Independent artists are incredibly lucky nowadays. With the popularity of membership platforms like Patreon and the proliferation of social media in everyday life, it’s easier than ever to build a dedicated audience that’ll share their work if not pay for it outright. It’s gotten to the point that independent artists are now breaking into professional television and films. It can be argued that a combination of these circumstances has led to the premiere of Hulu’s latest Halloween project, The Paloni Show! Halloween Special!
Headed by Justin Roiland, Ben Bayouth, and Zach Hadel, the special is a variety show in a similar vein to MTV’s Liquid Television, wherein a series of thirteen shorts presented by the Paloni family play out in between increasingly horrific antics. According to an interview with ScreenRant, the artists providing the shorts were chosen based on what they could bring to the special in terms of animation, writing, or both, with additional support from the production studio Titmouse.
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While the Paloni portions of the special are entertaining in their own right, it’s the shorts that really take center stage for the duration of the special. Who made them, and what have they made before? Here’s a brief summary of each contributing artist.
Banana Party (Daniel Cole)
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Daniel Cole is an artist based out of Los Angeles. His short “Banana Party” features character designs reminiscent of Roiland’s other projects, like Rick and Morty and Solar Opposites. This is likely due to Cole’s work on the latter as an artist, in addition to his contributions to Fox’s Duncanville.
Plopsie and Friends (Sydney Heller & Olivia DeLaurentis)
Sydney Heller and Olivia DeLaurentis are a comedic duo that has produced live-action content since the early 2010s. In an interview with VoyageLA, they originally received attention for an eight-part web series titled “Sugar Babies” – a fast-paced, raunchy comedy featuring the titular act of sugar babying. Their other works include writing credits for the internet series Smosh and their own Snapchat series, Apocalypse Goals.
Camp Death Lake (Echo Kellum & Nate Caywood)
Echo Kellum will no doubt be recognized for his involvement on The CW’s Arrow and NBC’s Grand Crew. He and Nate Caywood have collaborated for creative works in the past, including a pair of music videos for the songs “Running Away” and “Cheesin’” on Kellum’s YouTube channel.
The Dreston (Brian Wysol)
Brian Wysol is the creator of a short-lived Adult Swim series titled Hot Streets, a bizarre yet entertaining comedy showcasing a group of detectives investigating the paranormal. The show featured Wysol’s signature off-kilter pacing and color choices found in his Paloni short. In addition to working on HBO Max’s Tig n’ Seek, he also maintains his own independent work on YouTube.
Bet It Was Becca (Jaime Rodriguez)
Jaime Rodriguez is a surreal artist who has made a name for himself on the creative platform Newgrounds through his body-melting squash-and-stretch style. He also produced a full-length music video for the horror-themed hip-hop duo Twiztid, another nightmarish showcase of his unusual talents. More of his independent work can be found on his YouTube channel.
Megahex, Devil’s Night (Simon Hanselmann)
Simon Hanselmann is the acclaimed author of the Megg, Mogg, and Owl series of comics, a comedic examination of drug use and depression. His short – featuring a voice performance by Macaulay Culkin – is the first animated adaptation of his work, leaning more towards comedy and violence than introspection.
Rightbehindyouton (Joel Haver)
Joel Haver rose to prominence in the 2020s due to his unique rotoscoping animation style, which he has since publicly documented for anyone to freely use. Though he is more well-known for his animations, Haver has also produced live-action comedy shorts and parodies from as far back as the early 2010s. He has even produced nine feature-length films, all of which can be watched for free on his YouTube channel.
Slaughter Café (David Firth)
David Firth was originally infamous for creating the Salad Fingers web series, a decrepit exploration of loneliness and isolation from the perspective of a sickly green figure. Other shorts of his have been featured on Adult Swim’s Off the Air, and he recently lent his voice to the recent Adult Swim show, Smiling Friends.
The Creek Down the Street (Michael Cusack)
Michael Cusack is an Australian artist who’s seen a myriad of successes in recent years – from creating Hulu’s upcoming Koala Man to Adult Swim’s YOLO: Silver Destiny. His work often highlights bizarre aspects of Australian culture and surrealist situations.
S****y Beetlegeuse (Myke Chilian & Jordan Harris)
Myke Chilian is the creator of HBO Max’s Tig n’ Seek, a children’s show originally meant to air on Cartoon Network. Chilian wrote for the series along with Jordan Harris and Brian Wysol. Harris, conversely, has been involved in a variety of projects, including notable fan-made shot-for-shot remakes of Footloose and RoboCop.
The Killer Bathtub (Rafillo)
A Spanish artist, Rafillo maintains a prominent presence on social media, frequently posting exaggerated caricatures and fan art for a variety of existing properties. In addition to his illustrations, he has created other animated shorts along with his own original series, Querida Conchi, which can be found on YouTube.
An Alien Halloween Claymation (Lee Hardcastle)
A prolific claymation animator since the mid-2000s, Lee Hardcastle has had a violent penchant for creativity. Some of his most well-known shorts are recreations of scenes from The Raid and John Carpenter’s The Thing with cats and the cast of Pingu, respectively. His “T is for Toilet” short was also featured in 2011s The ABCs of Death.
Slashtronaut (Jacob Hair)
Jacob Hair is a Los Angeles-based artist with an extensive background in storyboard art, contributing to a variety of Fox shows, including Family Guy and King of the Hill. He also had a hand in directing a handful of Rick and Morty episodes in recent years.
