Summer Short Shorts

Those shorts are indeed short.

Homestar and pals star in a series of short shorts.

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Strong Mad, The Cheat, Homestar Runner, Caveman Homestar Runner, Cavewoman Marzipan, Pterodactyl Coach Z, Caveman Strong Bad, The Cheatsaurus, Pom Pom, Coach Z, Limozeen, Very, Very Little Girl (Easter egg), Puppet Homestar (Easter egg)

Places: Marshmallow's Last Stand, Prehistoric Land, The Field, The Forest, Strong Badia, Bubs' Concession Stand, Laser Show, The Bar

Date: Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Running Time: 2:52

Page Title: Dare to Bare!

DVD:Everything Else, Volume 3

Transcript

{The toon opens with the title "Summer Short Shorts" on a photo of someone wearing blue shorts. The title slowly comes towards the camera. Music plays. Cut to Marshmallow's Last Stand. The camera pans across the table, which is littered with french fries and ketchup.}

STRONG BAD: C'mon, The Cheat! You can do one more! Just one more!

{The camera zooms out, showing The Cheat sitting opposite Strong Bad at the table, with Strong Mad behind Strong Bad. The Cheat's mouth is crammed full of fries, he has purple bags under his eyes, and he's whimpering}

STRONG BAD: {pops up near The Cheat, wearing a brown hat with a press pass} {speaking rapidly} Oh, have you heard the latest news? {sits back down} I heard the latest news and it was that you could do one more! ONE MORE!

{The Cheat whimpers and spits three fries onto the table}

STRONG BAD: Strong Mad, tell your girlfriend to do one more.

STRONG MAD: SHE'S GONNA BLOW!!

{Homestar Runner runs up, dressed as a waiter, with a brown cap that says "egg." on it}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Aaaaaaand can I get you gentlemen anything else?

{Homestar holds up a red clown shoe, and a large daisy rises from inside it}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Boodiiiing!

{cut back to the title screen}

{cut to a Powered by The Cheat landscape, showing a volcano and the caption "The Millionzoic Era". Cut to a scene showing a prehistoric Marzipan and Homestar, with a tar pit next to them}

PBTC CAVEMAN HOMESTAR: {spits green bubbles while he talks} Ooga, ooga. My breath, it stinks.

PBTC CAVEWOMAN MARZIPAN: {turns to the left, away from Homestar} Uh-huh!

PBTC CAVEMAN HOMESTAR: Real, real bad!

{A pterodactyl with Coach Z's hat flies in from the right}

PBTC COACH Z DACTYL: I look at the fly! {flies off to the left}

{A caveman Strong Bad enters from the mountains. As he jumps to them, a voice that says "bonga-donga-bonga-dong" is heard. He lands in the tar pit, which splashes Homestar and turns into a skull, which sticks to Homestar. As Strong Bad sinks to the bottom of the tar pit, his feet can be seen poking out from underneath.}

PBTC CAVEMAN STRONG BAD: Ooga. Me want set the face on fires.

PBTC CAVEMAN HOMESTAR: What's fire?

PBTC CAVEWOMAN MARZIPAN: It sounds fun! Oo-ga! {jumps}

{A large The Cheat-like dinosaur runs by from the right. It then clamps its mouth around the volcano and begins "drinking" from it, accompanied by glugging noises. The Cheatsaurus then turns and breathes fire over the group, scorching them. Marzipan turns into a drumstick with its tongue sticking out, Homestar turns into a smiling steak with a gold tooth, and Strong Bad merely blackens}

PBTC CAVEMAN MARZIPAN AND HOMESTAR: Aaaah!

PBTC CAVEMAN STRONG BAD: Oh, me too! {turns into a dish with a lobster tail on it} I am not exempt!

PBTC COACH Z DACTYL: {pokes head in} Hey, did you see that? The Cheatsaurus can do it again!

{cut back to the title screen}

{Open with a few shots of leaves, then focus in on Pom Pom's head. He opens his eyes, then leaps out of a bush and jumps upwards. He does a brief pose before falling back down again. He lands on a tree branch, then begins to leap forward from branch to branch. He lands on the ground, and pops a bo staff out of himself. He twirls the staff as pictures of bamboo and a wave appear behind him. He jumps up. Cut to a long shot of him arcing over Strong Badia and Bubs' Concession Stand. He lands lightly next to Coach Z. He pops a deodorant stick out of himself, and tosses it to Coach Z.}

COACH Z: Thanks for the smell-cakes, Pom Pom! But next time could you dispense with all the flyin' whozits?!

{Pom Pom pulls out a small smoke bomb and throws it on the ground in front of him. When the smoke clears, Pom Pom has vanished}

{cut back to the title screen}

{Cut to a black screen, while red and green lasers arc from the top and bottom of the screen. Guitar music begins, while the Limozeen logo appears in bright yellow. The logo splits, and an image of Larry appears. It changes color, as a pair of feminine legs in fishnet walk by. Three images of Larry playing guitar appear, which meld into one of him leaping into a power chord. The words "BRAIN SISTER" rise from the bottom as Larry jumps offscreen. A calculator displaying 3.14 appears, and an outline of Texas draws itself around it. Several images of a brain, Larry, guitars, and the ZEEN part of the logo flash past in front of a crowd, until Larry zooms forward, surrounded by stars and playing guitar. More images of Larry's head flash in front of the crowd as the lasers start again. The calculator flashes by, and the legs walk out, with a brain perched on top of them. They walk by a Limozeen amp as the song ends. The Limozeen logo flashes briefly}

LARRY PALARONCINI: {singing}

Well, she was only twenty-seventeen. She was a low res beauty queen. She was a brain... brain... brain sister! Texas Instruments all day! And she remembers how they used to duet, And she remembers how they used to duet! Th'all think you know what I mean!

LARRY PALARONCINI: Yeah! Those do all right! Uh!

{cut back to the title screen}

{Open in a barroom-type scene. Homestar and Pom Pom are seated at the bar. Both have an 'old one bottle, and there is a bowl of peanuts on the table}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Seriously, Pom Pom. {gesturing with bottle} You and me, we're like two breads in a biscuit. {pokes the bottle in Pom Pom's face} Two breads in a biscuit! I'm gonna make a T-shirt! {leans in close} No, wait! You and me? {crouches to look at peanuts} We're like this bowl of mayonnaise here. {points at Pom Pom with the bottle} You're the bowl, 'cuz you're a big, round, fat guy. {Pom Pom looks insulted. Homestar sits up again, now pointing at himself with the bottle} And I'm the mayonnaise, 'cuz I'm smart as peanuts. That'll make a good T-shirt too. Oop, no, wait! Before you strangle me again... You and me? {pulls the napkin out from under his bottle} Soggy napkin. {as Homestar says "Soggy", Pom Pom gets an unimpressed look on his face.}

{Cut to the picture of the shorts from the title screen, which now just reads "End."}

Easter Eggs

• Click on the dartboard while Homestar says, "I'm gonna make a T-shirt" to see a T-shirt with a slice of bread + a slice of bread = a biscuit.
• Click on the dartboard again while Homestar says, "That'll make a good T-shirt too" to see a T-shirt with a bowl of mayonnaise and the words "Smart as Peanuts!"

"You've got no interest in the crazy man over here, do you?"

• Click on the "n" in "End" to see a Puppet Stuff short.

{The title "Homestar vs. Very, Very Little Girl" appears. Scene opens to reveal the very, very little girl swinging and Homestar standing next to the swing.} HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh hello, very, very little girl. Take it away. {Piano flourish, crickets, another piano flourish} HOMESTAR RUNNER: I've got no material with this kid. Say something cute. Talk about picking your nose. You seem like a smart kid. You wanna go out some time? {Music from the Pom Pom short plays. Homestar dances.} HOMESTAR RUNNER: You've got no interest in the crazy man over here, do you? {Homestar Runner comes too close to the swing and is hit three times.} HOMESTAR RUNNER: OW! ... OW! ... UH! {The screen goes black and "end." appears on the screen.}

Fun Facts

Explanations

• The Limozeen sequence simulates a laser show.
• Low res is short for low resolution, which refers to an image with a low level of detail.
• The calculator during the Limozeen sequence displays 3.14, which is a common approximation for Pi.

Trivia

• At the February 2006 Flashforward, Matt Chapman mentioned that Missy Palmer was pregnant—the Very, Very Little Girl in the Easter egg is Mike and Missy's baby.
  • It was revealed in the DVD commentary that Mike's baby provided the voice of The Cheat in this short.
• Very, Very Little Girl is in a Fisher-Price B0639 Cradle Swing with the Rubber Ducky pattern.

Remarks

The layout of the land. Er... Free Country in silhouette form.

• The PBTC Coach Z Dactyl has a voice similar to the PBTC Coach Z, but when he says "Cheatsaurus", he pronounces it correctly, rather than saying "Chort".
• After the Coach Z Dactyl flies by for the first time, it remains off camera at the left edge of the animation until just after Caveman Strong Bad splashes tar on Caveman Homestar, at which time the Dactyl pops back into view for a frame or two before disappearing in preparation for its second flight.
• The Pom Pom short reveals that Bubs' Concession Stand abuts Strong Badia, and apparently a lush forest exists beyond that.
• The sky can be seen inside Bubs' Concession Stand during Pom Pom's scene. This would only be possible if one of the walls was missing.
  • The email the chair shows that one of the walls in Bubs' Concession Stand can lower, making this possible.
• Pom Pom shows off his skills with a bo staff.

Goofs

• The French fry on the table loses its reflection after the cut to the wider shot.
• The French fries The Cheat spits out have no reflection.
• At the end of "Brain Sister", when the brain on legs walks in front of the Limozeen amp, it's not transparent like the rest of the laser-show images.

Inside References

Déjà Vu Anyone?

• The bar short with Homestar and Pom Pom drinking 'old ones is almost identical to a scene near the end of the Theme Song Video.
• The same short shorts on the title screen are worn by Matt Chapman in Peasant's Quest Preview.
• Homestar has an egg on his hat in the restaurant sequence, which also features the same French fries and bottles of Quite Fancy 'Chup first seen in funny.
• Millionzoic Homestar says that his breath smells real real bad, which is similar to how he told Strong Bad that his burps smell real bad in Sick Day.
• Millionzoic Homestar turns into a steak with a gold tooth.
• "The ol' Cheatasaurus" is what Strong Bad nicknamed The Cheat in other days.
• The short in The Millionzoic Era resembles the MS Paint picture Strong Mad sends Strong Bad of a brontosaurus eating bacon and eggs at the end of lunch special.
• The back beat during the Pom Pom short is from Theme Song Video, in which he previously demonstrated his skill in martial arts.
• The animation of Pom Pom's smoke bomb is the same animation of Strong Bad's pants poofing away in senior prom.
• The "guitar stars" featured in the laser show are from rock opera.
• The solar calculator during the Limozeen laser show is similar to the one on the chalkboard in technology, which also displayed 3.14.
• There is a LEMKE flag on the wall in the bar short.
• Homestar mentions bread in the bar short.
• The flower was also seen in She Loves Me!.
• There is an instance of gender confusion.
• Short shorts were mentioned just a week earlier with Camp Counselor Shortshorts in Teen Girl Squad 11.
• Millionzoic and twenty-seventeen are portmanteaus.
• The music at the beginning of Homestar vs. Very, Very Little Girl comes from Strong Bad's kids' show in for kids.
• Homestar says he and Pom Pom are "like two breads in a biscuit".

Real-World References

• Texas circumscribing the calculator and the lyrics of the song are a reference to Texas Instruments, a computer and electronics development company.
• One of the backgrounds of Pom Pom's Bo routine is modeled after the ukiyo-e woodblock painting "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" by Hokusai.
• The Limozeen lyrics "Well, she was only twenty-seventeen." and "I think you know what I mean!" are references to the lyrics "Well she was just seventeen. You know what I mean." from The Beatles' song "I Saw Her Standing There". Also, the song title "Brain Sister" sounds remarkably similar to The Beatles' Day Tripper. In the original recording for I Saw Her Standing There, the line was "Well she was just seventeen, never been a beauty queen".
• "Dare to Bare!" is a reference to a slogan used by hair-removal product Nair, which became famous for its ad jingle where people asked, "Who wears short shorts?"
• Homestar performing the magic trick with a flower growing out of a shoe is a reference to the waiter "Max" from "Saved by the Bell", who was often seen performing magic tricks while serving the students their food.

Fast Forward

• More short shorts were produced in Decemberween Short Shorts.
• The images of Limozeen would later be reused in the Limozeen Coloring Book from coloring.
• "Brain Sister" was performed again in Limozeen Live! and was heard in a Limozeen Easter egg in email thunder.
• The music in the bar short would later be used as backing music at the House of the Brothers Strong in Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People.

DVD Version

• The DVD version features hidden creators' commentary. To access it, switch your DVD player's audio language selection while watching.

Commentary Transcript

(Commentary by: Mike Chapman, Matt Chapman)

MIKE: Oh, look! That— There's—{laughs}

MATT: {laughing, groaning} Don't look! Don't look, actually.

MIKE: {laughing} There's Matt's shorts and legs.

MATT: Uh, I kind of don't like the way that the— the... words are getting bigger over... over my—

MIKE: {laughs} It's unsettling.

MATT: It's very unsettling.

MIKE: So The Cheat's noises right there are my daughter when she was about a month old.

MATT: Yep.

MIKE: She sounded just like The Cheat... with a million... marshmallows stuffed in his mouth.

MATT: Well, it was an inappropriate sound then. {pause} Uh, this is a Powered by The Cheat section, Mike. You probably made this.

MIKE: I— I did make it... The Cheat—

MATT: What did Coach Z just say there? "Helicopter fly"?

MIKE: Uh... I—

MATT: "I look at the fly"?

MIKE: Uh, "I look at the fly", yeah.

MATT: {laughing} "I look at the fly".

MIKE: I think, basically he's saying, "Look at me, I'm flying."

MATT: {laughing} Okay. So not only can The Cheat not do good voices, he can't speak English very well.

MIKE: Well...

MATT: Or was it because he's a dinosaur?

MIKE: It's not his first language.

MATT: {laughing} Well, that's true! I like the steak that Homestar turned into.

MIKE: This is, uh, this is Matt's work.

MATT: This was fun to make. I was just trying to m— I had watched that, uh... what's it called... that really well-animated Flash cartoon where that guy is getting chased by that cloud?

MIKE: Yeah, yeah, right... right.

MATT: He's that goat-faced guy— goat-head guy and he's getting chased by that cloud? I think I had seen the first one of those, I forget which one came first. Kind of inspired me. Samurai Jack-ish, I suppose, too.

MIKE: Look at that! Strong Badia is in between the forest and Bubs's.

MATT: Look out, Coach Z! Oh! That's th— That's called "good explosion" in our Flash library. And, uh—

MIKE: {laughs} It was made for Cheat Commandos, right?

MATT: Yeah. I based it off of an explosion from an old Galaxy Rangers cartoon, Mike.

MIKE: Uh... so, if you've ever seen a laser show like this recently, it's {both laughing} not very different from if you saw a laser show like this twenty years ago.

MATT: Yeah, the laser show at Stone Mountain, uh, has not changed at all.

MIKE: Yeah, I— I hadn't been for maybe 15 years, and we went a couple years ago and it's just amazingly bad as it ever was.

MATT: Do they still do that part where it looks like Spirographs and they play "Axel F" from Beverly Hills Cop?

MIKE: They don't play "Axel F". The music changes, but, uh, the lasers are still very— very bad animated bears.

MATT: Is this Pom Pom's rumpus room? Do you think?

MIKE: {simultaneously} I think so. Yeah.

MATT: This is from, uh, the Homestar Runner theme song video. They're hanging out down there, right? Having Cold Ones. And we updated it for this.

MIKE: That's right.

MATT: Lemke, Mike. The Lemmer.

MIKE: {simultaneously} The Lemmer.

MATT: The Lemmer's been— he's been doing commentary.

MIKE: Yeah, he does the pre- and post-game show on Braves Radio.

MATT: Yep.

Fun Facts

• The "really well-animated Flash cartoon" Matt refers to is The Yuyu by Adam Phillips.
• Samurai Jack is a cartoon known for its highly detailed, outline-free animation, as well as for its cinematic style and action scenes.
• Galaxy Rangers refers to The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, a space western cartoon that aired in 1986.
• A Spirograph is a tool, often sold as a toy, that allows for drawing of mathematical geometric curves.
• "The Lemmer" is a nickname for Mark Lemke of the Atlanta Braves.

External Links

• watch "Summer Short Shorts"
• watch "Summer Short Shorts" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "Summer Short Shorts"
• forum thread re: "Summer Short Shorts"
• view the Flash file for "Homestar vs. Very, Very Little Girl"