were rats.

MATT: That's what Homestar gets bit by, right?

MIKE: Yeah. Yeah, I never got bit by a rat, fortunately, but...

MATT: {laughs} He really doesn't want to have to say hi to that bee. It's like a kid going to school and mom's like, "No sweetie! Tell him that you made the cupcakes with extra-dainty flowers on them!" ...That never happened—

MIKE: I think I knew what the word absconding meant until that.

MATT: Yeah.

MIKE: Is that what the word is?

MATT: Abscond?

MIKE: Abscond.

MATT: Yeah.

MIKE: Sometimes Matt writes these words into the cartoons that I need to look up on dictionary.com.

MATT: {laughs} {jamming with the K.O.T.H.S. marching band} Oh! Uh! Uhh! One two, one two.

MIKE: So down here in the south anyway, the high school football games, the highlight is always the bands, uhh...

MATT: They break it down.

MIKE: They break it down, yeah.

MATT: It's nice. They'll do like, you know, some... song from "Cats" or something, but then while they're exiting the field they are swinging their cymbals all around and going nuts. Those snowmen remind me of when, when Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes would always make the snowmen like, murdering each other, getting run over by cars and stuff. Remember that?

MIKE: Yup.

MATT: More Post-it action.

MIKE: {laughs}

MATT: Strong Bad loves to employ the Post-its. Post-its as a special effect and/or costume I think is a great concept.

MIKE: Yeah, 'cause Killingyouguy's bullet holes in Dangeresque are Post-its.

MATT: Yeah. And the scars, I think. {Strong Sad goes into a trance about covered bridges} Oh no. Sounds like he's doing Tai Chi. {Marshie balloon overshadows the events} I like that the Marshie balloon is made to look like he's keeping himself inflated.

MIKE: {laughs, blows through tight lips}

MATT: Like the Marshie balloon was— {laughs} If he was made with an open mouth, it would have just exploded or deflated.

MIKE: I always like these Technical Difficulties screens.

MATT: {laughs} That's a good one.

MIKE: There's one where The Cheat is plugging something back in, right?

MATT: That's from the Strong Bad Interview-Type Progrum. Coach Z regrets everything.

Fun Facts

• Calvin and Hobbes is a popular comic strip first published in 1985.
• Cats is a musical produced by David Geffen.
• Matt mentions Tooty-two in the beginning of the commentary.

External Links

• watch "Fall Float Parade"
• watch "Fall Float Parade" on YouTube
• view the Flash file for "Fall Float Parade"
• watch "Fall Float Parade" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "Fall Float Parade"
• forum thread re: "Fall Float Parade"