How’s Your Mom?
The question is asked in the closing song of the brilliant and insane cartoon Pickle and Peanut. The song, along with the show is so unusual, so bizarre, that it was unceremoniously cancelled after just two seasons and 42 episodes.
Nobody understood it. And some people never will.
I have told several friends to watch it. They do. And they stop. They are missing out.
I was missing out as well. Pickle and Peanut debuted in September of 2015 and I had never heard of it. I will always be a fighter for physical media over streaming. But, every once in awhile I discover something that you can only stream. I by me saying I discovered the show, that’s a lie. It is a story of an accident and now a bonding moment I will always have with my son.
My boy was exploring Disney+ one morning. I was getting ready in my bedroom for work. I heard the TV in the living room and what I heard was “Sharks, swords, yogurt, kicks, fries, smartphones, hot tubs yeah”.
I walked out and on the TV was a a style of animation that was unusual and striking. The characters were a Pickle (Jon Heder) and Peanut (Johnny Pemberton) two teenage boys that are in fact a pickle and a peanut. The episode was from season 1 called “Cookie Racket”. In the episode Pickle cooks and gives his Grandma’s cookies to everyone for free. The cookies are so good that they send Peanut into a googly-eyed ecstasy of riding a horse in the pastel colored clouds. It cuts back to Peanut who says “So much pleasure in my mouth!”
I was hooked. I laughed so hard. The humor is silly but it hit the right notes. My son could not stop laughing. I did not know he had stumbled onto something special. It is a great feeling knowing that you and your son have the same sense of humor. And it is not for everyone. Trust me. It is bizarre but in a laugh out loud way. When the boys give Pickle’s cookies to their friend McSweats (Dana Snyder) his eyes get big and he exclaims, “Dang, that’s a dank cookie, baller!”
The episodes are bite sized. Around 10 minutes each. As soon as “Cookie Racket” ended, Pickle and Peanut steamrolls right into the next segment/episode “Busted Arm”. In this episode Pickle breaks his arm after he and Peanut are parkour-ing around the neighborhood. Pickle is transported to the hospital where they meet Dr. Pamplemousse, but he is an eight year old who exclaims after a short montage of him eating cookies and performing surgery, “Hey! I’m not a real doctor!”
The character design is as unusual as the show. From McSweats to a Tailspin parody of 90’s Adventure Bear, the world Peanut and Pickle live in is unique to say the least. The boys work at Mjart Mart, which is ran by their loving boss, Mr. Mjart (Matt Chapman). They are also friends with Champion Horse (Noah Z. Jones), a literal horse with a six pack who is an action star, Spedacular Donkey (Bennie Arthur) a donkey who wears a mask and Sneaky Patty (Abbi Jacobson) maybe a criminal. The boys are tormented by a surfer, bro named Lazer (Michael Croner) and a Russian mob boss specializing in Mini-Donks, you know miniature donkeys, Papa (Patton Oswalt).
The jokes come fast and furious requiring multiple viewings of Pickle and Peanut. Also requiring multiple viewings is I learned that there is an old lady hidden in every episode. I learned this watching the last episode, and wasn’t sure if it was just a joke they put in. So, I went back and watched some random episode and sure enough, sitting in the hot tub of their “tree house” Pickle and Peanut built on a cellphone tower was the old lady. Now, when my son and I watch it we are always looking for her, and yes, we have found her in every episode so far.
Another joke that is in every episode is The Whispering Man. Basically he emphasizes what is happening on screen, like when Pickle explains to Peanut about his grandma’s cookies, he whispers, “tradition, tradition”. It is funny and unnecessary but it makes the show unique. Another joke that is in every episode is, at some point a weird cut away to live action footage will happen. It can be as simple as a real peanut and pickle walking through the scene or Mr. Mjart as a slimy, monster puppet thing. My favorite joke in nearly episode is whenever Pickle or Peanut park their van, they wreck it. Or run over a guy sitting in a lawn chair. Or when it doesn’t crash, get back in it drive a little ways, jump out so it crashes. Brilliant.
Behind all the insanity of the show, is two friends that love each other very much. Pickle and Peanut support each other and realize when they’ve been mean to one another. Their love and friendship is unwavering and really great to see. It is also nice to see that Peanut is raised by a single supportive mother. The show never makes a big deal about it, but his mom works and supports her son. Pickle is raised by his two parents that are also supportive. They are also human, which suggests that Peanut and Pickle are adopted, which is never mentioned.
I love Pickle and Peanut. Is it weird? Yes, but it makes it unique. Is it funny? Without a doubt. Is some of the humor dark with sneaky adult jokes? 100% All of this makes Pickle and Peanut one of the most fun shows to stream.
Pickle and Peanut is streaming on Disney+