In Search of the Yello Dello Old Version

From Homestar Runner Wiki

Current revision as of 20:47, 7 April 2024

"Let's do it for Marzipan!"

Homestar wants to get a birthday gift for Marzipan, but can't decide what to get. Coach Z advises him to get something exotic, so Homestar recruits Pom Pom and Strong Sad to catch the Yello Dello, the most rare and beautiful bird in the entire cartoon.

Cast (in order of appearance): Homestar Runner, Coach Z, Pom Pom, The Alien Guy, The Mountain Goat, The Yello Dello, Strong Sad, Strong Bad, Marzipan

Places: The Athletic Field, Coach Z's Locker Room, Far Off Lands, Homestar Runner's House

Date: on or before Thursday, May 4, 2000

Running Time: 3:22

Page title: Yello Dello (original)

Early Page title: In Search of the Yello Dello

[edit] Transcript

{Open on a tan screen with tropical flora to each side of red text reading "Homestar Runner in". The lettering is replaced with a low-angle shot of Homestar wearing a pith helmet and stepping over a sand-colored hill with a canteen labeled "syrup". The image of Homestar zooms toward the camera, and the words "In Search of the" slide from the left to appear above him, followed by "Yello-Dello" coming from behind him.}

{Cut to Homestar standing with a can at his feet on the athletic field, with Coach Z looking away. Sports ambience goes on throughout the scene. A football flies towards the right, while a basketball bounces to the left. Pom Pom runs by, chasing the basketball.}

CAPTION: "One day after sports, Coach Z noticed Homestar Runner looking troubled"

{Coach Z turns to look at Homestar, who kicks the can, looking depressed. Cut to a closer view of Homestar as Coach Z approaches him from behind.}

COACH Z: Hey, what's the praeblem there, Homestar?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {turns around} Oh man, Coach Z, I guess I just don't understaaaaand the laaaadies.

COACH Z: Oh jeez, I figured it was girl trouble. {pats Homestar on the back} Step into my arfice.

{Cut to Coach Z and Homestar sitting on benches in the locker room; an alien wearing a towel is in the background, showering.}

COACH Z: So, tell me what's the matter.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Well, it's Marzipan's birthday, and I don't know what to get her!

{The alien in the shower's towel falls off. Cut to Homestar, who is now much shorter to fit in the frame, and Coach Z in front of a blackboard, as shower ambience continues.}

COACH Z: Well, Homestar, I tell you. Girls are like a great sports play.

{Cut to the blackboard, which now has a game plan on it; five "O"s stand in a horizontal line between an "X" below and the "SCORE ZONE" above. Sports ambience plays.}

COACH Z: {voiceover} You can't just rush in to the score zone! You kiddin' me? You'd be clobbered!

{As he says this, an arrow appears, pointing in a straight line from the "X" to the center "O", and the "X" moves directly along this path. The "O"s crowd in on the "X" and produce a dust cloud, causing all to disappear.}

COACH Z: {voiceover} You gotta stick and move and zig and zag to get past the defenses, so youse can score!

{As he speaks, the game plan reappears, and the two outer "O"s move diagonally past the "X", each producing a line that crosses the other's path. The "X" dodges, zigzags horizontally below the other three "O"s, and encircles them, forming a skull and crossbones in the process, before ending up in the score zone. Cut to a closeup of Homestar in front of the blackboard as shower ambience resumes.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: BUT COACH, I DON'T UNDERSTAND. {Homestar's mouth simply stays open through the entire sentence here}

{Cut to an outside scene showing Homestar and Marzipan in a field with classical architecture in the background.}

COACH Z: {voiceover} Don't just get her a flower.

{A flower appears between them with a ding; Marzipan becomes angry and the flower droops with a slide whistle.}

{Cut to a cloudy sky with wind howling. The camera pans to show Homestar wearing lederhosen and holding a pickaxe at the top of a mountain with a flower growing from the snowcap.}

COACH Z: {voiceover} Get her some rare flower from the tallest mountain!

{A goat pops out from behind the mountain and bleats. Cut back to Coach Z and Homestar at the blackboard, on which the mountain scene has been drawn. Homestar is levitating, and his shoes have their toes visible.}

COACH Z: That way she knows how much she means to yahs!

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Thanks, Coach! {Turns around and revs up like an engine, then flies away to the sound of squealing tires}

{Cut to Homestar sitting on a rock next to a tree. The sun and moon rise and set several times, accompanied by the noise of a clock ticking and ambience rapidly switching between birds and crickets chirping.}

CAPTION: So he thought and thought...
Until finally...

{Cut to Homestar floating against a sun background, as an alarm bell rings.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: I think I has the solution! The Yello Dello!

{Cut to a television screen with the Yello Dello, a yellow bird with human legs and high-heeled shoes, in a tropical habitat on the "Discover Network"; a Steve Irwin-type host describes the bird.}

HOST: {voiceover} Found only in northeastern Potamia, the Yello Dello is the most rare and beautiful bird in this entire cartoon.

{Cut to Strong Sad, Pom Pom, and Homestar, with Homestar's house behind them. Homestar is wearing a pith helmet and has a polka-dotted bindle and stick at his feet. Trumpet fanfare plays during their travel.}

CAPTION: And So Homestar, Pom Pom, and Strong Sad set out in search of the Yello-Dello...

{Homestar picks up the bindle and stick. Cut to a map, where red dotted lines, accompanied by bells playing scales, track their route through Far Off Lands, Prance, Dortugal, and Potamia.}

CAPTION: They traveled many miles...

{Cut to a game of Pitfall. Strong Sad is standing to the left of an alligator pond, with Homestar and Pom Pom on the right. A rope swings back and forth over the pond. A scorpion is underground beneath them, inching towards a brick wall.}

CAPTION: Encountered many dangers...

{Homestar swings over the alligators, producing Atari sound effects, and lands next to Strong Sad.}

CAPTION: Until at last they reached their destination...

{Cut to a silhouette of the Yello Dello standing atop a mountain. Silhouettes of the three approach the base of the mountain. Wind howls and birds chirp. Cut to Strong Sad against a background of bushes.}

STRONG SAD: Oh, I don't know, Homestar, that looks really dangerous.

{Cut to Homestar, standing triumphantly with the Yello Dello atop the mountain behind him.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Ah, come on, guys, let's do it for Marzipan!

{Cut back to Strong Sad.}

STRONG SAD: Well, I already got Marzipan a present and I don't really think that—

{Cut back to Homestar.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Right, right. We do it for Marzipan.

{Cut to Marzipan in a field of flowers, watering one with a watering can that says "h₂oh".}

CAPTION: Meanwhile...

{Strong Bad flies on screen and lands next to Marzipan, wearing pink oven mitts.}

STRONG BAD: Hey, Marzipan, I heard Homestar's getting you the Yello Dello for your birthday. {Marzipan drops the watering can, and water spills.} You wanna know what I got you? NOTHING!

{Strong Bad jumps backwards offscreen with a slide whistle. Marzipan is angry at Strong Bad's comment, but then a thought bubble appears from her head, with Marzipan appearing in it, shortly followed by the Yello Dello. The Marzipan in the thought bubble starts bouncing happily, and then, when the bubble disappears, the real Marzipan does the same.}

{Cut back to Homestar, Pom Pom, and Strong Sad at the bottom of the mountain. A burlap sack wiggles next to them and a trumpet fanfare plays.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Okay, we got it. Now let's go home and get ready for the party.

{Cut to Homestar's house, decorated with balloons (on the mailbox) and a big banner reading "happy birthday marzipan". Marzipan hops around a bit by the mailbox then walks over to the house. Then cut to the door, which opens to reveal Homestar greeting her, with a gift box, Pom Pom, and Strong Sad in the background.}

ALL: Happy Birthday!

{Homestar holds up a roast turkey on a platter. Cut to Marzipan, who frowns as a translucent image of the Yello Dello appears next to her head before fading into an image of the roast turkey. She screams, causing the imaginary turkey to move offscreen, and as the camera cuts back to Homestar, a silhouetted Marzipan slaps him, leaving a visible hand print and sending the turkey flying across the room. She walks away in a huff. With a boing, the Yello Dello then pops out of the gift-box, unharmed.}

YELLO DELLO: Gee, whaddya think her problem was?

{Cut to outside the house. The Pitfall scorpion crawls across the screen behind the mailbox.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: I guess I just don't understaaaaand the laaaadies.

CAPTION: end. {The Pitfall death music plays, and as the scorpion reaches the right side of the screen, the screen wipes to black, surrounding the scorpion.}

[edit] Fun Facts

[edit] Trivia

• Marzipan has no dialogue, and her only vocalization is a stock sound effect rather than a recording by Missy Palmer.

[edit] Remarks

• There is no "back" link at the end of this toon.
• The alien is seen showering, and his towel falls off.
• The flower that Marzipan is watering is similar to the flower in Coach Z's "bad gift" scenario.
• This is the first appearance of Atari 2600 graphics in the Homestar Runner body of work.
  • Strong Sad's pixelated appearance depicts him with a gray face and white upper body, rather than a white face and grey upper body.
• Marzipan's handprint seems to indicate that she has invisible arms and hands.
• Despite the Yello Dello's feminine appearance and the fact that it's referred to as a her, it speaks in a male voice.

[edit] Inside References

• The goat head that pops out from behind the mountain in Coach Z's "bad gift" scenario also appeared in Audition with Marzipan.
• Oven mitts appear several times.
• The Australian narrator's line about the Yello Dello being the rarest and most beautiful bird in the cartoon is a fourth wall break.

[edit] Real-World References

• The title may be a reference to the TV series In Search of..., which detailed the search for various legendary beasts, artifacts, and places (e.g. In Search of Bigfoot, In Search of the Loch Ness Monster).
• The voice-over that describes the Yello Dello is similar to Steve Irwin, also known as the Crocodile Hunter.
  • "Discover Network" is a reference to the Discovery Channel, parent network of Animal Planet which aired The Crocodile Hunter.
• The scene with the scorpion is from the classic Atari 2600 game Pitfall!.
  • The song played at the end of the cartoon is the sound effect from Pitfall! when the player dies.

[edit] Fast Forward

• The phrase "I think I has the solution" would reappear later.
• The sound effect used for Marzipan's shriek can be heard in the Most in the Graveyard Teaser.

[edit] DVD Version

• The DVD version features hidden creators' commentary. To access it, switch the DVD player's audio language selection while watching.

[edit] Commentary Transcript

(Commentary by: Matt Chapman, Mike Chapman, Ryan Sterritt, and Peter Olson)

MATT: Homestar Runner in... "In Search... of Yello Dello". No music, no sound effects.

MIKE: {laughs} Is this cartoon broken?

{Both laugh}

MATT: I think it is. No... no dialogue, still.

PETER or RYAN: Good subtitles.

MATT: So I purposely drew, uh, all of the drawings in this—

MIKE: Yeah, explain yourself, young Chapman!

MATT: Well, I was drawing some storyboards for it, and in the storyboards, as sort of a joke to Mike when I would show them to him, the drawings got more and more exaggerated with each frame of the storyboard. So then Mike was like, "Oh, I thought that was how you were going to draw the cartoon — I think it would be funnier if you just did that," so...

MIKE: What about that alien whose towel just fell down? A. He was wearing a towel in the shower. {all laugh} B. It's my favorite character on homestarrunner.com.

MATT: See... full butt action.

MIKE: Mmm hmm.

{Pause until Homestar speaks without moving his mouth}

MATT: That's a very Ren & Stimpy move. I feel like Stimpy and Ren would both—

MIKE: Open their mouth?

MATT: Open their mouth... their mouths would open and the words would come out.

PETER: Is that just lazy illustration?

MATT: Uh, yes. Absolutely.

MIKE: Look at his gross feet on top of the soles of the shoes there.

{Matt laughs}

RYAN: Got some timelapse here.

MATT: Yeah, there's this pretty—

MIKE: Yeah, Ryan helped us with this. With the timelapse—

RYAN: This is actually four days of animating.

MATT: So this all comes from a movie we made as kids.

MIKE: {The Steve Irwin-like TV announcer comes on} Wait, I have to cut you off...

MATT: A moment of silence.

MIKE: A moment of silence—

MIKE and MATT: For the Crocodile Hunter.

MATT: For Matt's really bad impression of the Crocodile Hunter.

MIKE: Don't you feel bad now, that you made fun of him?

MATT: Wait, no!

RYAN: In light of recent events?

MIKE: Yeah.

MATT: Wait!

PETER: It was really a celebration, wasn't it?

MATT: Yeah, exactly! See, Peter knows what's up!

PETER: Yeah, that's my impression. As a viewer.

{Atari Homestar swings across a crocodile pit}

MATT: I heard that later on there was a South Park that did this exact same joke.

MIKE: Oh, they were... they were in Pitfall?

MATT: Yeah. I'm going to say they ripped us off. I'm gonna go ahead and go on... go on the record.

RYAN: Put it on the wiki.

MIKE: This is Strong Sad's first line, and you also recorded it in the Michael Stipe— 'cause originally there was a time when Strong Sad was gonna sound like Matt's Michael Stipe impression.

MATT: Right. Which is not good.

MIKE: So we've got...

MATT: Did we ever put that as the Quote of the Day?

MIKE: No, it's on here as an Easter egg.

RYAN: It's hidden on here, dude.

MIKE: Oh, it's hidden on here. Go listen to it, everybody! {laughs}

MATT: Stop listening to this commentary.

MIKE: {referring to Marzipan's watering can} H-2-Oooh! {Mike and Matt laugh}

MATT: Look at that neck!

RYAN: Look at his eyes...

MIKE: {laughing} His neck and his... his neck comes out of the back of his... huge gut! And his eyeballs, and... {Matt laughs} Wow.

MATT: Ugly, ugly cartoon, everyone. Yeah, no Marzipan 'cause I made this all myself, and uh... we didn't have a voice for Marzipan yet, right? This was before, like, we had even decided that Melissa would do the voice?

MIKE: No, 'cause it was... Uh, maybe, 'cause it was… was it before Reddest Radish?

MATT: I think so, yeah.

MIKE: Yeah.

MATT: Happy Birthday, Marzipan. On some sticks.

MIKE: Boing boing boing.

PETER: Had you tried your own voice for Marzipan?

MATT: No... no animation, no one's mouth moved there.

{Mike laughs}

MATT: That's just some female scream I found, uh, a sound effect I found on the web. {Laughs} Just looked up "femalescream.wav". And that...

MIKE: {referring to the Yello Dello after Marzipan slaps Homestar} Why did he wait five seconds? {Matt and Mike laugh}

MATT: I don't know... This is uh... a wreck. {All laugh} A screeching train wreck of a cartoon, gang.

MIKE: It's a good thing our commentary was so spot-on, though.

[edit] Fun Facts

• Matt refers to The Ren & Stimpy Show, which featured a very distinctive, exaggerated style of animation.
• TBC hold a moment of silence for Steve Irwin, who died from a stingray injury shortly before the recording of this commentary.
• South Park did indeed make a similar joke about Pitfall!, in the controversial episode content warning "Red Hot Catholic Love".
• Michael Stipe was the lead singer of R.E.M.

[edit] External Links

• watch "In Search of the Yello Dello Old Version"
• watch "In Search of the Yello Dello Old Version" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "In Search of the Yello Dello Old Version"
• forum thread re: "In Search of the Yello Dello Old Version"

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