A meatball, a milkshake, a floating carton of fries.

If you’ve ever
seen Cartoon Network’s 15-phenom, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, surely you’ve
asked yourself what the show’s creators (Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro) were
thinking when they whipped up this premise.

We’ll tell you. It turns out
both Willis and Maiellaro were writers for another of Adult Swim’s shows,
Space Ghost Coast to Coast, who came up with an idea involving a trip to
a fast food restaurant. When Space Ghost orders food and discovers he can’t pay
for it, the chain suggests a compromise. If Space Ghost lets their mascots be on
his talk show, he can take the food home for free.

The Space Ghost
episode never aired, but the talking fast food idea stuck and soon, the creators
were pitching Aqua Teen Hunger Force to the network.

It debuted
in 2000 and continues to air in syndication, and a feature film based on the
show is rumored for 2006 release. Aside from the ascerbic wit of the walking,
talking food figures who sometimes assist their human neighbor in solving crimes
and facing off against Dr. Weird, the show doesn’t have a locked-in plot. It
sort of rambles along, irreverently mouthing off without much backstory,
build-up or suspense.

We’re curious to see which direction the feature
takes. We also wonder what a show like this means for the future of
animation–will there be more animated shows aimed at adult audiences that lean
more toward punchlines than set-ups? We wonder. Do you?