Brent Butt had to be convinced to make Corner Gas Animated.
He鈥檇 been worried, just like he鈥檇 been worried before making Corner Gas The Movie. The original Corner Gas television series 鈥� which ran for six seasons on CTV and broke all kinds of audience records 鈥� was beloved. Even its reruns draw in huge audiences. He didn鈥檛 want to sully its memory.
But the 2014 Corner Gas film had been a box office hit (which, considering how hard it is to get Canadians to watch Canadian films, is really saying something), and the network wanted more Corner Gas content.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 want to do the same thing, and we started kicking around the animation idea, and that scared me, too,鈥� recalls the 麻豆传媒映画based writer, actor, producer, director and comedian. 鈥淚t could be something that people don鈥檛 like and we run the risk of hurting the legacy of the show.鈥�
Butt and his team made a short animated demo, and they liked enough to run with it. The result of that leap of faith 鈥� Corner Gas Animated 鈥� premiered in April 2018, and proceeded to smash audience records for the Comedy Network and win awards (most recently, a Leo Award for Best Animation in a Program or Series).
Ratings and awards are just the cherry on the top for Butt. 鈥淭he thing that鈥檚 really satisfying for me is when people say, 鈥業t just feels like more episodes of Corner Gas,鈥欌�� says Butt.
Thus, these iconic, flawed and zany characters from Dog River, Saskatchewan 鈥� Brent, Lacey, Wanda, Hank, Davis, Karen, Oscar and Emma 鈥� continue to exist in their gas station-centric world, albeit in animated form.
On Canada Day, Corner Gas Animated returns for its second season. Like its first season, the second season features a mix of Dog River antics interspersed with fantasy and dream sequences.
鈥淭hese little fantasy sequences we do, they鈥檙e really fun to break the mold of our show and play with the reality of it,鈥� says Butt. 鈥淲ithin our real show world, I want to keep things pretty real, but then when we have these fantasy sequences and dreams, that鈥檚 where you can really cut loose.鈥�
In the season premiere, Brent is terrorized in his nightmares by a murderous Michael J. Fox, and Fox voices his animated alter ego himself.
鈥淚 got myself in a pickle because normally the way cameos come together is you write an episode and you get an idea for a quick, funny joke and we approach the person we want to give the cameo to and if they say no, we just get rid of the cameo,鈥� says Butt. 鈥淏ut I foolishly wrote this whole episode with Michael J. Fox specifically in three big scenes, and then it was like, 鈥極h man, what if he doesn鈥檛 do it? We鈥檙e screwed.鈥欌��
But Fox read the material and thought it was funny, and Butt and co. flew to Fox鈥檚 office in New York to record him.
Fox is one of a handful of high-profile Canadians who can be heard in the second season of Corner Gas Animated. Butt recorded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his office on Parliament Hill.
鈥淲ith the Prime Minister, the first thing he said was, 鈥業鈥檓 very open to direction, I don鈥檛 want to screw this up, so make sure I do it the way you want me to do it,鈥欌�� recalls Butt. 鈥淗e was very natural and no problem.鈥�
Butt was similarly impressed with the voice talents and quick thinking of Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.
鈥淧art of his line he says with his space helmet on, and you don鈥檛 hear what he says, and then he takes it off and delivers the rest of his line. But that first part, I said, 鈥業 want to make sure that we don鈥檛 understand anything you鈥檙e saying, and he said, 鈥楧o you want me to do it in Russian?鈥� And I said, 鈥榊es, absolutely, I do, read it in Russian,鈥欌�� laughs Butt. 鈥淎nd then we played it backwards, so when you watch the episode and he鈥檚 got his head in the space helmet saying his line, what you hear is him saying the line in Russian and it being played backwards.鈥�
Corner Gas Animatedfeatures the voice talents of Butt, Gabrielle Miller, Fred Ewanuick, Eric Peterson, Lorne Cardinal, Tara Spencer-Nain, Nancy Robertson and Corrine Koslo.
Corner Gas Animated returns to thewith two back-to-back episodes on July 1.
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