Web Animation / Chimney Chickens

In 2013, the Gibson Brothers began animating a series of short videos about high-school chickens.

• Comeback King: In this short episode, Rob learns a new comback from the internet and goes on a rampage harassing everyone in school! How to hall monitor Marshall and Private Perry stop the perfect comeback for everything?
• Date Envy: Fueled by jealousy, Blaze vows to get as many girls as the popular Dash O'Donnell. Between shady nonprofit organizations, deliberate car accidents, and stealing phone numbers from the office, his efforts not only manage to fall flat every time, but get him and his friend Buzz deep into trouble!
• Meet the Genius: Buzz Watson: Chimney Chicken High's own Buzz Watson is nothing short of a straight-A genius, but school's hardly a breeze... 'cause when you've got all the answers, everyone's problems seem to fall squarely on your shoulders!
• Meet the Schemer: Blaze Hanson: Blaze is Chimney Chicken High's wheeling-and-dealing greaser with no inhibitions. He says what he thinks. He does what he wants. And you never know what he's up to next!
• Meet the Magician: Ace Malmago: Friday night after school in the gymnasium is the place to be... you'll never want to miss one of Ace Malmago's weekly magic shows! Not because the tricks are amazing, mind you, but because Ace can never seem to get any of his tricks right!
• Cookin' With Love: Morton von Kaiser takes to the kitchen to share some personal insights for your baking!
• How to Deal With Life's Lemons: Blaze tries to make the best of things after life gives him a bunch of lemons!
• Meet the Fangirl: Maggie Tesla: Because of her relentless tenacity, whatever Maggie wants, Maggie gets (sooner or later!) Unfortunately she's got her eyes set on one thing: Buzz!
• Sounds Like Work: After Buzz asks for help with the audio on his project, Blaze tries to convince him that it's unfair because sound is at least 51% of the movie.

The home page for Chimney Chickens can be found here. Help support production by buying merchandise here.

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Chimney Chickens contains examples of:

• Amusingly Short List: In Date Envy, Blaze implies that he already has some girls' phone numbers by saying "I'll just bust out the ol' Rolodex here and have a date in about thirty seconds." But the only three numbers in his contact list are for his mom, Buzz, and 911.
• Battle Discretion Shot: In Comeback King, after Bruz Kuromi grabs Rob McLaury's neck for crashing through the wall into him, the camera cuts to Slick the ninja looking through the hole in the wall. The screen shaking, feathers flying through the hole in the wall, and the sound effects imply Bruz's retaliatory clobbering, before Rob is thrown back through the wall hole and into a trash can.
• Casanova Wannabe: The plot of the pilot episode Date Envy revolves around the High-School Hustler Blaze Hanson trying various zany schemes to get more dates to the dance than the Big Man on Campus Dash O'Donnell.
• Cheek Copy: Blaze Hanson is nearly caught in the act of copying student records to get girls' phone numbers. Thinking fast, he pulls down his pants and sits on the copy machine in his Goofy Print Underwear as an Infraction Distraction.
• Deadpan Snarker: Morton Von Kaiser the poultry-geist's weapon of choice is his unmatchable sarcasm. Morty's indirect form of aggression means preying on people's susceptibility to bad choices, and making plenty of snide remarks while doing it.
• Deliberate Injury Gambit: A variation where the injury is to cars, but thankfully not characters. Blaze, driving Buzz's car, deliberately crashes it into a girl's car to manufacture an excuse to get her phone number.
• Delinquent: Rob McLaury can be easily recognized by his orange prison garb and handcuffs. According to his character blurb on the Chimney Chickens website, wearing them speeds up the frequent catch-and-release process for juvie hall.
• Destination Defenestration: During Rob's Mad Libs Catchphrase montage, he throws Blaze through a window and yells his new comeback.
• Distant Reaction Shot: In Meet the Genius: Buzz Watson, when Blaze throws the nitroglycerin he was asked to fetch at Buzz, the camera cuts from inside the lab to outside the school to show the resulting explosion.
• The Door Slams You: In Date Envy, Blaze pushes the door marked "Student Records" open, right into the face of some poor nameless background chicken.
• Escaped Animal Rampage: Ace Malmago's rabbits escaped.
• Explosive Breeder: The entire school filled up with descendants of Ace Malmago's escaped rabbits.
• Failure Is the Only Option: Ace Malmago the stage magician always messes up his tricks.
• Goofy Print Underwear: Blaze Hanson photocopies his underpants — white with red hearts on them.
• Mad Libs Catchphrase: Rob's mad-libs comeback follows the pattern of "(variant on the previous line of dialogue) SHUT UP!"
  • Buzz: You wanna do me a huge favor and hand me that wrench?
    Rob: You wanna do me a huge favor and SHUT UP?
  • Blaze (after Destination Defenestration): I've fallen, and I can't get up!
    Rob: You're talking, and you can't SHUT UP!
• Not What It Looks Like: In Meet the Schemer, Blaze Hanson "borrowed" Buzz's paint to deface Dash O'Donnell's poster, then left a note with Buzz's name to help Buzz find his paint - making it look like Buzz was the one who vandalized the poster. When Buzz finds his paint next to a disapproving Dash, Buzz name-drops this trope.
• Oh, No... Not Again!: In Date Envy, the second time Blaze calls 911, he gets the same dispatcher, who recognizes his voice from last time.
  Dispatcher: Oh no, not you again! [she hangs up]
• Only Sane Man: Buzz Watson is the only one who takes his studies seriously.
• Overly-Nervous Flop Sweat: Droplets of sweat spring from Blaze's forehead when hall monitor Marshall catches him sitting on the copy machine.
• Refuge in Audacity: Blaze Hanson applies for the position of Office Teacher's Assistant and states his ulterior motives in the interview. He still gets the job.
  Marshall: So Blaze, why exactly do you want to be an Office T.A.?
  Blaze: Well, to be honest, I'm not really interested in being responsible, or even a good employee for that matter. Actually, I expect to be fired by tomorrow. Look, I only really want the job so I can go through your files and steal girls' phone numbers.
  Marshall: You got a sense of humor. I like that. When can you start?
• Shake Someone, Objects Fall: At one point during the montage of Rob McLaury's Mad Libs Catchphrase in Comeback King, he holds Wade O'Donnell upside-down to shake coins onto the floor.
• Smitten Teenage Girl: Maggie Tesla has a crush on Buzz.
• Smoke Out: Slick Hisoka the ninja gets away from Rob McLaury by throwing down a smoke pellet. Slick is gone in the split second it takes for the smoke to clear.
• The Speechless: Slick Hisoka the ninja can't talk, but he can still snicker after pulling a prank on someone.
• Suddenly Shouting: After Blaze rams Buzz's car into a girl's car in his latest attempt to get her phone number, Buzz clarifies what he meant by Blaze being more responsible.
  Buzz: I was thinking more like getting a job or something. So that maybe you could FIX MY CAR!!!
• This Is Gonna Suck: As Rob prepares to throw Blaze out the window, Blaze remarks, "Oh, I don't like where this is going..."
• Thundering Herd: In Date Envy, Dash is chased out of the cafeteria by a mob of squealing fangirls who shake the screen as they all run by in a dust cloud.
• Unrequited Love: Maggie Tesla has a major crush on Buzz Watson, who is too aggravated to return her affections.
• Wronski Feint: In Comeback King, when Slick gets chased by Rob, he vanishes via Smoke Out right in front of a wall that Rob crashes through.
• You Answered Your Own Question: Lead hall monitor Marshall Callaghan falls into this.
  Pvt. Perry Winkle: Rob has been on the internet again and he's learned a new comeback, sir! He's been terrorizing the school ever since!
  Marshall Callaghan: You tried talkin' to him? (Beat) Oh.