Marshmallow's Last Stand

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Revision as of 19:33, 5 January 2019

"You better believe it, man!"

Friendly faces in the crowd.

"Homestar...RUN!"

This article is about the toon. For the place, see Marshmallow's Last Stand (place).

Strong Bad and Strong Mad steal the star from Homestar Runner's shirt in order to force Homestar and Pom Pom to participate in a tag-team wrestling match. This cartoon, which is one of the first ever full-length Homestar Runner toons, has been removed from the site.

Cast (in order of appearance): Homestar Runner, Pom Pom, Strong Bad, Strong Mad, The Announcer, Mr. Bland, Coach Z, Strong Sad, Señor, Marzipan, Bubs, The King of Town, The Poopsmith, The Robot (storybook), Various Audience Characters

Places: Marshmallow's Last Stand, Arena, Outer Space

Running Time: 5:00

Date: Finished November 1999, released January 2000

Page Title: 8:30! Be there!

DVD: Everything Else, Volume 2

Transcript

{There is a color-changing background that reads:}

FBI WARNING

This cartoon is pretty old. It was the first  cartoon
we ever made. Homestar is not very funny and
neither is Strong Bad. They are mere shadows of
the men they have become. This cartoon has not
been on the site for many months, but we have had
several requests(from our Dad) to put it back. So
here it is. Consider yourselves warned.

{Show opening credits. Cut to inside Marshmallow's Last Stand. Homestar and Pom Pom sit at a table each with a marshmallow.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: These are some great marshmallows, eh, Pom Pom? ...Why don't you look over there, for no reason?

{Pom Pom bubbles and looks away as Homestar sucks up Pom Pom's marshmallow. He chews it up and takes a bite of his own. Suddenly, heavy metal music plays in the background as Strong Bad and Strong Mad walk up.}

STRONG BAD: Oh, look at the babies! Eating their marshmallows!

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Uh-oh, it's The Brothers Strong, Strong Bad and Strong Mad!

STRONG BAD: You better believe it, man. We're the greatest tag team wrestlers in the world! {Strong Mad nods}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: That's great, Strong Bad! Have a good time!

POM POM: {Bubbles over Homestar's line}

STRONG BAD: No, you morones {"morons" with Strong Bad's old, affected Mexican accent}. We're challenging you to the tag-team match!

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Hmm... no thanks.

{Both Strong Bad and Strong Mad get angry. They both growl.}

STRONG BAD: Hey, you gimme this!

{He takes Homestar's star from his shirt.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Hey! Gimme back my star!

STRONG BAD: Of course, but first you have to beat us in the ring!

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {turns to Pom Pom} What do you say, Pom Pom, old friend?

POM POM: {bubbles in agreement}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: You're on!

{Cut to outside a stadium. Crowds go in. A close-up of the door is shown, with a poster on it that says: "War for the Star Tonight!!! 8:30 PM". The scene changes to the ring.}

THE ANNOUNCER: {heavy echo} Ladies and gentlemen, good evening and welcome to The War for the Star! In this corner, at a combined weight of one million pounds, hailing from Parts Unknown, The Brothers Strong, Strong Mad and Strong Bad! {Each fall into the ring as his name is called} And now, the hometown favorites, with a combined weight of one hundred and four pounds, Homestar Runner and Pom Pom! {A light shines on each one as his name is called.}

{The cheering crowd is shown, which consists of Mr. Bland, Señor, Marzipan, Bubs, Coach Z, The King of Town, The Poopsmith, The Robot, Strong Sad, and other various people. Señor is wearing a giant styrofoam hand; Mr. Bland is holding a sign that says "Wrestling Mania!!!"; and The Poopsmith is holding a sign that says "I'm #2". The bell rings and Homestar takes down Strong Bad with a flying kick to the head. Strong Bad gets up, but Homestar knocks him to the ground with the same kick, and then body slams him. Strong Bad, who is dizzy from said kick as stars spin around his head, tags in Strong Mad, who enters the ring.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Uh-oh!

{Strong Mad grabs Homestar by the legs and proceeds to slam him on the ground. He tosses Homestar out of the ring. Pom Pom gets angry and vaults over the top rope into the ring, but lands on Strong Mad's fist. Strong Mad beats him against the boxing ring floor repeatedly, and Pom Pom falls over. Strong Mad climbs to the top turnbuckle and gets ready to deliver the finishing move.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Pom Pom, look out!

POM POM: {winks at Homestar}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Huh?

{Strong Mad jumps off the turnbuckle and splashes onto Pom Pom, but is bounced into space. Strong Bad and Homestar re-enter the ring and Homestar bounces off of the ropes into Strong Bad, taking him out by smashing his head into Strong Bad's face. Strong Bad gets up. Cut to a close up of Homestar's face while music from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly starts playing with dark bars appearing up to his eyes. A close-up of Strong Bad with the same music and effect follows. He attempts a windmill punch, but Homestar kicks his stomach and tosses him out of the ring. Strong Bad grabs a lit bomb from under the ring while mumbling incoherently. He gets back into the ring and shoves the bomb down Homestar's throat and punches Homestar's belly.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {Homestar's stomach gurgles} Ooh, I ate too many marshmallows... {His face turns green and he pukes the bomb and some marshmallow-y goo onto Strong Bad's head, where it sticks.}

STRONG BAD: {running around frantically} AUGH! Getitoffme getitoffme getitoffme!

{The bomb explodes. When the dust clears, Homestar is standing atop of Strong Bad. Strong Bad has a chunk missing from his head.}

THE ANNOUNCER: {Numbers appear as the announcer says them.} One! Two! Three! {The crowd cheers. Strong Mad falls back into the ring.} Ladies and gentlemen, your winners, Homestar Runner and Pom Pom!

{Cut to a black-and-white picture of Homestar Runner and Pom Pom, labeled "Winners"}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Now how about my star back, Strong Bad?

{Frustrated, Strong Bad tears up Homestar's star while muttering something inaudible, and Strong Mad nods. An angered Homestar then kicks Strong Bad, and a cartoon explosion with "BUH-LAM!!" written on it covers the screen. After it clears, Strong Bad is seen lying on the ground with stars of confusion floating around his head. Homestar kicks one of the stars to himself so he can grab it.}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {Voice echoing} Homestar....RUN!

{He jumps up and the star of pain becomes a star on his shirt, and theme music plays}

Fun Facts

Explanations

• According to a 2001 interview with Stephan of WTFiml33t.com, the reason this toon was taken off the site was: "The characters are completely different. Saying and doing things they'd never do now." However, in a later interview, it is mentioned that The Brothers Chaps "can't disclose why [Marshmallow's Last Stand and A Jumping Jack Contest] are off, it's a personal reason."
• The Poopsmith's sign reads "I'm #2". #2 is also a slang term for whatsit.

Trivia

• The framed sign behind Homestar Runner changes repeatedly in the restaurant. The order which they are shown in is:
  • Nice to Meat You (picture of a steak)
  • Lettuce Pray (picture of lettuce)
  • Get Toasted (picture of toast with butter)
  • Say Cheese (picture of cheese)
  • Get Toasted (picture of toast)
  • Eggs-Treme (picture of fried eggs)
  • Pie-Fect!! (picture of a slice of pie)
  • Say Cheese (picture of a slice of cheese)
  • Lettuce Pray (picture of a head of lettuce)
  • Nice to Meat You (picture of a steak)
• According to Pom Pom's character video, he weighs 4 pounds. Combining this fact with Pom Pom and Homestar's combined weight according to this toon, Homestar weighs 100 pounds.
• Similarly, Strong Mad's sticker page places him at 900 pounds. Despite the obvious exaggeration, with Strong Bad and Strong Mad's supposed weight, this places Strong Bad at about 999,100 pounds.
• According to a now non-existent comment in the Homestar Runner Museum, this was the first Homestar Runner cartoon to use voice acting. Each character's voice has developed since then.
• The Brothers Chaps parody lucha libre-style wrestling with Strong Bad's south-of-the-border accent and wrestling mask.
• In this toon, Homestar Runner has a hint of a southern accent. This is likely because The Brothers Chaps live in Georgia.
• This cartoon was co-written and co-directed by Chad Eikhoff.
• In this cartoon, Strong Mad has visible chest hair on several occasions.
• Homestar Runner has stars on the treads of his sneaker soles.
• This is the first toon in which The Poopsmith, The King of Town, and Marzipan appear.
• This toon has a URL that ends with 2.
• Not counting toons that were released in 2007 or later and have yet to be released on DVD, this toon took the longest amount of time for any toon to come to DVD, as Everything Else, Volume 2 was released nearly seven years later.

Remarks

• Homestar tells Pom Pom the marshmallows are great before having visibly tried them.
• Although Strong Sad appears in the toon, he isn't referred to as one of The Brothers Strong. This might be because Strong Sad was disowned by Strong Bad and Strong Mad, according to an old Characters page that was drawn in the same style as this toon.

Goofs

• The Announcer begins speaking before the microphone is lowered to him, and once the microphone is lowered his voice isn't any louder.
• Although Homestar's star has five points, Strong Bad appears to tear the star into four triangular pieces.
• Strong Bad's pants turn blue when Homestar wrestles Strong Mad. When Strong Bad steps back in the ring, they are black again.
  • His pants are also blue near the end of the toon, after the Brothers Strong lose and are standing at the side of the ring while the Announcer is announcing Homestar and Pom Pom as the winners.
• When the Brothers Strong first jump into the ring, Strong Mad looks unusually short.
• When Homestar says, "Hey! Give me back my star," his voice sounds a little cut off at the beginning.
• Almost all of the sound effects can be heard slightly before the actions causing them are seen.
• After Strong Bad's face explodes from the bomb, the marshmallow on his face changes with every shot. The last time he is shown, he has no marshmallow on his face at all.
• When Homestar jumps up to grab the gold star and says "Homestar....RUN!", Strong Bad doesn't scroll down with the rest of the floor while he is lying down.
• When Strong Bad grabs the bomb from under the ring, you can notice on the left of Strong Bad's hands, the blue is overlapping his face, and to the right of his hands, his hand's outline extends into the blue.
• Starting at the Arena, the toon is poorly voice synched, getting worse near the end.
• Sometimes, when the ring is zoomed out far enough, you can see in the top left corner where the graphics for the audience end before the frame.
• When Homestar says "Homestar...RUN!" his mouth doesn't move.
• The final screen is in two slightly, but noticeably, different shades of orange.
• Homestar's star is off-line; you can still see some parts where it isn't red.
• When the Brothers Strong enter the stand, their silhouettes show them facing the viewer, not Homestar and Pom Pom.
• At the very end, Homestar's new star is not in the same place as the old one. (You can see that a bit of the shadow is still on there after he gets his new star.)
• When Strong Bad and Strong Mad tag each other, their hands go through each other.

Real-World References

• Strong Bad's "You better believe it, man!" sounds almost identical to the same phrase uttered by Jesus Quintana (played by John Turturro) in the movie The Big Lebowski.
• The rainbow-colored warning is most likely a reference to an old FBI warning used by Paramount Pictures. It is also used in the DVDs.
• "The War for the Star" is a parody of boxing matches with rhyming titles (e.g. Rumble in the Jungle, The Thrilla in Manila).
• The Announcer says Strong Bad hails from Parts Unknown. Having more exotic characters coming from "Parts Unknown" has been used in wrestling for decades.
• Mr. Bland is holding a sign that says "Wrestling Mania". This is quite likely a reference to the annual WWE WrestleMania event.
• The music played when Homestar and Strong Bad are staring each other down comes from the movie The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
• The largely ineffective "windmill punch" Strong Bad tries to use on Homestar has actually been used in real life to similar comedic effect, during one of the wrestling matches comedian Andy Kaufman staged with professional wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler. The sound effect used during the toon was taken from the PC game Sim Copter.

Fast Forward

• The sound played when Strong Mad flies into space later becomes associated with Nebulon, and is usually heard when he enters or leaves a scene, for example, in the Powered by The Cheat cartoon, New Boots.
• The sound played when Homestar is being slammed about by Strong Mad is the same sound used in the game Bronco Trolleys, and also when Eh! Steve! jumps off-screen.
• The music played at the end is also used in Old Intro 2. It is also heard remixed in flashback after Strong Bad wins The Cheat.
• This type of art, animation and comedy was parodied in the emails personal favorites and lady...ing.
• The font used for the 1, 2, 3 count that appears when Homestar pins Strong Bad to the ground is the same as the Tandy 400's font (which is Westminster).
• Homestar's comment on having eaten too many marshmallows mirrors a similar lamentation on drinking too many Melonades in A Jumping Jack Contest.
• Two of the scenes from this toon were exaggerated in Exaggerations.

DVD Version

• The poor synching of the dialogue and the sound effects appears to have been fixed — until the part where Homestar kicks Strong Bad in the gut, after which the synching is much worse than on the website.
  • Strangely enough, the synching appears to be completely fixed during the commentary.
• The music from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is replaced with custom music sung by the Brothers Chaps probably due to copyright reasons; however, the original soundtrack can be heard during the commentary.
• The DVD version features creators' commentary. To access it, switch your DVD player's audio language selection while watching.
• The "warning" at the beginning is shown automatically and is shown in a different font than on the website.

Commentary Transcript

(Commentary by: Homestar Runner, Mike Chapman)

HOMESTAR: Best cartoon on the site!

MIKE: Hey, Homestar!

HOMESTAR: Best cartoon on the site!

MIKE: Hey, Homestar. {pause} {whispers to Matt} One more time.

HOMESTAR: Best cartoon on the site!

MIKE: All right.

HOMESTAR: {to the same general tone and rhythm as "Best cartoon on the site."} Doot doot doo ba-da-doo!

MIKE: Okay, what's up, Homestar?

HOMESTAR: Oh, not a whole lot, Mike.

MIKE: Well, you know, I got a question for you.

HOMESTAR: What?

MIKE: Why do you not have a hat in this cartoon?

HOMESTAR: Look, it was a, a sordid affair. Mike.

MIKE: 'Cause there was another cartoon called "Where My Hat Is At?" where you found your hat...

HOMESTAR: Right...

MIKE: And then...

HOMESTAR: Where do you think it was when I went home from this wrestling match?

MIKE: Was it back in the fridge—

HOMESTAR: Between the milk and the pickles, this time.

MIKE: Oh.

HOMESTAR: I didn't have no more Cold Ones.

MIKE: {during the Brothers Strong entrance music} Listen to those—

HOMESTAR: That was loud.

MIKE: —abrasive riffs on the guitar.

HOMESTAR: Um... I look great. In this cartoon.

MIKE: Yeah, you look great, you act great—

HOMESTAR: Yeah.

MIKE: You seem real great.

HOMESTAR: I wish that old marshmallow place got that old wallpaper they had back. I like that stuff.

MIKE: The green stripes?

HOMESTAR: And the crazy changing... changing gag framed picture behind me.

MIKE: Strong Bad's head looks like it's got an orange, uh, stripe on the right side there, instead of a shadow like it should.

HOMESTAR: Yeah. See, he doesn't look so good, but I look great. {In the cartoon, Strong Bad takes Homestar's star} Hey! I didn't even know that thing was removable. I thought you could see my portions when you—

MIKE: So your star's not—

HOMESTAR: —tore the star off.

MIKE: Your portions? {slight laugh}

HOMESTAR: Yeah.

MIKE: Lots of silence, Homestar.

HOMESTAR: Yeah... We didn't, we didn't think music was the way to go back in these days.

MIKE: {laughs}

HOMESTAR: Um, the arena. Where'd that go—

MIKE: Well, they tore it down—

HOMESTAR: Oh, is that what happened?

MIKE: Yeah, they imploded that, uh...

HOMESTAR: That's too bad. What'd they build on top of it, Bubs' Concession Stand?

MIKE: Yeah, that's where Bubs' Concession Stand is now.

HOMESTAR: Oh... Where did all these people?— {laughing}

MIKE: They all... The duck person...

HOMESTAR: Were they inside?

MIKE: Don King, you can see Don King there... They were all in—

HOMESTAR: When they imploded it?

MIKE: Yeah.

HOMESTAR: That's terrible!

MIKE: Well, they chose to. Y'know, like those people who chain themselves to trees and—

HOMESTAR: Ohh...

MIKE: —in the forest.

HOMESTAR: Right, right. So they're protesting work.

MIKE: Right. Now—

HOMESTAR: They got killed.

MIKE: {laughs} Yeah.

HOMESTAR: Look, that's the "Taking Care of Business" logo on that microphone.

MIKE: Ah...

HOMESTAR: Sort of.

MIKE: TCB?

HOMESTAR: TC and B. {in the cartoon, the Announcer introduces Homestar and Pom Pom} This is just like our old wrestling days, with the big entrance, Mike?

MIKE: Look, the bell's got a face. Is that—

HOMESTAR: That poor— that guy's dead too. That... what?

MIKE: The bell man?

HOMESTAR: Yeah. {In the cartoon, Homestar attacks Strong Bad} Waaah! I can't do that as good as I used to...

MIKE: You dropped a big leg. You dropped a big leg, and he gets to the corner... Oh, he makes the tag!

HOMESTAR: Oh, that's too bad... Uh oh, Mike. See, what'd I tell ya? {Strong Mad enters the ring} That guy...

MIKE: The crowd noise went away, Homestar!

HOMESTAR: They weren't very thrilled! They were appalled that this big guy got ahold of me and my mouth got so giant.

MIKE: Strong Bad's tights are blue there... Have they always been blue this whole cartoon?

HOMESTAR: I don't think so. ...Pom Pom's got a weird shaped head. Was that supposed to be some kind of perspective?

MIKE: It may have been perspective...

HOMESTAR: We're getting our butts kicked, Mike. I gotta tell ya.

MIKE: Yeah. Now what's going on?

HOMESTAR: Okay, there's the crowd. See, they were just worried about things, so they got quiet... And now—

MIKE: Pom Pom knows what he's doing.

HOMESTAR: Oh, he's got a plan. {of Strong Mad} Look at those meaty palms. Strong Mad's got real meaty palms.

{In the cartoon, Strong Mad flies into space, making the Nebulon sound}

HOMESTAR: {surprised} Nebulon! Where is he?

MIKE: You heard the Nebulon sound—

HOMESTAR: I heard him! He was just off-screen.

MIKE: {at nearly the same time} He must've been just off-screen. Ooh, a rare front view of yourself.

HOMESTAR: Ooh, it's true. Do you think Nebulon abducted Strong Mad there? {as the theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly plays} Don't listen very closely up here, Mike. 'Cause it's gonna be different later on. Um... Ooh, he's got the old helicopter move.

MIKE: You're not going to fall for that, are you?

HOMESTAR: No way, man.

MIKE: You're gonna give him a slow kick and then slowly lift him up.

HOMESTAR: Oh, I barely got him over there. He made a very hollow noise when he hit the ground. Ooh, he's doing his "haselos theselos". Strong Bad used to, when he got real excited, he'd go, "Haselos theselos, haselos theselos".

{In the toon, Homestar says, "I ate too many marshmallows."}

HOMESTAR: So, wait, is that just you in the background going "buuyuuyuuyuu..."?

MIKE: Very possibly.

HOMESTAR: Nice. Oh, this is— {In the toon, Homestar spits the bomb at Strong Bad} Eew! That's disgusting! {Strong Bad blows up} Man, Mike... Ooh, I look good there. I did some damage to ol' Strong Bad's head.

MIKE: You did?

HOMESTAR: I gotta tell ya. Look, there's the Robot!

MIKE: There was the Robot, and, uh, Poopsmith.

HOMESTAR: He's barely got a— There musta been a plug under the seat where he was sittin'.

MIKE: Oh, yeah, 'cause he can't be very far away—

HOMESTAR: Else he would've been shut down.

MIKE: —with his four-foot extension cord, power cord.

HOMESTAR: That was a nice little, uh, photograph. I should start autographing those and giving them out.

MIKE: Glossies?

HOMESTAR: Yeah—

MIKE: That's a glossy.

{In the toon, Strong Bad tears up the star}

HOMESTAR: Hey! {He does a flying kick against Strong Bad} Ah, I did it again! Buh-lam, Mike! Buh-lam and the angel. That's a good metal band.

MIKE: Who just said that?

HOMESTAR: Uh, not me.

MIKE: Apparently not.

HOMESTAR: Don't look at me! I had that recorded, pre-recorded.

MIKE: So Pom Pom just hit "mash play" on the—

HOMESTAR: On a jambox. Pretty expensive. Inexpensive.

Fun Facts

• Homestar saying his hat was "between the milk and the pickles, this time" and that he "didn't have no more Cold Ones" refers to Where My Hat Is At? in which Homestar found his hat between the milk and the Cold Ones.
• Balaam and the Angel is an English rock band that toured with KISS and Iggy Pop in the late '80s.
• The way Homestar mentions that Strong Bad says, "Haselos theselos, haselos theselos" may be a reference to Strong Bad's email intro in 2 years.

External Links

• watch "Marshmallow's Last Stand" (mirror)
• view the Flash file for "Marshmallow's Last Stand" (mirror)