Making Fiends (web cartoon) 1291563 225640893 2008-07-14T18:11:52Z AlbertHerring 753665 italics {{cleanup|date=June 2008}} {{Infobox Website | name = Making Fiends | screenshot = [[Image:CharlotteMakingFiends.gif]] | caption = Charlotte, a character in the cartoon | url = http://www.makingfiends.com | type = [[Adobe Flash]] [[comedy]] [[series]] | language = [[English language|English]], one episode is in [[Bulgarian]] | owner = [[Amy Winfrey]] | author = [[Amy Winfrey]] | launch date = [[June 3]], [[2003]] | current status = [[Active]] }} '''''Making Fiends''''' is a [[Flash cartoon]] series by [[Amy Winfrey]]. It follows the interactions between Vendetta, a nasty, evil-hearted girl that regularly makes monsters called [[fiend]]s, and Charlotte, a happy-go-lucky girl with every intention of making friends with Vendetta (thanks to her failure to realize that Vendetta despises her cheerful nature). The site was first put up on [[June 3]], [[2003]], and the series debuted with its first episode on [[July 14]], 2003.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.makingfiends.com Internet Archive Wayback Machine]</ref> The series ended on [[November 6]], [[2006]] at twenty-one episodes. Eventually, the site was was updated and one part of the site revealed she was working on a new project.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.makingfiends.com Internet Archive Wayback Machine]</ref> ==Characters== '''Charlotte''': (Voiced by [[Amy Winfrey]]) A blue, optimistic girl from [[Vermont]] who could be described as 'too friendly'; it is impossible for her to get upset. When Vendetta unleashes fiends onto her, Charlotte always ruins her plans by making the fiends do useful things. A running gag is that she sees projectiles thrown at her as gifts. Almost every episode includes her singing a song that she makes up. Charlotte has the uncanny ability to hold her breath for nine hours, and she does not like strawberries. She has a hamster named Buttons. She likes to sing about pencils, birds, Vendetta, and more. Charlotte is the only character in every webisode. '''Vendetta''': (Voiced by [[Aglaia Mortcheva]]) A green girl who makes fiends, both through stereotypical mad-scientist means and in the [[kitchen]]. She spends her time torturing the other children and using her giant bear-like [[hamster]] to get what she wants. In fact, she has complete run of the school because all the adults are afraid of her. She constantly tries to hurt Charlotte, but her schemes are always foiled by Charlotte's kindness. She seems to hate music and only eats [[clams]], [[grape]] [[punch (drink)|punch]] and [[beef jerky]]. Some of her fiends include a large red cat that is always scaring the students and a red bird that sits at Mr. Milk's desk and always seems to be intimidating him. '''Mr. [[Milk]]''': (Voiced by [[Peter Merryman]]) The teacher of Charlotte's class. He speaks in a nervous, disjointed monotone due to Vendetta's [[dominion]], and is forced to do Vendetta's bidding out of fear of her. He is also afraid of the fanged '''red bird''' fiend that is constantly glaring at him. Mr. Milk is probably a take-off of either [[Caspar Milquetoast]], a comic book character remarkably similar to him, or [[South Park]]'s [[Herbert Garrison]]. In [http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend14.htm episode 14] we learn he has a [[tenor]] singing voice. '''Marion''': (Voiced by Amy Winfrey) A dark blue, overweight girl who sits next to Charlotte and talks quietly. Marion lost the class [[election]] in [http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend12.htm episode 12] to Marvin by 182 votes to one (Charlotte's vote). '''Marvin''': (Voiced by Peter Merryman) A dark green boy who almost always starts his sentences with 'my' (usually because his belongings are stolen from him), the only exceptions being 'Wonderful Wintery Day' and the [[April Fool]]s Episode (due to the nature of the episode, however, Marvin still technically starts his 'sentence' with 'my'). He won the class president election after Vendetta & Grudge rigged the vote, but was punched by one of Vendetta's fiends and replaced by Vendetta herself. '''Malachi''': (Voiced by Peter Merryman) A dark grey boy. Some speculate that he is a [[Puritan]] because he speaks in complicated, [[Shakespeare]]-like phrases and refuses to sing because it is blasphemous. His dire cautions are ignored by Charlotte. During attendance he does not say 'here' or 'present'; instead, he says 'presenteth!' He also does not believe in electricity and thinks it is evil [[dark magic]]. '''Maggie''': (Voiced by Amy Winfrey) A grey girl who doesn't speak until episode 14, when she cogently remarks, "Charlotte's dumb." '''Rubella''': (Voiced by Elissa Calfin) Vendetta's new fiendish friend who resembles a very large girl. She eats non-edible food (like [[wood]], glass and [[plaster]]) and talks in one- and two-word sentences. She is named after a disease [[rubella|of the same name]]. She replaced Grudge, because he gave her a music bear which Vendetta obviously dislikes. '''Grudge''': (Voiced by Peter Merryman) Vendetta's giant [[hamster]]. Grudge does not speak, but rather grunts and growls, and is Vendetta's constant sidekick. In [http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend18.htm episode 18] Grudge is replaced by Rubella, but is again accepted by Vendetta after helping her fend off her own wild fiends in episode 20. '''Giant Kitty''': (Voiced by Amy Winfrey) Also called "Big Red Kitty" or "Hellcat". Vendetta's cat fiend whom Charlotte spends a lot of time with, much to Vendetta's dismay. Giant Kitty may be an homage to children's book and animated TV character [[Clifford the Big Red Dog]]. It has an insatiable appetite, as seen in [http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend10.htm episode 10]. The Giant Kitty always closes its eyes when giving its distinctive meow. It doesn't like baths, but when it is brushed its contented purrs shake the whole school. '''Buttons''': Charlotte's pet [[hamster]], her "favorite hamster in the whole world", first seen in [http://makingfiends.com/fiend02.htm episode 2 of season 1]. He is also very scared of Vendetta and her fiends. '''Buttons 2 (Scissors)''': A fiend Vendetta made for Charlotte that looks like a bird and can cut things with its [[scissors|scissorlike]] beak. Charlotte thinks it's a [[puppy]], and makes it a good friend. Buttons 2 likes cutting up pink construction paper. He has a talent for making Valentines and rescuing Charlotte. It's real name is Scissors. '''Mrs. Minty''': (Voiced by Peter Merryman) One of Mr. Milk's substitutes. She refers to the classmates as "buttercups", "[[ducklings]]", and other diminutive terms of endearment. She kicks out Grudge with a newspaper and hands out tests. Her main debut is in [http://makingfiends.com/fiend09.htm episode 9 of season 1] and she is also seen in episodes 20 and 21, but does not talk. '''Mort''': Seen in episode 19 being picked up by an ice cream fiend. Despite the fact that he was only seen once, he will become more developed in the Nickelodeon series. Other recurring characters include the [[lunch lady]] and the red [[frog]] fiend on the lunch counter. ==Episodes== ===Season one=== *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend01.htm Episode 1 - "The Pilot Episode"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend02.htm Episode 2 - "Show and Tell"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend03.htm Episode 3 - "Always Eat Your Vegetables"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend04.htm Episode 4 - "Charlotte's New Friend"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend05.htm Episode 5 - "A Vendetta's Halloween"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend06.htm Episode 6 - "Kitty"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend07.htm Episode 7 - "The Fiend That Made Size"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend08.htm Episode 8 - "Charlotte's Birthday"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend09.htm Episode 9 - "Substitute Teacher"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend10.htm Episode 10 - "Eaten, Part 1"] ===Season two=== *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend11.htm Episode 11 - "Eaten, Part 2"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend12.htm Episode 12 - "Class President"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend13.htm Episode 13 - "An Invisible Fiend"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend14.htm Episode 14 - "What a Wonderful Wintery Day"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend15.htm Episode 15 - "Happy Valentine's Day"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend16.htm Episode 16 - "Rainy Day"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend17.htm Episode 17 - "Den da shegata!"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend18.htm Episode 18 - "Bye Bye Hamster Part 1"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend19.htm Episode 19 - "Bye Bye Hamster Part 2: The End of Charlotte?"] *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend20.htm Episode 20 - "Bye Bye Hamster Part 3: The end?"] ===Extra=== *[http://img515.imageshack.us/my.php?image=makingfiends21ku4.swf Episode 21 - "Bye Bye Hamster Part 4: Hurray For Stuffing!"] - This episode is not currently on the main website. The reason being: "I think of episode 21 as a Thanksgiving holiday special. It will be proudly displayed on the front page once again in November." - Amy Winfrey [http://www.amywinfrey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1321#p1321 10] ==Nickelodeon's part in Making Fiends== Amy Winfrey has communicated publicly that Making Fiends will officially be a full length television show for Nickelodeon. According to Winfrey, it is still too early to say when episodes will start airing (although the June 2007 issue of [[Animation Magazine]] announced that it will be sometime in 2008). As part of Winfrey's agreement with Nickelodeon, she is no longer able to produce new Making Fiends merchandise to sell on her Web site. Once the limited remaining items had sold out, the website's gift shop was closed (indefinitely, or, until such time as their legal contract is void). The gift shop was reopened in late November 2007 to sell merchandise from [[Muffin Films]] and [[Big Bunny]]. ===Notable differences between online and Nickelodeon episodes=== The Nickelodeon series is yet to air, and as such this information might change. As such, this section is based on information that has been released on the [http://www.nick.com/shows/making_fiends/index.jhtml Nick.com page on Making Fiends.] *Despite the fact that both versions use [[Adobe Flash]] to create animation, the television episodes are cleaner-looking. This is probably because the characters and backgrounds in the Web episodes were made of overlapping [[JPEG]] files. Also, the colors still go outside the outlines, but it seems more like a second outline than messy drawing. *The character Maggie (who only had one line of dialog in the whole Web series) has been expanded on, and given a developed personality. Mort, another character, is created. *Charlotte's grandmother, Charlene, is introduced in the TV series. *Vendetta's parents, Violeta and Viktor, are named but do not appear. *The town the show takes place in is given the name of Clamburg, after Vendetta's favorite food (clams). *Grudge, Vendetta's hamster, has a slightly fatter look in the series. ==Trivia== {{Trivia|date=November 2007}} *Every page has a hidden message near the top, which can be seen by being highlighted. *Nearly every secondary character's first name starts with the letter 'M', believed to be because of her previous work, [[Muffin Films]]. *In the original home page, behind the bush in the bottom-left corner of the main menu is a small red cat (or a piece of candy corn during Halloween). *In the original home page, the bush in the bottom-right corner of the main menu can be clicked on. *Aglaia Mortcheva is from [[Bulgaria]]. *A 'vendetta' is "a bitter, destructive feud" (definition from [http://www.dictionary.com Dictionary.com]). *Occasionally simple, gruesome drawings can be seen in the background with a small message written with them. They appear to be alphabet-teaching posters, but feature such inspiring thoughts as "A is for alimony", "C is for communism," and "D is for Dictator". *A picture of muffins can be seen in the back of the classroom, a reference to [http://www.muffinfilms.com/ Muffin Films]. *Most of the textures used to make walls, the sky, grass, etc. are .[[JPEG|jpeg]] files overlapping one another. *All of the human characters besides Malachi and Marvin wear what looks like dresses or [[muumuu]]s. *Most of the time, when Vendetta reads magazines, they are entitled "Spite","Mean", or "Grrr..." In episode eleven inside the cat's stomach, the magazine is entitled "Mad Cat" and has a picture of the giant cat's face. ===The 2005 [[April Fool's Day]] episode=== All episodes are in English with the exception of [http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend17.htm episode 17], which was recorded in [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]. When first released, the episode was entirely in Bulgarian, and received many complaints in the guestbook. After a couple of days, subtitles were slapped on. The subtitles feature translations that are laughably substandard (Marvin can be seen crying "ice cream of mine!" instead of the expected "my ice cream!") when they are not completely superfluous (as for translated clock ticks and screams). Episode 17's hidden text (viewed by highlighting at the top) says ''"Den da shegata!"'', which is Bulgarian for "April Fool's". ===The 2006 and 2008 April Fool's Day episodes=== In the days leading up to April Fool's Day in 2006, a message was posted on the front page saying that a fiend was to be temporarily placed in charge of the site. On April Fool's Day, the main menu had a bite taken out of it, and the fiend was there to explain that he got hungry and ate some episodes, but fixed them. As a result, five episodes were replaced with alternate versions, each featuring a major mistake. *[http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/9012/makingfiends04aprilfoolbb1.swf Episode 4:] All dialogue is in [[Mandarin (linguistics)|Mandarin]]. *[http://img160.imageshack.us/img160/7943/makingfiends06aprilfoolpf4.swf Episode 6:] All dialogue is spoken by a computerized speech simulator. *[http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/2294/makingfiends11aprilfooljv3.swf Episode 11:] All characters have beards. *[http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/1123/makingfiends18aprilfoolkq2.swf Episode 18:] All characters are [[muffins]] (another nod to Muffin Films) *[http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/3025/makingfiends20aprilfoolhy1.swf Episode 20:]The episode ends with Vendetta moving to [[Florida]] and never seeing Charlotte again. The pranks did not reappear in 2007, but returned in 2008. ===Episode 20=== In this episode most of the main characters escape being devoured by fiends by boarding a giant boat. Those who are not seen on the escape boat are; *Charlotte's family, who are briefly mentioned in episode 4 *Rubella *Many of Vendetta's fiends, including: **The Monkey Fiend From:[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend02.htm Episode 2] **The "Sugar Cookie" Fiend From:[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend05.htm Episode 5] **The Squid-Like fiends that make things bigger from:[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend07.htm Episode 7] *Vendetta's parents as mentioned on nick.com The giant cat is not on the boat for obvious reasons, but is seen wading away. Buttons 2 is very hard to spot, but he is seen at the very top of the sailboat. ===Marvin=== Marvin usually starts his sentences with "my." There are two exceptions - [http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend17.htm the April Fool's episode] (above) and [http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend14.htm A Wonderful Wintery Day] where he sings the second line of the song. ==Holiday Specials== *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiendh.htm Halloween Treat] VENDETTA'S EXPLANATION OF THE RULES: Help me to hit Charlotte with pumpkins, 30 times. Do not be fooled by her stupid disguises! CHARLOTTE'S EXPLANATION OF THE RULES: Vendetta said she'd give me lots of pumpkins, I can't wait! Help her by clicking on me with your mouse when ever I appear. Ooh! And I'm gonna dress up in costumes, beacause that's fun! *[http://www.makingfiends.com/fiend065.htm Christmas Bonus] ==See also== *[[Making Fiends (TV series)]] *[[Amy Winfrey]] *[[Muffin Films]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.makingfiends.com/ Making Fiends] *[http://www.muffinfilms.com/ Muffin Films (another series by Amy Winfrey)] *[http://www.big-bunny.com/ Big Bunny (also by Amy Winfrey)] [[Category:Flash cartoons]] [[Category:Animation-related websites]] [[Category:American websites]]