Bubbleblabber UK Exclusive Interview: Jack and Harry Williams, the creators of ‘Full English’

 

Juvenile Troll:         Again, one more time just for the audience.  Could you go ahead and introduce yourselves.

Harry Williams:     Sure, I’m Harry Williams.

Jack Williams:       I’m Jack Williams.

 

 All right.  Thanks for speaking to me today guys.  Well basically I just want to speak to you about Full English and how the experience of, you know, doing the show was and things like that and how was it doing the show while you were doing it?

Harry Williams:     It was fantastic, yeah.  We had a really nice, funny, talented cast and the animation studio we were dealing with was, you know, obviously hugely talented.  You know the Futurama people and all that so we loved it all actually doing it and it was a fucking good time basically.

Jack Williams:       I hated it.

Harry Williams:     Jack hated every minute.  He kept firing everyone.

 

 Okay, so what was the worst thing about it?  I mean you say you learned a lot but what was the worst thing about it

Harry Williams:     Working with Jack.

 All right.

Harry Williams:     They were always drunk.

Jack Williams:       Yeah, they were out of control.

Harry Williams:     There wasn’t anything too bad about it to be honest.  It was – it’s a lot to learn trying to do a hand-drawn show in England without having – it’s quite a new thing for an English company to do.  And even though the American animation company knew a lot about it I think trying to find the money for that and the expertise and working between two countries.

Jack Williams:       Yeah, the financing of it was a fucking nightmare.

Harry Williams:     That was the difficult side.

No, that’s interesting actually, though.  When you say the finances was it just like when working between two countries that created a problem you would say.

Harry Williams:     Not really because you can work.  I think we’ve forgotten all the work that – it’s like a pregnancy, you know.  You forget the pain coming from your vagina and you just remember the good stuff.

 Yeah, I guess that’s probably the best way to describe it – the creative process, you know.

Harry Williams:     Figurin’ it out.

Another question I have is who do you guys find to be the most interesting character out of the ones you guys created?

Harry Williams:     Who do we find is the most interesting character.

Yeah.  It’s an unfair question but I’d really like to know.

Harry Williams:     No, it’s not at all.  I really like Ken Lavender myself.  I think, you know, something the character is really evil but it’s Sort of an Old English taste on that kind of villain and that always made us laugh quite a lot.  And for that we found quite funny.  And he can sort of do anything and – but he was my favorite.

Jack Williams:       I think I like Jason.  I think a lot of people do.  I just thought he had a really – we pitched his character a lot which always makes me laugh.

 Okay, do me a favor.  I’d like for you to describe Jason.

Jack Williams:       He’s a sort of repressed homosexual.  He’s sort of a silly public schoolboy rugger bugger type.

And now just for Americans – public school – when you say public school we have a different idea of what that is.

Jack Williams:       Well, yeah, he’s sort of a rich boy who’s dumb but, you know borderline retarded, sports jock basically.

Got it.  Got it.  Got it.

Jack Williams:       Sorry.  Yeah, it me basically on a good day.

I feel like one of the best moments in the series for Jason was when he was on what you guys call gap year.

Jack Williams:       Oh, yeah.

And had sex with himself.

Jack Williams:       Yeah.  That was a scream.

Yeah.

Jack Williams:       That actually happened to me.

Was it in Thailand?  Because that could happen there.

Jack Williams:       It was in Thailand.

 Okay.

Jack Williams:       It was amazing.

I just wanted to say one of the characters I liked the most was Squidge.

Harry Williams:     Squidge.

Yes.  Can you tell me what helped you to create Squidge?

Harry Williams:     Yeah, a somewhat sort of two factors I think.  It came from Ken .  It really came from mostly looking at the characters.  Who the hell would be friends with him.  And what always made us laugh by him is what the other villain who didn’t really have any friends.  And his family didn’t like him really.

Not really.

Harry Williams:     And so he didn’t have any friends.  There’s some part of him that’s still basically quite childlike and sees this big…

Jack Williams:       Yeah, and it was the sort of thing where we looked in the lineup of the family and we were like, it’s all kind of…

Harry Williams:     A sort of massive green thing that looks fucking silly with a really silly voice.  Its so different in animation.  I think it’s a shame not to have something like that.

Jack Williams:       We’re not gonna get a chance to do that in a live action thing.  If we do they’re gonna, you know, get rid of it.

Right.

Jack Williams:       It will go down horribly.

I think the name is Kayvan Novak was…

Jack Williams:       Yeah.

And I think he’s – he did a lot of work for you guys.  He did Squidge.  He did Jason.  He did Dusty Johnson who’s one of my favorite characters, too.  I like Dusty a lot.

Harry Williams:     Yeah, he did a loads of others – all sort of stuff he filled in at.  He’s just sort of – he did about half of all of the show.

Jack Williams:       Yeah, him and Ollie Maltman.

So would you consider him a collaborator?

Harry Williams:     Yeah, oh definitely.  He just says something normal and funny comes out.  He can make something funny which is really good.

Jack Williams:       And then once we like it we want to hear more and more to it.

Harry Williams:     Yeah.

Jack Williams:       He’s very, very talented.

Harry Williams:     A talented bastard.

Jack Williams:       Yeah.

 

 Oh, nice.  Oh yeah, I could tell from the show.  And speaking of talented bastards, Richard Ayoade – am I pronouncing it right?

Harry Williams:     Yeah.

He – how was it working with him for Edgar.  Because Edgar’s a very understated character and…

Harry Williams:     Yeah, Edgar was the hardest sort of to cast.  We had to make a pilot of it first in which it wasn’t – he was always our first choice but he wasn’t available when we first did it.

 Oh, okay.

Harry Williams:     We tried things and I think when he finally did come free he just summed it up because that’s something that’s quite English about the actor who he sort of  doesn’t really like anyone and everything is slightly underwhelmed.

Jack Williams:       He’s got such a distinctive manner.  He sort of grounded the whole thing, I think.  You know, but he’s still out there and quite cartoony and great for animation.  But Rich is so sort of naturalistic and he would ramble and saying bigger stuff.

Right, right.  And I guess like part of the attraction…

Harry Williams:     I was gonna say he made up a lot of shit.

 I’m just like part of the attraction, I think, for a lot of viewers to it – especially like a viewer like myself who is an American was that it did seem – well, it seemed English.  It seemed very English.

Harry Williams:     Yeah, that was deliberate I think because, you know, we’ve seen animation in America.  We just wanted to do that for England within English references and it’s English sensibility, right.

Jack Williams:       Yeah.

Uh huh.  Like making Simon Cowell your first actual villain was very good.

Harry Williams:     Yes.

 And also just – I hate to just make this about my favorite characters in it but I just – I really do love the ghost scene with Princess Diana and I don’t know who this person is – the bald cancer patient that dies.

Harry Williams:     Yeah, that was one of the sort of early sick ones because she was famous for going and being quite racist.  And then sort of the public hated her and then she died of cancer and then the public all sort of loved her.  So it was a – it was a bit of a risky one.

Jack Williams:       She became a sort of reality star, doing shows and then to die very, very publicly.

Got it.

Jack Williams:       It’s a bit of a sort of the darling of the sort of Daily Mail and tabloids.  So, yeah, it was – and when we got chopped for libel laws in this country as well.

 Oh.

Harry Williams:     Yeah, its much harder.  There’s lots of – it’s quite…like they won’t publish the Amanda Knox book over here because of the libel laws.

Wow.  Could you repeat that.  They couldn’t publish what?  What book?

Harry Williams:     The Knox book that just came out.  She’s written some book about how she didn’t kill anyone.

Oh, yeah.

Harry Williams:     And that’s not allowed to be published over here.  So you have to sort of – you want to push the target but, yeah, you have to have a big team of lawyers involved.

Jack Williams:       Yeah.

And so as you were writing things and going through things you were surrounded by lawyers basically.

Harry Williams:     Yeah, I think constantly going where you can’t say Jason’s Statham’s like a baby eating pedophile but, you know, he’s not.

Jack Williams:       But we did it and we’re not, right.

Just say that again so I make sure I recorded it.  He is not – Jason Statham is not a baby eating pedophile.  That’s what they said.

Harry Williams:     Yeah, definitely not.

Jack Williams:       Definitely not.

 And he’s scary, too, so…

Harry Williams:     Yeah, he scares the shit out of me.

  Yeah.  Americans are usually cocky.  I’m not going there.  Yeah, I mean, you guys are obviously inspired by Family Guy but you wanted to do it in an English way.  But there is a risk with being like that.  You see what happens to Seth MacFarlane like every week.

Jack Williams:       Yeah. Yeah.  That’s definitely a concern, I think, with us.  We tried that we’re allowed to do it really.

Harry Williams:     I think so and also trying to make some kind of noise or make, you know, get a bit more attention for it rather is never a bad thing.

Jack Williams:       Yeah, it does.

Yeah, I mean I guess you could say like – would you say that making controversy sort of helps the notoriety of the show?

Harry Williams:     Yeah, it does.  It does and I think also I think about the show.  It sort of – if it’s controversial its about making a point sometimes.  I think that the Princess Diana/Jake – that definitely was controversial and we had some reviewers in the Daily Mail saying it was the most disgusting cartoon ever.

Jack Williams:       But we were making a point.  It wasn’t really…

Harry Williams:     And that, for us, is like a badge of honor – only now it comes…

 I’m just gonna put this in for clarification for all the English – the American readers.  The Daily Mail is basically like the Fox News of England.

Harry Williams:     Yeah, they’re the sort of – that’s about it, yeah.

They’re gonna get – if it’s not, you know, super conservative they’re gonna get mad.  Got it.  Okay.

Harry Williams:     Yeah, I think so.

Jack Williams:       Yeah.

And well, can I ask you guys – I see on May 13 the DVD is going to be released.

Harry Williams:     Yes.

 What sort of things should we expect from the DVD?

Harry Williams:     We jet ski.

 Okay.

Harry Williams:     We don’t do that anymore.. There is a free – there’s a bonus – episode that never aired.

Episode six.

Harry Williams:     Yeah, it was pulled by lawyers.  And that’s our favorite episode so..  Our favorite by far so that’s a treat.

Jack Williams: I think people will enjoy that.  I don’t know what else is with it.

 Huh.

Harry Williams:     It’s a whole new episode.  Yeah.

Jack Williams:       Pretty good.  Pretty good.

 Good, good, good.  And what are you guys gonna be doing next?  I mean I know that the website going up but what are you guys gonna be doing next?

Harry Williams:     Well, we’ve got a few sitcoms in development – some live action things, you know.  We’re trying to sell, you know, a second series of Full English.  We’re still trying to work on that.  I think we’re going to the States with it.

 Nice.

Harry Williams:     It’s obviously a rough draft.

Jack Williams:       We’re starting to pitch that.

Harry Williams:     We’re doing a drama.  We’re doing a thriller.

Well I’m glad to see that Full English isn’t dead then – like it sounds like you guys are gonna do something else with it.

Harry Williams:     I think because rough draft and it was one of those rare things where we all had such a good time doing it.  Which means, of course, they’re gonna try to cancel it after because everyone was having too much fun

 Yeah.

Harry Williams:     But as a result I think by us and them they’re sort of  try and get it  and – it’s looking good at the moment.

Jack Williams:       It is.  We’re in preliminary talks so we’re hopeful.

Harry Williams:     Yeah and pitch it in the States.

Jack Williams:       In July.  When it’s definitely nice.

Nice.  Well, guys, that’s really good news and I want to thank you for taking the time to speak to me.

Harry Williams:     My pleasure.

Jack Williams:       Pleasure

As mentioned, the DVD release for Full English is on May 13th, check back for the review!