Even with other high-profile animated series like Central Park and The Great North streaming or in the works, Loren Bouchard remains as committed as ever to Bob’s Burgers and the big-hearted Belcher family. The series creator tells Entertainment Weekly he still wants to move forward with a theatrical release for the Bob’s Burgers feature film, even as movie theaters remain closed or open in a limited capacity (and experts warn about the risks of going to the movies in the middle of a pandemic while no national plan for dealing with it exists.)
But Bouchard is undeterred by recent moves to streaming premieres for tentpole movies like Mulan and Soul, the latter of which is coming to Disney+ on December 25. He tells EW that he and his team “decided we really want the movie to come out in theaters because Bob’s is already on TV.” Of course, Bouchard is prepared to wait until it’s actually safe to assemble in large groups—say, April 9 2021, which is the new theatrical release date for the Bob’s Burgers movie originally slated for July 17 of this plague-ridden year. But he’s keen on “Bob’s the movie being seen in the theater, in the dark with other people, because that’s something we’ve never been able to do before. That’s the main course that we’re delivering to people, in this case.” (And here we were worried his interview would be pun-free.)
Bouchard is directing the Bob’s movie, which will feature all the regular core cast members, including H. Jon Benjamin, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, Bob Mintz, and John Roberts. Whenever the movie does come out, we wonder if Fox will want to pair it up with “My Butt Has A Fever,” a Bob’s Burgers short film that was meant to be shown in theaters along with an animated feature, à la The Simpsons’ “Playdate With Destiny.” The COVID-19 shutdowns threw that plan off track, but Bouchard tells EW he still hopes that the short, which features a song that’s also called “My Butt Has A Fever,” will be seen.