My night at the “Motorcity” premiere party

On the eve of Monday, April 30, my friends at Titmouse made animation history with the premiere of “Motorcity” on Disney XD. And what better way to celebrate this achievement than to have a premiere party at Cinespace in Hollywood? Before I get into that, though, here’s the basic story of the series for those not in the know: In the future, evil tycoon Abraham Kane has taken over Detroit by building a city of his own on top of it, Detroit Deluxe, and banning personal freedoms, such as automobile transportation. Now he’s got his sights set on the slums of Motorcity, but he’s going to have to get through Mike Chilton and the Burners first, a group of hot-rod riding teens who will fight Kane tooth and nail for their right to “live fast, live free.”

I never expected good things to come out of posting a simple drawing – you know, my “Family Guy” meets “Motorcity” deal with Lois Griffin as Julie. The retweet by the show’s creator, Chris Prynoski, was one thing. Then there was the invitation to the premiere party, which I honestly had no clue about beforehand, and as the guest of none other than THIS BADASS MOFO RIGHT HERE:

Yes, I went in with Ben Li, one of the animators on the show, and apparently, the right guy to be with at that time. As is evidenced by the cast on his left arm, he had gotten well acquainted with a sledgehammer at the Titmouse Smash Party over the weekend, damaging more than just machinery, and dubbing his injuries “Fractured Thumb of the Northstar” – by the way, you can see a video of him smashing away here at his blog. Everyone thought he was a champ for taking all of that in stride. Seeing all those people screaming his name as I followed him to the front of the theater was much like walking in with a celebrity, which was quite a rush, let me tell you. Even Chris commended him for his bravery during his speech before the screening.

The party began at 7 and ended after 10, though Ben and I ducked out during the beginning to grab dinner at The Waffle. When we returned, there was about fifteen minutes to spare for getting free drinks at the bar and mingling with friends and the Titmouse gang before moving into the theater for the 9 PM screening.

As we waited for the show to begin, there was a slideshow of fanart made for the series by both crew members and non-crew alike. Then a speech was done by some guy whose name I don’t know before Chris took center stage to thank the cast and crew for all their hard work. He also announced that he and his wife Shannon are expecting their first child together, their own “little animation fan,” as he put it. Awwww!

Episodes 1 and 10 were screened, with people cheering for their co-workers as their names flashed during the opening and closing credits. My friend Jeremy Polgar’s shining moment came when his scene of Mike Chilton taking down an Ultra Golem with a double-edged spear about five minutes into the first episode was received with much fervor. To see one of my heroes being rewarded for his hard work was nothing short of inspiring and exhilarating. I feel so lucky to know him.

There was a ten-minute break in between shows. During that time, I socialized with Titmouse/LMU friends, and discovered from one of them that Kel Mitchell was at the party! I didn’t know it before, but Kel is the voice of Dutch on the show. Being a fan of the old SNICK shows “All That” and “Kenan and Kel,” I couldn’t resist getting a picture with him. It was like reliving my childhood in a way.

The “Motorcity” premiere party was a blast. I got to know Ben a little better, catch up with my LMU animation alumni buddies, snap a photo with Kel, congratulate Chris on a successful premiere, and, ooh, free shirt! But alas, with the latter victory comes the bitter realization that the Dethklok shirts I saw at the “Metalocalypse” season 4 premiere party were also free. Dang it! I should’ve snagged one of those!