Eddsworld Explained
| Alt Name: | Eddsworld: Legacy (2012-2016)
Eddsworld Beyond (2020-) |
| Creator: | Edd Gould |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Last Aired: | present |
| Num Episodes: | 82 |
Eddsworld is a British[1] [2] 2D Flash-Animated web series created by Edd Gould. Since its premiere on 21 December 2004, the series has been published through Newgrounds, DeviantArt, YouTube, Albino Blacksheep, Tumblr, SheezyArt, and an official website.[3]
Following Gould's death on 25 March 2012, Thomas Ridgewell (the former voice actor of Tom) became the series' new showrunner, launching a crowdfunding campaign to continue the show titled Eddsworld: Legacy.[4] [5] [6] Preceding the release of Eddsworld: Legacy's final episode, Ridgewell announced he was leaving the show and handing control of the series to Matthew Hargreaves (voice actor of Matt) and Gould's family.[7] To this day, Hargreaves remains as the last original member of the foursome working on the series.
On 1 January 2017, the show's website went back online with new Eddsworld comics written and illustrated by Matt Hargreaves. On 1 August 2020, a new short titled "Fan Service 2" was released to kick off a new era of the show called Eddsworld Beyond, with Hargreaves as showrunner.[8], the Eddsworld YouTube channel has more than 4 million subscribers.[9]
At the time of Gould's death, his YouTube channel had the most subscribers in the comedian category for the United Kingdom and was the 4th most viewed comedian in the United Kingdom. Eddsworld was noticed by the organizers of the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference who commissioned an episode about climate change, used in the opening ceremony of the conference.[10] [11]
Synopsis
Eddsworld follows the misadventures of a group of young adult "morons" living together in a house somewhere in London: Edd, an artist obsessed with Coca-Cola and telling puns; Tom, a jaded nihilist and alcoholic who lacks visible eyeballs (it is constantly debated by the fandom whether he has no eyes, or if they are just completely black); Matt, a dim-witted narcissist; and (prior to his departure) Tord, a trigger-happy Norwegian addicted to hentai, a gun expert, and an interested communist. The series is generally episodic, and typically has little, if any, continuity between episodes. This results in many episodes featuring the characters dying, and then appearing in the next episode as if nothing happened.
Cast and characters
Overview
Main characters
The protagonists of Eddsworld are exaggerated parodies of series creator Edd Gould and his friends.
- Edd (voiced by Edd Gould [2004–2012], Tim Hautekiet [2012–2016], George Gould [2020–present]) – An adventurous artist with a green hoodie who tells puns and likes Coca-Cola and bacon.
- Tom (voiced by Thomas Ridgewell [2005–2016], Ed Templer [2021–present]) – A cynical, alcoholic bass guitarist with a blue hoodie and empty eye sockets. He frequently gets dragged along on Edd's adventures despite his protests. He had a rivalry with Tord prior to the latter's departure and owns a bass guitar named Susan.
- Matt (voiced by Matt Hargreaves) – A self-obsessed, dim-witted narcissist with a purple hoodie, green overcoat, and a distinct chiseled chin (he originally just wore a black tee-shirt with "I ❤️ M@" printed on it).
Supporting characters
- Tord (voiced by Tord Larsson [2005–2008], Jamie Spicer-Lewis [2016]) – A trigger-happy, hentai-addicted Norwegian inventor with a red hoodie (originally a black overcoat) often seen smoking. He has a rivalry with Tom and dislikes "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows". Tord moves away in the episode "25ft Under the Seat" to pursue his own interests, and returns with malicious intent in "The End (Parts 1 and 2)".
- Eduardo (voiced by Chris O'Neill [2010–2011], Brock Baker [2014–present]) – Edd's next-door neighbo(u)r and rival. He is obsessed with one-upping him and enjoys rubbing his misfortunes in his face.
- Jon (voiced by Eddie Bowley [2010–2016]) – Eduardo's housemate and counterpart to Tom. He is extremely unintelligent, and is physically abused by Eduardo for petty reasons. He is killed in "The End (Part 2)" as an indirect casualty during the battle between Edd's friends and Tord.
- Mark (voiced by Ben Rudman) – Eduardo's housemate and counterpart to Matt. Like his friends, he takes pleasure in constantly rubbing his neighbors' failures in their faces. After Jon's death, Mark comforts Eduardo during the latter's depression. How he survived during the events of The End Part 2 is yet to be revealed.
- Christopher Bingbong a.k.a. The Evil Director (voiced by Christopher Bingham) – A villainous film director who attempted to clone Edd and his friends to bolster the sales of his film in the episode "Spares". He is accompanied by his assistant Larry, who hardly tolerates his idiocy.
- Paul (voiced by Paul ter Voorde [2008–2013]) – A Dutch military guard who takes on multiple roles throughout the series.
- Zanta Claws (voiced by Josh Tomar) – A zombie Santa Claus intent on destroying Christmas. He attacks and murders anyone who he sees as naughty, his frequent targets being Edd and company, and has a grudge with his successor.
- Ell (voiced by Vicky Gould) – The gender-swapped version of Edd.
- Tamara (voiced by Chloe Dungate [2015], Rachel Kiki [2020–present]) – The gender-swapped version of Tom.
- Matilda (voiced by Alice Ann Stacey [2015], Jennifer Bingham [2020–present]) – The gender-swapped version of Matt.
Notes and References
- Web site: Lea. Martin. Eddsworld March 2022. 6 March 2022 .
- Web site: Eddsworld: Long May It Spin. 16 March 2016. TenEighty Magazine. Marcy Gardner. 8 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20200617032626/https://teneightymagazine.com/2016/03/16/eddsworld-long-may-it-spin/. 17 June 2020. live.
- Web site: Eddsworld . 2023-03-29 . eddsworld.co.uk.
- Web site: Strohman. Donald. 10 March 2016. Eddsworld: The End of a Legacy. 11 February 2020. The Young Folks.
- News: Teed. Paul. 14 April 2012. Tributes flood in for Eddsworld creator, who died aged 23 . 11 February 2020. Richmond and Twickenham Times.
- Web site: Gutelle. Sam. 23 March 2016. TomSka's New Documentary Explains How Eddsworld Survived Its Creator's Death. 11 February 2020. Tubefilter.
- Web site: thetomska. 16 March 2016. Goodbye, old friend.. 16 March 2016. Tumblr.
- Web site: Eddsworld. 1 August 2020. Eddsworld - Fan Service 2. 1 August 2020. YouTube.
- Web site: Eddsworld. 7 August 2018. YouTube.
- News: Vaughan. Adam. 5 November 2009. Guardian: One Minute To Save The World. The Guardian. 4 February 2011.
- Web site: 15 October 2009. TV/E and WWF hook up with young filmmakers to highlight climate change one million times. 11 February 2020. WWF.
