Encyclopedia
Bro'Town is
New Zealand's first adult-targeted animated series. It is set amongst New Zealand's growing
Pacific Islander community. Bro'Town is regarded by its viewers as New Zealand's answer to
The Simpsons is an Emmy [i] and Peabody [i]-winning American [i] animated [i] ...
and is based on the performance of the local four-man group
The Naked Samoans.
Vale, Valea, Jeff da Maori, Sione and Mack live in the suburb of Morningside , and attend the local college, St Sylvester’s, where their principal is a Fa’afafine and the
P.E. teacher is the legendary ex-
All Black Michael Jones.
Produced by New Zealand company Firehorse Films and funded by New Zealand On Air, Bro'Town was made using three animation studios – two in
New Zealand and one in
India – and involved over 100 staff.
Each episode took up to six months to make and consists of 16,000 drawings, making it a huge undertaking for all involved. Despite the carefully planned nature of animation, the Samoans' performance style often gives the dialogue an improvisational, spontaneous feel. When successful this effect is fresh and funny but at times it renders the dialogue indistinct, with characters stepping on each other's lines.
The show satirises the boys’ culture, with vivid dialogue in the local vernacular, expressing what is like to grow up as a minority culture in
Auckland, the largest Polynesian city in the world. Although the setting is contemporary and the satire topical, the humour often reflects a nostalgia for the 1980s period of the Naked Samoans' own boyhood. The series is also scattered with references to New Zealand literature, particularly the novels and short stories of Witi Ihimaera.
The series have a strong
religion theme, with most episodes starting with events between
God,
Jesus Christ and other historical figures, which leads to the theme of the episode and the subsequent events between the boys.
Characters
The Boys
Vale Pepelo - brother of
Valea Pepelo and has a strong social conscience. Contrary to his given name, Vale is considered the intelligent one of the group, frequently seen carrying a literary classic.
Valea Pepelo - brother of
Vale Pepelo, is more interested in girls than his brother Vale. Whenever he sees an attractive one, he does a rendition of the 'schwing!' gesture Valea's name is an apt description.
Sione Tapili - Vale and Valea’s best mate and fancies himself as a bit of a ladies' man, while he constantly looks for ways to impress the girl of his dreams, sixth former
Mila Jizovich.
Jeff da Maori - Jeff Da Maori lives with his mum and eight dads in a car shell outside the house. He was brought up in the country by his Aunt Queenie but then moved to the city ‘for better TV reception and "because the thieving colonialists stole our land’". You can never see Jeff without his trusty guitar. He is often portrayed with a horribly runny nose. More than the other boys, Jeff's character is assembled from cliches drawn mostly from Witi Ihimaera stories and
Once Were Warriors.
Rodney McCorkenstein-Taifule aka
Mack - Mack rounds out the group, a heavyset boy who has definite gay tendencies and a knack for talking his way out of things, but he does stand behind his word eventually. Mack is considered a tough guy by the group, raised in the streets. He actually lives in a posh mansion with a loving mum and dad.
Other Residents of Morningside
Pepelo Pepelo - Vale & Valea's dad is a benefit bludging, occasional fork-lift driver with a love of
beer,
pornography and
gambling . Pepelo's wife died when the boys were young and they were entrusted to his care. However, his method of child rearing was ignoring them to fend for themselves. He's known to discriminate against other ethnic minorities in Morningside. Pepelo is very similar to the father character in
Milburn Place, another comedy production involving Naked Samoans.
Wong - A Chinese student from
Hong Kong. He quickly became buds with the Boys after an initiation rite which involved insulting Rakeesh. He once helped the Boys by joining in the St. Sylvester's Rugby team in
Get Rucked and bet a million dollars on Honky the Wonderhorse. Wong has a twin brother named White, who exists only to facilitate a pun about being unable to tell White from Wong.
Fong - Fong appears to be a big menacing Chinese guy who lives in an apartment. In reality, he's a smart engineering student who seems to be incompetent in a fight.
Constable "Bobby" Bababiba - A cold and seemingly-emotionless
policeman who has been involved with many of the Boys' mishaps as much as he restores Morningside Order. His name may be a reference to the 'bee-baa' sounds made by children impersonating the old style of New Zealand police sirens, one of the many 'childhood
nostalgia' touches of bro'Town.
Rakeesh Maadkraklikka - A disgruntled South Asian dairy store owner. He is eager to shoot and zap any potential troublemaker in his store. Pepelo owes a massive debt to Rakeesh's store due to his indulgence and improper spending. Is married to the beautiful Satisha.
Satisha Maadkraklikka - Rakeesh's spouse. She isn't as brash as her husband, but Satisha is just as tough. Twice, so far, Satisha helped The Boys with their problems and issues.
Reverend Minister Mccat - Stereotypical minister who heads a Samoan flock in Morningside. He frequently preaches about the local issues in very vivid and exaggerated ways . He is also quick to drive his flock on mindless angry mob sprees. As a sideline for his church he also sells 'authentic' holy items at high prices . There seems to be an intimate relationship between him and Agnes . Agnes' youngest child has an uncanny resemblance to the minister, including his hairdo - for that matter, so do most of the very young children of his congregation. He is very similar to the Minister character in the recurring sketch
Milburn Place, part of the
Skitz comedy series in which several Naked Samoans were involved.
Tapili Family
Agnes Tapili - Sione's mom and the Pepelos' neighbour. Deeply religious and physically aggressive, especially to Sione . Despite this, she seems to have intimate relations with the local minister. A caricature of the overbearing Polynesian mother who won't hesitate to humiliate her children.
Sina Tapili - - Sione's big sis and Mila's friend. Sina doesn't think kindly of her brother and The Boys. Attends St Cardinal's College for girls, known to the boys of neighbouring St. Sylvester's as 'Carnal Knowledge.'
Motorcycle Boy - Agnes' eldest son. A delinquent who is a regular in the local delinquent centre and jail.
Samson - Agnes' youngest son. He is also the secret son of the minister
School Folks and Students
Brother Ken - St. Sylvester's Fa’afafine principal. Is a personal friend of many famous New Zealanders, including
Lucy Lawless and Prime Minister
Helen Clark. Brother Ken is a caring principal and once helped a then-young Mack to become friends with The Boys.
Rex Ruka - Rex is a typical sort of 'jock' or alpha male in St. Sylvester's. He is regularly seen mocking the boys due to their supposed inferiority with Joost by his side. Rex is Sione's rival for Mila's hand.
Joost Van der Van Van - A
South African immigrant whose dad Hansje manages the local Zoo. As is expected, he acts as Rex's partner/toady, providing appreciation for his many putdowns . However, it was revealed in "A Chicken Roll At My Table" that Joost's racism was an act and he only did it because he was discouraged by his grandfather from making friends with coloured people. His name is a nonsense parody of Dutch surnames and means 'of the of of.' Although unknown, it has been suggested that his name may have been derived from Springbok player Joost van der Westhuizen.
Mila Jizovich - A student of St. Cardinal's, best friends with Sina Tapili and the girl of Sione's dreams. She is best known for helping Lucy Lawless with the
birth control presentation in "Sionerella". Her name appears to be a combination of tribute to the actress
Milla Jovovich and a somewhat unsavoury joke.
Abo - An
Aboriginal Australian who studies in St. Sylvester's. Abo is known to celebrate every occasion with a traditional song or dance he rides an emu. Though Abo has made political comments regarding Indigenous
native title, the satirical point of this character is unclear as very few Aboriginal Australians live in New Zealand; he is more surreal than satirical.
Ms. Lynn Grey - A teacher who manages The Boys' class at St. Sylvester's. She seems to have an affection for the Maori Man . A parody of well-meaning liberal Anglo-Saxon - she will carefully use Maori vocabulary but immediately follow it with a slightly patronising English explanation. Her name is a reference to the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn.
Figures in Heaven
God - As himself. As the creator of the universe, God can choose to be anything he wants. Thus he is portrayed as a well-built Pacific Islander on a lavalava. He appears mellow and easy-going, rather than strict and wrathful. God starts each episode in Heaven as if it were a fairytale, usually telling it to
Jesus Christ and historical figures like
Julius Caesar, Hone Heke, or the
Buddha.
Jesus - The Lord's only son. Unlike the past serious and solemn renditions of the Christian divinity, Bro'Town portrays him as young and naive . He generally seems like a somewhat wimpish, emo teenager, who often needs to be gently taught a lesson by his Father.
Other famous residents of Heaven include
Mahatma Gandhi,
Ernest Rutherford, George Nepia,
Bruce Lee,
John Lennon,
Andy Warhol,
Jean-Michel Basquiat,
Bob Marley and
Princess Diana.
Occasionally long-lost relatives such as Pepelo's wife , or Aunt Queenie are featured, appearing in dreams to communicate with the living.
There are also two female angels
Angelina and
Angelita.
Guest stars
...
Episode list
Season One
- The Weakest Link - The boys of Bro'Town are infamous for giving St. Sylvester's a bad name every year on an "It's Academic"-style quiz show, but after being hit by a bus and getting a concussion on the head gives Valea the knowledge of the universe, the boys ace this year's competition. Thinly disguised appearances by Auckland Grammar School as "F.A.G.S", Diocesan School and Saint Cuthberts College combined as "Saint Cutherscans", Howick College as "Howick Beijing College" and The Northern Club.
- Sione-rella - Due to the news that student pregnancy rates rise after the school ball, Sione's uber-religious and short-tempered mother refuses to let Sione come. The main highlight involves Xena Warrior Princess Lucy Lawless having a sex-ed demonstration with a banana.
- The Wong One - Wong, a Chinese student, moves to Morningside and quickly makes friends with the Boys. His family's wealth from selling 'Western'-style chopsticks makes him an ideal target for kidnapping. The fun occurs when a mysterious woman known only as 'Grasshopper' arranged his abduction and kidnapped Vale instead.
- Get Rucked - The All Blacks of 2004 play a game of rugby with St. Sylvester's - and the boys get to cook, but due to improper food handling the school's rugby team gets a bad case of diarrhoea. Thus, the boys of Bro'Town must fight the A.B.s on St. Sylvester's behalf .
- A Maori At My Table - The five boys go on a school visit to Jeff's marae
[i]
[i] ...
, where the mantle of Rangatira is unexpectedly thrust upon him when his Auntie dies of diabetes. Cousin Cliff Curtis appears and persuades the whanau to sell the land to Japanese investors and Jeff has to make a decision. References to
The Whale Rider are hilariously common.
- Go Home, Stay Home - When Pepelo takes a long time to come home from a night out, the CYFS takes Vale and Valea away to loving homes. Pepelo becomes ecstatic when his 'two useless sons' are taken away, but quickly realises that they are crucial to his domestic purposes benefit. Will he get them back ?
- The World According to Bro Town - An episode that never appeared on the first season DVD. "The World...", which takes place after "The Wong One", is merely a clip show about the past episodes as presented by the boys of Bro'Town while camping out beside Vale and Valea's home.
Season Two
- Zeelander - It’s Morningside Fashion Week, and one of the world’s top fashion designers discovers Jeff da Maori and catapults him to international catwalk fame. Jeff becomes 'the new black' and thanks to his "brown eye for the white guy", celebrities all over the world start dressing in school uniforms and bare feet with guitars on their back. This episode explores the vagaries of fame, and of being flavour of the month. It also looks at true vs. false friends. This episode has many allusions to popular culture, including the usage of "upside down B", also known as P.
- Survival of the Fattest - The class sets out for a day in the bush, but the boys get lost and stranded in the wilderness. Sione starts to go mad, Mack suffers from constipation, Jeff is terrified of the 'bush spirits', Valea is homesick for the city and Vale films the action "'Survivor'" style . This episode is about savage instincts and human nature.
- Honky the Wonderhorse - Vale and Valea feel sorry for a racehorse who is about to get killed – so Dad takes him home for dinner! The boys arrive just in time and persuade Dad to let them train it and race it. Our story then takes on the formulaic path of great horse films like Sea Biscuit. Dad becomes the horse whisperer and keeps whispering threats into Honky's ear. The episode’s theme is unconditional love.
- Touched by a Teacher - When Mack tries to impress his mates by inventing a story about being abused, Brother Ken gets thrown into jail and a witch-hunt ensues, led by the Minister and Mrs. Tapili. Mack becomes a celebrity and is lauded for his braveness in coming forward and subsequently finds himself in a major conundrum! This episode deals with mob mentality and the sheep-like nature of human beings.
- Half-Caste Away - The boys find a baby in the creek and try to bring it up, but struggle from sleep deprivation and the ordeal of nappy-changing until they have to search elsewhere for parents for the baby.
- A Chicken Roll At My Table - Joost’s conservation-loving zoo-keeping Dad invites the boys to the van Den Van Van’s African-themed Morningside Shore home for a weekend cultural exchange... but an incident with a chicken roll turns the weekend into a weird kind of Whodunit. The episode’s theme is bullying and karma.
- Morning Side Story - An incident of racial violence inspires Vale to write a school musical addressing the issue. When the school finds out that Prince Charles will be attending they redouble their efforts, but Mrs Tapili throws a spanner into the works when she realises that Sina will have to kiss a Maori in the play. The episode’s theme is racial harmony.
Trivia
- Aside from occasional cameo appearances of the hip-hop group Nesian Mystik, sometimes one of the main crew members would pop up. Animation Director Maka Makatoa is seen in the Morningside Institute for Kids with Useless Parents during "Go Home, Stay Home" and "Half-Caste Away".
- Product placement is prevalent in the series, with blatant ads for local products such as G-Force, Starburst Sucks and L&P. A series of G-Force energy drink ads marked the beginning of Firehorse Films' career, and the characters designed for these advertisements have appeared in Bro'Town.
- Prince Charles' guest voice appearance was the result of happenstance and opportunism, as the Prince was brought to meet the Naked Samoans by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. Clark had enjoyed providing a guest voice for the first season and was keen to present the creative team to the royal visitor. The Samoans quickly produced a microphone and asked Charles to say the catchphrase "Morningside 4 life!", then worked the recording into the plot of an episode.
- It has been confirmed that a feature film is in the works.
Worldwide Distribution
- New Zealand - TV3
- Fiji - Fiji TV
- Australia - The Comedy Channel
- Canada - APTN
- Latin American - cartoon network Latin American
- New zealand - Air New Zealand's Inflight service
See also
