The writers of Bob’s Burgers say they did not want the feature-length film to be “a movie that you had to do homework for” and hoped it could be enjoyed by fans and newcomers alike.
Loren Bouchard and Nora Smith said they were “really conscious” that there would be those who were not familiar with the popular US cartoon series and had tried to make it a film that people could “drop right into”.
The long-running comedy, which has run for 12 seasons already, follows the working-class Belcher family, who run a burger restaurant headed up by the eponymous Bob.
It stars H Jon Benjamin, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy, John Roberts, and Kristen Schaal.
Speaking at the world premiere of The Bob’s Burgers Movie in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Bouchard said he wanted newcomers to the show to “go in cold”.
“We were absolutely thinking of you, I want to know how it plays,” he told the PA news agency.
“If I’m not mistaken you will learn everything you need to know about the entire cast and characters in the first five minutes just like it was a movie for everyone else.”
The writer added that turning such a well-known and popular show into a film was not something that was done “casually”.
“You have to do it with your heart, with your chest in your throat, it’s terrifying but we use it, we use the fear,” he said.
“In a funny way we are trying to make it so this movie was never a TV show…it’s really hard on the brain but it can be done.”
His co-writer Smith said: “We didn’t want it to be a movie that you had to do homework for.
“It’s the same with the episodes. Every episode you should be able to drop in and it shouldn’t be like ‘I don’t understand that reference’.
“With the movie… it feels like you can drop right into it. It’s a burger restaurant, it’s a family and that’s all you need to know.”
Season 13 of Bob’s Burgers is highly expected to be commissioned and Bouchard said that keeping material fresh was something the writers worried about “all the time”.
Off to the red carpet for the Bob’s Burgers Movie premiere! 🍿 Thanks to all our fans! Go enjoy this movie and forget about life for a second. 💋May 27! pic.twitter.com/JQhypUrkop
— John Roberts (@JohnRobertsFun) May 18, 2022
“The target gets smaller but hopefully our little arrows are sharp and we can get them into tight spaces,” he said.
“We worry about it all the time, we work for those people (the fans), they are our employers.
“When they like something I’m thrilled, when they don’t like something I’m devastated.”
He continued: “If it ever happens, if they come to some kind of consensus…they say it just isn’t as good as it used to be. It will be hard, especially if I disagree with them but I think we can hang on.
“I think we are in sync enough… I think we can come off this movie making Bob’s better than we ever did.”
The Bob’s Burgers Movie will open in cinemas worldwide May 27.