Having conquered the small screen with a cultishly popular, self-titled show on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, the Aqua Teen Hunger Force is moving on to the box office with the new feature-length Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters. Recently, The A.V. Club spoke with the animated stars about their big-screen debut, the day-to-day realities of making their first foray into film, and their future careers in Hollywood. (Their creators and alter egos, Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis, discuss their show here.)
The A.V. Club: Some actors are very meticulous about their "method." How did you prepare for the difficult task of playing yourselves?
Frylock: No drinking, plenty of rest, a balanced diet, you know. You want to look your best for the camera.
Master Shake: Lots of sex, pump some iron. Maybe set fire to some money, just because I can. You want to look your best on camera.
Meatwad: Sometimes they put peanut butter on my gums when I couldn't remember my lines, then they get someone else to talk for me, like they do with animals on TV. I gained a lot of weight that year. Peanut butter go straight to your hips.
Carl Brutananadilewski: They gave me a fresh pair of flip-flops every day. This significantly cut down the need to bathe.
AVC: What was it like on set? Were there any romances or conflicts?
MS: There was, actually. There was definitely a romantic link between the lips of everyone on the set and my ass. They practically stood in line to kiss it, especially after I would nail a really poignant scene and carry it all by myself.
CB: One of the gaffers had this really hot girlfriend with giant melons. I stared at them pretty much constantly. What were they gonna do, fire me?
F: The catering sucked pretty bad.
M: Yeah. They kept telling me not to touch all the food if I wasn't gonna eat it. But that deviled-egg castle wasn't going to build itself.
AVC: So is this just the beginning of your Hollywood careers? Have you had any offers for more work?
C: I've been doing some commentary on porno movies here and there. They don't really pay me for it, though. I just kinda do it in my house while I'm watching it. Alone. It's good practice.
MS: This isn't my first barbecue, missy. I have been working the international circuit for years. Europe is awash in Master Shake headshots. Several high-level security guards have taken my résumé to someone important after they asked me to leave immediately.
F: I might do a few plays after this, get my head on straight. It's a lot to take in, you know.
M: I found this private school where kids will pay five bucks a pop to throw rocks at me in the parking lot. That is a steady income, boy.
AVC: What directors or other actors would you like to work with in the future?
F: I know a guy that's working on a documentary about mimes, and Benicio Del Toro is in it. That could be a fun collaboration, right?
M: Richard Simmons. He is the happiest man on the world. Until one of them big ladies makes him cry about their weight-loss story.
MS: We probably won't have actors in the future. You know why? The robot uprising is going to kick our ass, and that's why I need to cash in now before we all die painful deaths at the hands of the very machines we created! Barring that, I guess James Cameron would be nice to work with.
CB: I want to shower with Christy Canyon before I die. It would be minimalist art cinema, you know, tasteful crotch shot, including the hip and pelvis area, you gotta leave something to the imagination. I'd watch the hell out of that movie.
AVC: Do you think stardom has changed you?
F: Nah. I mean, I did upgrade the memory in my laptop. Got a new briefcase. I shop without coupons. But not much else.
MS: I don't have to wear condoms ever again!
M: People don't tell me to my face the things that I smell like. Doesn't mean I don't hear 'em. But they don't tell me to my face. That's respect.
CB: My mom stopped screening my calls for about a month. That was a good feeling.