Freak Brothers actors Blake Anderson and John Goodman discuss series and pop-ups

FOX’s free streaming service Tubi hosted an exclusive event on December 6th at the Fred Segal in Los Angeles, California to honor the platform’s animated ode to smokers new and old – The Freak Brothers.

Most of the members of the epic cast took part, including Pete Davidson (Saturday Night Live), John Goodman (The Connors), Blake Anderson (Workaholics) and Andrea Savage (Veep), Phil LaMarr (Futurama) and Danny Gendron.

The Freak Brothers is the story of three fictional characters who regularly venture out on antics that inevitably have to do with pot. It’s the story of Freewheelin ‘Franklin Freek (Woody Harrelson), Fat Freddy Freekowtski (Goodman), Phineas T. Phreakers (Davidson) and their cat Kitty (Tiffany Haddish).

The series debuted on Tubi on November 14, 2021, after being revived from artist Gilbert Shelton’s original comic book series, which took place in the late 1960s and 1970s amid a wave of hippie writers and artists testing the legal boundaries, debuted the publication.

To showcase this modern take, the Fred Segal Store has been transformed into the The Freak Brothers universe and brings the animated series to life – complete with giant cartoon mushrooms under neon lights and lots of artificial potted plants. The immersive pop-up experience at Fred Segal is open to the public until January 15th.

High Times was there when Anderson and Davidson were hot boxing the room. I couldn’t help but notice a high times back theme with the Freak Brothers on the cover chilling on the glass coffee table in front of them. I did a little research and found it was the November 1990 issue – one of several times the Freak Brothers had graced the cover of the magazine.

LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 6: (LR) Blake Anderson and Pete Davidson attend Tubi’s “The Freak Brothers” Experience at Fred Segal in Los Angeles, California, on December 6, 2021. © 2021 FOX Media LLC. (CR: Frank Micelotta / PictureGroup for TUBI)

“Really, the two characters are just an extension of me and Adam [Devine]. So, it’s kind of cool to be in the booth and record [our voice roles]. It’s improvisation and all. It’s pretty cool. “

– Blake Anderson

The juxtaposition of the old and new timelines is proof that cannabis customs have changed. After smoking a magical strain of cannabis in 1969, the Freak Brothers travel 50 years into the future by 2020, bringing their counterculture lifestyle to the modern world. Legal cannabis is everywhere.

It gets fun when confronted with today’s smokers. Blake Anderson and Adam Devine – two-thirds of the workaholics trio – play Chuck and Charlie, stoners who live in the present.

“They really are modern stoners,” Anderson told the High Times. “You really work with the system. They know weed is legal – oddly enough. So you are in a completely different realm than The Freak Brothers. “

A culture clash is the result – and sometimes with a pinch of reality. Today you can practically take a punch out of a pen in a shop instead of hiding in the woods.

“Really, the two characters are just an extension of me and Adam [Devine]. So, it’s kind of cool to be in the booth and record [our voice roles]. It’s improvisation and all. It’s pretty cool. I represent both of us here. “

The cast includes some of Hollywood’s finest veterans – many of whom grew up reading the original underground hippie comics. Goodman plays Fat Freddy, the kind-hearted ginger who usually loses money in comics or is burned for weed. Goodman said he has been collecting The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comics by Gilbert Shelton for a while, which prepared him to create the voice of Freddy. He went into this in more detail at New York Comic Con last year.

When asked if the enduring power of comics will be accepted by younger generations, Goodman is optimistic. “I hope so,” Goodman told the High Times. “I would not have believed it” still impresses readers as much today as it did then, he said. “I still have a bunch of comics at home. I leaf through it every now and then. ”

LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 6: John Goodman attends Tubi’s “The Freak Brothers” Experience at Fred Segal’s on December 6, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. © 2021 FOX Media LLC. (CR: Scott Kirkland / PictureGroup for TUBI)

“I still have a bunch of comics at home. I leaf through it every now and then. ”

– John Goodman

The generational differences are particularly evident in the way cannabis was commercialized and how the plant was largely removed from its taboo status in the Nixon era, when the comics first became popular and when Goodman read them. “That was back in the 1970s – there were many [drugs]He said with a grin.

Goodman spoke alongside Billy Crystal as the experienced Monster Sulley in Monsters Inc. – and paved the way for his new cartoon role as Freddy. Freddy’s voice is his new work of art and he’s ready to share it with a new audience. “I hope it succeeds” in reaching a new generation, said Goodman. “It would be nice for sure.”

New episodes of The Freak Brothers appear every Sunday on Tubi through December 26th. Head to Fred Segal on 8500 Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles for a full Freak Brothers experience starting now through Saturday, January 15, including snapping a selfie in front of towering mushrooms and man-made pot fields.

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