Full Energy - New GoAnimate Theme

GoAnimate recently launched the premium (i.e. you need to buy it) theme Full Energy. A select bunch of long time GoAnimators were given the theme to play with, myself included. No doubt to help showcase the theme as much as a reward for being long time supporters of the site.

Initial reactions to the theme on GA's forum were mixed (read this thread and this one). One notable comment was from GA's CEO, Alvin who had this to say about the theme:

I personally think the Full Energy theme is quite ugly. However, that's the whole point to that particular animation style. We realize it probably won't appeal to everyone on the site, but we feel it is important to encompass more styles.

Full Energy is going to be one of those things that people either love or hate!

So what is Full Energy? Well if you've seen Adult Swim's Robot Chicken Animations then you'll have some idea of what to expect from Full Energy. Like Robot Chicken it incorporates mashed together dolls (in this case I think it's a Ken doll) and other props to make up the characters.

Currently the theme features three, Energy drink drinking, trailer park inhabitants, Dave (mashed up Ken doll), Boss (a Red Bull like muscle can) and Clyde (a walking talking Men's Health magazine). All three are at the low end of the economic food chain and spend their days scheming ways to make money.

First impressions of any theme are never a good guide. It's not how it looks, it's what you do with it that counts. I've noticed some people who had negative reactions to Full Energy have started to warm to the characters as they've seen what some of the best GoAnimators are doing with them.

Personally I'm a Robot Chicken fan so I wasn't put off by the Full Energy theme when I first saw it. The Trailer Park setting and the 'low rent' characters put this firmly in My Name is Earl territory (another TV show I love).

Unlike others on GA I didn't rip a hillbilly sounding voice track from somewhere to adapt the theme to, I went straight for an original idea in my usual style of speech bubbles and a music backing track to fill the silence.

The premise I started with was that Dave (the ken doll character) would be relating some unbelievable story that played on the fact that he's not as good looking as he thinks he is. At the time I didn't know what but when I came up with the line 'girls are lining up to get to you' it all started to make sense. Why wouldn't Dave think he was good looking enough to be a Male Escort!

I'll let my animation, below, speak for its self.

The Ladies Man by etourist

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

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