Mark Brooks talks ‘Lil Pimp,’ ‘Metalocalypse’ and Future of Indie Animation
For over two decades, Mark Brooks has been working on notable projects in the animation and music industry. He is the creator behind the animated webseries and film “Lil’ Pimp,” the co-director of “The Slim Shady Show” and a writer, animator and director for “Metalocalypse.”
Brooks became enamored with the medium of animation after discovering the program Adobe Flash and eventually created an animated pilot for a show that was picked up by HBO. The show was never realized, but Brooks found the experience beneficial regardless. He credited it with helping him get his foot in the door of the industry, leading to Sony Pictures noticing his work. The company later greenlit a feature length adaptation of his animated short series, “Lil’ Pimp.”
In the midst of working on the feature, Brooks met Chris Prynoski, the founder of the animation studio Titmouse. Prynoski introduced Brooks to an upcoming production called “Dethklok,” which would later become “Metalocalypse.” Brooks was interested in joining the project, as the premise of the show was something familiar to him. He “came out of the band world” and “knew a bunch of metal bands,” having previously worked with bands such as Slayer and Black Breath.
“[A background in music] was probably what gave me job security on that show because I was the only one who had really been in a band,” Brooks said. “[I had] toured and lived on floors and played the shows with rockstars and all that bullshit.”
Brooks did many jobs on the show, from animation to working on backgrounds, directing and voice acting.
The “Metalocalypse” premiere was a huge success, being the highest rated premier in 2006 for its time slot.
Once “Metalocalypse” reached its third season, Brooks was a story editor. By season four, he and Brendon Small (one of the creators of “Metalocalypse”) were writing most of the episodes. It came as a shock when the team was informed that the show would not be renewed for a fifth season.
“I think we went into the fourth season thinking there would be a fifth season,” Brooks said. “I don’t remember if that was because [Mike Lazzo, former VP of Adult Swim] said we would be able to do a fifth season, or if that was Brendon being Brendon and pushing for what he wanted.”
As a compromise, Adult Swim let “Metalocalypse” wrap up its story with “Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem,” a “Metalocalypse” rock opera special. Brooks, along with most of the team, took on numerous roles for the project. He directed, wrote for, and edited the film. The approach to writing the film was very different from the usual routine of the show.
“The thing with ‘Metalocalypse’ was, there was this kind of joke element and comedy element where you could just have episodes about one kind of premise. But there was always this overarching, science fiction-ish [plot] with Salacia and the whole tribunal,” Brooks said. “So the movies—that stuff came more to the forefront and became something that would warrant a movie as opposed to ‘this is an episode about sucking our own dicks.’”
Although “Doomstar Requiem” was meant to be the end of the “Metalocalypse” story, a new “Metalocalypse” project was greenlit in 2020—a feature length film titled “Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar.” While this was exciting news, Brooks was preoccupied with a new position at the time.
“I was the creative director at Titmouse, so I was super busy,” Brooks said. “And then Brendon asked me, ‘Would you be willing to work on [Army of the Doomstar] with me?’ But he wanted to direct it. Which, I was like, yeah, no worries—as long as I don’t have to direct. Because [directing] is a lot [of work].”
On “Army of the Doomstar,” Brooks took on the role of story writer, his main contributions being comedic gags and the plotline with Dethklok’s record producer, Dick Knubbler. Brooks said the approach to this project was particularly different to both the show and “Doomstar Requiem.”
“With the movie, [Small] had a real specific vision with what he wanted,” Brooks said. “So it was more about facilitating his vision of what he wanted for those things.”
Reflecting on his time in the animation industry, Brooks discussed the differences between working on independent productions and with Adult Swim versus working under the pressure of major corporations.
“[When ‘Lil’ Pimp’ was] made into a movie, I was dealing with Joe Roth and Todd Gardner and these guys who are running movie studios, and we just weren’t on the same page,” Brooks said. “We just didn’t think the same things were funny […] That whole career at Sony was kind of bittersweet, ‘cause it was my project, but then it kind of turned on me where it became a thing that wasn’t exactly what I would have made.”
In contrast, he described his work at Adult Swim being less rigid, as Lazzo “just kind of let [creators] do their thing.”
This past March, Titmouse announced the launch of Churp.TV, of which Brooks was appointed president. The website describes itself as a “cartoon delivery service.” As president, Brooks hopes the platform will provide a space for independent creators to share their work in an environment that prioritizes creativity over marketability.
“[Churp] is going to be an avenue for creators who are hopefully a writer, a director and will make their show,” Brooks said. “The difference between that and shows you see on Netflix or Amazon: […] There’s a lot of people in the writers’ room […] There [are] producers involved that are just people’s managers. There’s a lot of extra fluff that really doesn’t add to anything, maybe even deters from what [the project] is.”
Brooks said there are already projects in the works at Churp. He, along with Tommy Blacha and Peter Gilstrap, are working on “The Mitch Owl Show.” A show by Sam King called “A Million Dollar Idea” is also in the works. The service has other projects in development, but they are unable to be disclosed at this point in time. Brooks also continues his work in the music scene. He currently makes up one half of the electronic music duo Night Club, who released their fourth album last March.
To people aspiring to be in creative fields, Brooks encourages them to “stick to your guns.”
“It’s really hard to do though,” he acknowledged, “Everybody has to make a living. So it’s very hard to be like ‘No, I want to do it this way and I don’t care if it means that you can my project.’ […] Whether you’re an animator or an actor or a writer or a director… know why you like something and try to keep that vision alive. The entire industry will try to crush it, so you gotta fight it at every step.”