The Pinto Variety Hour is centered around the titular bean who is the host of his very own variety show. He is known for bringing all kinds of eccentric guests who usually derail the program, thereby angering the powers that be at Big Powerful Nobody (BPN). But, with the help of his assistant, Martha, Pinto always manages to extend the lifeline of his show. On the personal front, Pinto is married to Flo and they have two children, Lucy and Max. While Max aspires to colonize Uranus, Lucy just hopes that her father doesn’t do something cringe-worthy in front of her friends. After watching the first episode of this unique series, I sat down for a virtual chat with its creator, R.J. Sullivan, to talk about what it takes to make an adult animation comedy series, his biggest influences when it comes to talk show hosts, and more.
How did you come up with the idea of making The Pinto Variety Hour and what was the process of taking it from a concept to the show that we are watching?
“I envisioned an animated sitcom that embraces a flexible framework, allowing for anything to happen to utilize the creative possibilities of animation. At the same time, I wanted to develop relatable characters grappling with real relationship issues. I felt this combination would create a dynamic and engaging show that balances wild scenarios with emotional connections. The idea of making Pinto and his family beans grew out of a previous animated children’s short I produced called, Pinto the Mean Bean. I decided to take the character of Pinto and follow him as a recovering “mean bean” who has been through five years of anger management therapy. I wrote the pilot script as an adult comedy that follows Pinto as the host of a surreal variety show and as a family bean raising two teenagers with his wife, Flo.”
How did you choose the topics that each of the episodes covered? And how did you balance the unique bizarreness of the guests with Pinto’s personal and professional arcs?
“The ideas for the individual episodes just came from my perspective of the contemporary world and what I find funny or interesting; I’m not sure how else I can put it. For example, in the second episode Pinto starts following a cult leader (although Pinto does not recognize this) and ends up giving the cult leader a weekly segment on the Variety Hour in a misguided attempt to “make the show his own”. The Variety Show guest at the beginning of the episode is a strange botanist who introduces an unspecified psychedelic plant. Pinto ends up chewing the leaves of the plant back at home and a psychedelic montage is shown involving Pinto finally solving his Rubick’s cube (helped by the plant’s supposed powers). This awakening leads Pinto to join a cult. At the end of the episode, Pinto’s wife discovers that the plant is actually mint so it is unclear exactly why Pinto experienced what he did when he chewed the plant. Anyway, I have a fascination with cults and also find an element of humor in the idea of psychedelic awakenings. These interests fit together humorously with Pinto’s professional arc in the series of trying to assert himself at The Variety Hour and prove to the show’s mysterious sponsor, Big Powerful Nobody, that he can make the Variety Hour a success.”
What was the process of zeroing in on the animation style and look of The Pinto Variety Hour? How did you ensure that it stood out amongst the slew of animated projects that are being released?
“The animation style just came about from my own personal taste and curiosity about the animation process. It is all digitally hand-drawn frame by frame 2D animation. I wanted to create a world that looked somewhat elegant even though it is populated by talking beans, rodents, and lizards. I decided to make the characters have long limbs and was meticulous about the color selections. Also I used lighting effects and color grading in After Effects for every scene. This made the animation much more involved and time consuming than it would have been had I not individually lit the characters and backgrounds. In After Effects, I also really focused on the framing of the scenes, utilizing zooms and cutting as if there were multiple cameras filming a sitcom. This editing is huge in how the audience perceives the humor and emotion of the writing and characters. I was not so concerned with how other animated projects are produced but I certainly did know that I did not want The Pinto Variety Hour to look like most adult animated comedy shows. I just followed my muse to get the look I wanted.”
What was the toughest scene or episode to animate and which one was the most fun?
“The toughest scene to animate in the pilot episode was the part when Pinto uses his smart TV to watch a snippet of a reality show called Steroid Mansion that Marmalade Rubicon hosted. The background image of the mansion when Marmalade is addressing the camera took over a week to create; It’s extremely detailed. Then, the animation of the “hot singles” on the reality dating show took a long time because they have a lot of muscle definition (due to the steroids). Also, the cuts are very fast for this scene so that means more drawing, more characters, and more backgrounds in a short amount of time. The scene that was most fun to animate was where Pinto watches the Smelly Fish Blues audition tape on his TV/VCR in his basement. The singing/dancing fish was really fun to animate and I love the way he turned out. Also, the background design for Pinto’s basement was fun (and time consuming) to draw because I just kept adding elements that can potentially add to Pinto’s backstory if I choose to call upon them. For example, he has a Troll doll collection on one of his shelves; that might serve a humorous plotline in the future.”
The website for the show illustrates how a character is animated. But did I also see some rotoscoping for the shot of a cameraman counting down? What are all the techniques that you’ve used that we should keep an eye out for?
“Well, it is all hand-drawn frame by frame except the twirling flash of light that comes from the Time Traveling Inventor’s beret. That was created in After Effects through trial and error. Although the show is all 2D, I utilized lighting effects on the characters and background layers to create the illusion of 3D space. This is a time consuming process since many individual light sources have to be manipulated and placed in above and around the characters and background layers to create lighting that registers to the viewer as believable. The rotoscoping of the hand counting down was an idea I used to throw the viewer off. I just thought it was interesting to suddenly see that. It makes you wonder if there will be more rotoscoping so as a viewer, you might pay more attention. Also, it illustrates that The Pinto Variety Hour plays by its own rules.”
What was the process of casting all your voice actors? Are there any memorable moments from the recording studio that you’d like to share with us?
“It was so fun to see what the voice actors came up with, especially Coulter Rail. He voiced the villain, Sandoval, and the rival host, Marmalade Rubicon. I heard his voice in a YouTube Star Wars video animation he had created where he voiced C3PO realistically questioning Luke Skywalker’s decision to rely on the force to bring down the Death Star. He was hilarious and had a great natural tone. I contacted him and he signed on for the project. I think all I really told him was that I wanted Sandoval to have a pretentious Mid-Atlantic accent. He initially sent me different samples of voices he had tried for each character and then I chose which I liked best. All of the different voices were great because he is such a talented voice actor but it was obvious to me right away which voices belonged to each character. Coulter’s voice acting really helped propel the show’s tone into a direction where I always wanted it to go. Anna Simpson is the actor who voiced Pinto’s assistant, Martha, and his daughter, Lucy. She did a fantastic job and I just love the tone of her voice. She brings a lot of naturalistic personality to her characters; a lot of believability. The same goes for Cara Swift who voiced Pinto’s wife. I was in the studio with both of them separately as they recorded their characters. They were willing to do a ton of takes with me continually asking for slight changes so I could get a surplus to work with. Thankfully, they put up with me. I am very focused on the rhythm of the dialogue so the way things are said is of paramount importance. Specifically, I remember directing Cara Swift to use her arms to gesture as she was delivering her lines so she could get the right naturalistic tone. Some of the best lines were delivered when the actors improvised interjections that I ended up keeping.”
From late-night hosts to movies and shows, animated or live-action, what were your biggest influences while creating The Pinto Variety Hour?
“I’m more influenced by live action comedy shows than animated shows. My favorite television comedy shows are Arrested Development and the British version of The Office. I also love the surreal, avant garde humor of The Mighty Boosh and the writing of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Jim Henson is one of my heroes so I am a fan of all of his work and feel I relate to him. The bizarre sitcom format of Dinosaurs unconsciously influenced the conception of the family life of The Pinto Variety Hour; I didn’t really realize that until after I wrote the pilot script. The concept of the surreal variety show was influenced by The Muppets and the style of old variety shows like The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.”
After its festival run, are there any plans to release The Pinto Variety Hour on TV or on a streaming platform?
“That’s the plan but I’m still looking for a larger production company to finish production of the first season and distribution. I’m willing to work with other writers to change aspects of the episodes, if need be. After the festival run, we will have to see where it lands. I think having The Pinto Variety Hour on TV and a streaming service would be ideal.”
Will you be making a season 2 of The Pinto Variety Hour?
“I hope so. My idea is to have the Variety Hour protagonist change during the second season. By the end of the second season, Martha or even Sandoval may be the host of The Martha Variety Hour or The Sandoval Variety Hour, respectively. Also, Pinto’s wife, Flo, will pursue a career as a culinary show host which will strain the marriage. Pinto may turn into the antagonist, or a truly pathetic character, for a bit. We shall see.”
What kind of thoughts & opinions, overall, would you want audiences to walk away with after watching The Pinto Variety Hour?
“I hope audiences will think, ‘Oh, that was clever’ but after thinking about it a little bit, realize that the show has more depth than it appears to have at first glance. There are metaphors in this bizarre world of beans, rodents, and lizards that apply to our own real world. I want The Pinto Variety Hour to satirize contemporary culture in a way that’s both bizarre enough to grab attention and heartfelt enough to foster investment. The blend of irreverence and endearment creates a unique tone. I would love for audiences to recognize the complex themes of perception, reality, and identity at play beneath the humor. Then again, if they just laugh and enjoy it, that’s fine with me too. After all, it’s a comedy, for chrissake.”
