After four long years of production (and an even longer history of fan requests), The Bob's Burgers Movie is finally here. The Belchers embark on an even more epic and offbeat quest than usual when a giant sinkhole opens up in front of their titular restaurant just days before the family embarks on their various summertime plans. While Bob and Linda come up with weirder and weirder schemes to keep the business afloat, the kids try to solve a mind-blowing mystery that could save the restaurant. As the stakes get higher and higher and the danger starts ramping up, the Belcher family will have to stick together to find hope and fight to get back behind the counter, where they belong.
Part of the show's appeal, along with its absurd yet heartwarming cast of characters, is its iconic songs, and Bob's Burgers fans have been clamouring for a musical movie for 12 years. "I think the animation is gorgeous. And there are big musical numbers, there's a murder mystery, a big adventure. It's very big and made for the theatre. It's just this cinematic, big-screen experience. Dress up as a character, maybe. Have fun!" says John Roberts, who plays unflappable mom Linda, when Exclaim! speaks with the cast about the upcoming film (which lands in theatres May 27).
Eugene Mirman, who plays musical theatre-loving son Gene, adds, "It was fun for the film to have this giant scope, where it felt like it was still in the world of Bob's Burgers, but both contained and also bigger. Everything feels like big set pieces."
That sentiment is reiterated by H. Jon Benjamin, the voice of long-suffering, burger pun-loving father Bob. "It's very filmic, in ways the show can't be, playing with camera angles and lighting and all the details that film has now, so Bob's: The Movie could exploit that," he says.
On how they feel about making this long-awaited film after more than a decade of playing the Belcher family on TV, Roberts says it all comes back to the fans: "It feels like a really great gift to be able to give to the fans because they've been so supportive this whole time. It's beyond our imaginations that we got to make a movie, and that we made it this far. So we're just very grateful and happy that we get to do this."
"The journey in the last decade or so, of this Bob's ride that I've been on, has been absolutely delightful," adds Kristen Schaal, the voice of anarchic young daughter Louise. "There have been times where I'm not doing other acting jobs. And I tell my husband, 'Oh, no, I don't have a job. That's it for me.' He's like, what about Bob's? And I'm like, 'Oh, well, that's not a job.' It doesn't feel like a job, it's just this enjoyable thing I'm doing."
The vocal cast recorded their lines separately, isolated in makeshift home recording studios during the COVID lockdowns of summer 2020. "In the first couple of weeks, I was talking to Larry [Murphy, who plays neighbour Teddy] about how uncomfortable my setup was," says Dan Mintz, who plays butt-crazy teen daughter Tina. "He was like, 'You should really invest in making it nicer.' I was like, 'No, I'm sure this is not gonna go on much longer.'"
While the cast eventually figured out their audio situations, with Mirman even building a small recording booth at home, there were some initial annoying challenges.
"I feel like on my first track, there were a lot of bird noises, doorbells ringing, landscaping, UPS delivery guy…" says Benjamin.
Adds Mirman, "Sometimes they'd be like, 'Oh, yeah, we can't use that take, someone was installing a chimney."
"One day I was recording, in Toronto actually, and it was quiet all morning," says Schaal. "Then I start recording, and all of a sudden, there's a chainsaw up the street, and someone's demolishing a house next door."
Yup, sounds like Toronto.
Part of the show's appeal, along with its absurd yet heartwarming cast of characters, is its iconic songs, and Bob's Burgers fans have been clamouring for a musical movie for 12 years. "I think the animation is gorgeous. And there are big musical numbers, there's a murder mystery, a big adventure. It's very big and made for the theatre. It's just this cinematic, big-screen experience. Dress up as a character, maybe. Have fun!" says John Roberts, who plays unflappable mom Linda, when Exclaim! speaks with the cast about the upcoming film (which lands in theatres May 27).
Eugene Mirman, who plays musical theatre-loving son Gene, adds, "It was fun for the film to have this giant scope, where it felt like it was still in the world of Bob's Burgers, but both contained and also bigger. Everything feels like big set pieces."
That sentiment is reiterated by H. Jon Benjamin, the voice of long-suffering, burger pun-loving father Bob. "It's very filmic, in ways the show can't be, playing with camera angles and lighting and all the details that film has now, so Bob's: The Movie could exploit that," he says.
On how they feel about making this long-awaited film after more than a decade of playing the Belcher family on TV, Roberts says it all comes back to the fans: "It feels like a really great gift to be able to give to the fans because they've been so supportive this whole time. It's beyond our imaginations that we got to make a movie, and that we made it this far. So we're just very grateful and happy that we get to do this."
"The journey in the last decade or so, of this Bob's ride that I've been on, has been absolutely delightful," adds Kristen Schaal, the voice of anarchic young daughter Louise. "There have been times where I'm not doing other acting jobs. And I tell my husband, 'Oh, no, I don't have a job. That's it for me.' He's like, what about Bob's? And I'm like, 'Oh, well, that's not a job.' It doesn't feel like a job, it's just this enjoyable thing I'm doing."
The vocal cast recorded their lines separately, isolated in makeshift home recording studios during the COVID lockdowns of summer 2020. "In the first couple of weeks, I was talking to Larry [Murphy, who plays neighbour Teddy] about how uncomfortable my setup was," says Dan Mintz, who plays butt-crazy teen daughter Tina. "He was like, 'You should really invest in making it nicer.' I was like, 'No, I'm sure this is not gonna go on much longer.'"
While the cast eventually figured out their audio situations, with Mirman even building a small recording booth at home, there were some initial annoying challenges.
"I feel like on my first track, there were a lot of bird noises, doorbells ringing, landscaping, UPS delivery guy…" says Benjamin.
Adds Mirman, "Sometimes they'd be like, 'Oh, yeah, we can't use that take, someone was installing a chimney."
"One day I was recording, in Toronto actually, and it was quiet all morning," says Schaal. "Then I start recording, and all of a sudden, there's a chainsaw up the street, and someone's demolishing a house next door."
Yup, sounds like Toronto.
