2009 - 2023, THE ORIGINS

Smokey Joe Cartoons was established in 2023 as a subsidiary of Martin Films. Originally titled Martin Animation in 2022, the origins of many of these characters go back much earlier than you think...

What originally began as a live-action high school project eventually evolved into a short animated film. In 2012, Stan, Danny, Ryan, Katie, and Lewis all made their debut in the now-lost short film "Slackers." The characters were much more vulgar and aggressive compared to their 2024 counterparts. The animation was much simpler (lol), and the film ended with half of the cast killed off (yikes).

A sequel was planned but eventually scrapped, leaving the characters in limbo for over a decade. In 2023, it was announced that through Smokey Joe Cartoons, the Slackers would be getting a complete overhaul and rebooted.

The characters' personalities and attitudes have significantly changed since the 2012 short. For example, Stan is less aggressive, Danny is less vulgar, and Ryan is more confident in himself. While the story in the reboot differs from the original short film, some aspects from the original will remain.

The origins of the Fab 4—Kevin, Joe, Troy, and David—date back to 2009. Created as blatant South Park clones, the boys lived in the small town of "Queensferry," not to be confused with "South Queensferry." The lost web series had nine episodes and featured a wide variety of cast members, including Freddy and Heidi.

Before "Slackers," there were plans to revive the boys in a webcomic, but that never materialized.

Despite their longer absence, the gang is back, fully redesigned with new personalities. However, they will not have their own show but will appear as supporting characters in other media, They will have their moment in the spotlight again, but in due time, of course.

The newcomers are the crew members of Potter Burger, with no past origins or previous incarnations to speak of. However, the concept of these characters dates back to early drafts.

Originally, the idea was to have the characters work in a supermarket, similar to Tesco or ASDA (Walmart for Americans). The name "Hard Labour" stuck because the characters were meant to be worn-out workers who spent their mid to late 20s in retail, dealing with difficult customers. I'm sure most people can relate, right?

 On July 19th, 2024, the first Dennis Hill cartoon debuted on YouTube: Cinema Worker. It featured our bald, sarcastic protagonist working in a cinema and ended with him drinking on the job. The short was simple but effective. What was originally intended as a one-off spiraled into a fully-fledged series with a serialized storyline.

Throughout 2024, two more shorts were produced, introducing new characters to the Smokey Joe universe and establishing Dennis as the official face of the franchise—much like SpongeBob or Mickey Mouse, if they had major depression and became alcoholics.

In 2025, Dennis will return for his fourth short film, which will feature characters from other series, including The Slackers and Turning Youth, marking their official debut in the Smokey Joe universe.

The plan for these cartoons is to have everything connected and canon, which might sound like a ridiculous concept for simple cartoons. However, creating engaging stories and memorable characters is something we aspire to at Smokey Joe Cartoons. So, on behalf of all these wacky characters, I would like to welcome you to Smokeyburgh...