Entertainment

ONE BIG HAPPY MEAL – ANIMATION NETWORK TOONS INTO THE DORM-ROOM DIET

‘AQUA Teen Hunger Force” is a cartoon that makes no sense, is made with low-budget animation, boasts some of the thinnest plots on TV – and is quickly turning into a big hit for the Cartoon Network.

The show follows the misadventures of a human-sized happy meal that doubles as a group of detectives. Its members include Master Shake, the group’s self-appointed leader with a bad attitude; Frylock, a brainy box of fries with mysterious powers, and Meatwad, a clump of chopped beef who speaks as if he has swallowed a truck-load of helium.

Despite the fact that Frylock has the ability to shoot laser beams from his eyes or that Meatwad can change shape (he’s no regular beef patty), when trouble comes calling they “run like hell.”

“The show is so ridiculous and absurd that it lends itself perfectly to animation,” says Cartoon Network’s chief programmer, Mike Lazzo.

The crime-fighting trio mostly likes to hang out in the above-ground pool that belongs to their neighbor Carl – a hairy, undershirt-clad yutz who the network describes as “a fat slob from New Jersey” – hence the Aqua, in “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”

“We tried to come up with the most ridiculous name that you could ever give a sales promotion or a cartoon show,” says Lazzo.

Despite “ATHF” ‘s fast-food flavor, it’s become a breakout hit, and one of the most talked about toons on the network. Each episode veers wildly from one absurd situation to the next and each one makes less sense then the one before it.

“They’re all over the place,” says Lazzo. “But it’s influenced so heavily by ‘Monty Python,’ as long as you have a hook that takes you through it, like [former ‘Python’ star] Michael Palin or in this case, Master Shake, people will accept it.”

The show – which airs on Sunday nights at 10 p.m. as part of the network’s Adult Swim programming block – started out as a script for an episode of the network’s equally ridiculous, popular talk show, “Space Ghost Coast to Coast.”

On the episode, Space Ghost (a ’60s-era toon who’s been reinvented as a talk-show host) tries to get some fast-food mascots (a la Ronald McDonald) for his show and ends up with the “ATHF.”

Network officials originally spiked the “Space Ghost” episode in 2001, but decided to roll “ATHF” characters out into their own weekly show, typically two 11-minute shorts.

Once the “ATHF” became successful, they put the “Space Ghost” episode back in production and will air it on New Year’s Eve as part of a four-hour Adult Swim marathon.

As a special treat, at midnight the network will ceremoniously drop Meatwad in Times Square.

“I always liked the characters,” says Lazzo. “How could you not love a wad of meat?”

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FAST-FOOD HIT

Cartoon Network’s latest cult trio of super-powered detectives, the “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” is much more than just a happy meal from New Jersey:

MASTER SHAKE: Self-appointed leader of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force is a frothy, chilled beverage. He’s also an immature, lazy, annoying blow hard.

MEATWAD: Dumb-but-lovable call of chopped meat bears the brunt of Master Shake’s insults and can tranform into an igloo.

FRYLOCK: The brainy, kind-hearted pack of French fries also has a mysterious power that enables him to shoot laser beams from his eyes.