Story
synopsis
Directed by: Peter Sluszka
Detectives Harry and Callaham don’t play by the rules, resulting in suspensions and beatings at the hands of their boss, the explosive Knishoner. Undaunted by departmental politics, the ham and egg detectives set off in pursuit of a killer targeting eggs. With a mix of old fashioned police work and help from a bacon pimp, an oyster, and Olive the forensics specialist, Harry and Callaham make a shocking discovery that places the eggicides at the nexus of organized crime, real estate, and the skyline of the city itself.
Character Development
An introduction
to our characters
Great character animation starts with incredible vocal talent and Hardboiled features the voices of Judy Greer, Chris Chalk, Ed Hall, Lola Glaudini, Joey Wells, and Anne Heche, among many other talented performers. The late, great, Broadway stage actor, George S. Irving, who famously voiced the Heat Miser, takes a final bow as a diabolical strawberry and a busker hotdog, imbuing each character with his vibrant, charismatic presence. While many characters feature in this short film, here’s an introduction to our main characters.
Harry
Thick shelled with a quick wit and quicker temper, Harry was born to be a cop. A fervent investigator with high cholesterol and a strong moral code, Harry also has a dark side. At times his inner demons seem more threatening than the pickled pushers and overripe gang lords he pursues on a daily basis. While Harry has a weakness for redheads, especially Olive, the pimento-coiffed forensics researcher, work is his real obsession, relentlessly leading him to danger. Luckily this one egg is tough enough to take a beating.
Callaham
Hyper macho with inflated self-regard, Callaham considers himself pork with a purpose while reveling in his “loose-cannon” reputation. He keeps his parsley mustache extremely well groomed, but despite his vanities, is a fearless and loyal partner to Harry. Unknown to anyone at the precinct, Callaham’s kinky after hours proclivities sometimes leads to bruises and scrapes, injuries that can usually be attributed to his police work. Callaham’s ego is also subject to bruising, and “pig” and “bonehead” are slurs that cut especially deep.
Stripes
With a rap sheet longer than the feather in his fedora, this crispy bacon pimp defines revolving-door justice and his multiple legal tangles and familiarity with the underworld make him the perfect informer, despite his profound belligerence towards the law. As fellow pork products on opposite sides of the roast, he exudes a particular animosity towards Callham. When not behind bars or loitering suspiciously, Stripes holds court at the Banana Club, a live, “un-peeled” burlesque bar.
Juicy LeStraw
Although this strawberry is juicy to the point of bursting, his soul is filled with venom. A ruthless criminal mastermind, this seedy villain with a comb-over stem is notorious for his acumen at simultaneously breaking and evading the law. Harry’s late partner Humpty once put him away, but only for tax evasion. Juicy’s berry henchmen are equally menacing and if Harry could pin something on them, he would gladly throw them all in the can, or better yet, a blender.
The Knishoner
Harry and Callaham’s starchy boss is a cigar-chomping disciplinarian and family man entrenched in departmental and city politics after a long career in law enforcement. At this point in his career, he would rather be collecting a well earned pension and spending time with his lovely potato wife and young tater-tots, whose photos adorn his office. The unorthodox antics of the egg and ham detectives send him spiraling into fits of rage and he blames them for his “thinning mustard” which used to adorn the top of his head in much thicker, golden brown locks.
Pearl
Sassy and observant, this leggy oyster holds court at her eponymously named dockside bar where the criminal underworld comes to quench its thirst. While Pearl lets the booze flow generously, she’s stingy with the valuable information she collects from proximity to her unsavory and inebriated clientele.
Olive
With her intellect, flame-red pimento hairdo and matching stilettos, this mediterranean beauty simultaneously attracts and intimidates most of the guys in the precinct, whose clumsy flirtations leave her colder than the cadavers she routinely and enthusiastically dissects as head forensics examiner. Maybe it’s their complimentary oval forms, but Olive only has eyes for Harry and beneath the professional, scientific demeanor, her pimento core burns passionately for him.