Sanjay and Craig

Sanjay and Craig
Genre	Comedy Adventure Slapstick
Created by	Jim Dirschberger Jay Howell Andreas Trolf
Directed by	Ryan Crego Matt Layzell Blake Lemons Bryan Caselli Neil Graf Lindsey Pollard Alan Smart Tom Yasumi
Voices of	Maulik Pancholy Chris Hardwick Matt Jones Linda Cardellini Kunal Nayyar Grey Griffin Nika Futterman Tony Hale
Theme music composer	John Dwyer
Opening theme	"Sanjay and Craig", performed by Chris Hardwick and Maulik Pancholy
Ending theme	"Sanjay and Craig" (instrumental)
Composer(s)	Matt Mahaffey
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	60 (120 segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jim Dirschberger (co-executive) Jay Howell (co-executive) Andreas Trolf (co-executive, Season 1) Will McRobb Chris Viscardi
Producer(s)	Lisa Thibault Woods Thurop Van Orman (supervising producer, season 1)
Editor(s)	Steve Downs
Running time	22 minutes (2 11-minute segments)
Production company(s)	Forest City Rockers Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Release
Original network	Nickelodeon
Picture format	1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	May 25, 2013 (2013-05-25) – July 29, 2016 (2016-07-29)
External links
Website

Sanjay and Craig is an American animated television series that aired on Nickelodeon from May 25, 2013 to July 29, 2016 for three seasons and 60 episodes.^[1][2][3] The show is about a 12-year-old boy named Sanjay Patel who owns a talking pet snake named Craig.

The show's creators are Jim Dirschberger, Andreas Trolf, and Jay Howell. Howell is also the character designer.^[4] Sanjay and Craig is being produced by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi,^[5] the creators of The Adventures of Pete & Pete, which aired in the 1990s. The show began production in late 2010. Nickelodeon had renewed the show for a second season on September 12, 2013 that began airing on July 19, 2014,^[6] and for a third season on July 11, 2014, that premiered on September 7, 2015.^[7] On June 10, 2016, one of the voice actors, Chris Hardwick, tweeted that the series has finished production.^[8] The series ended its run on July 29, 2016 with a half-hour special titled "Booyah for Bollywood".

Plot

The series follows the exploits of the title characters, a 12-year-old boy named Sanjay Patel, and his best friend, an anthropomorphic snake named Craig.^[9] On a promotional webpage for the show, the network explains that Sanjay and Craig's suburban hijinks require that "no one finds out that Craig can talk".^[10]

Cast and characters

Main characters

• Sanjay Patel (voiced by Maulik Pancholy)^[11] is an excitable, klutzy and sweet twelve-year-old Indian-American boy who goes on adventures with his best friend, Craig. He has a crush on Belle Pepper, who works at his favorite place to hang out, The Frycade. Sanjay idolizes Remington Tufflips, a washed up action movie star from the 1980s. Sanjay tries to fit in most of the time and always has a great time with Craig.
• Craig Slithers (voiced by Chris Hardwick)^[11] is Sanjay's anthropomorphic pet snake who he met in a pet store. Craig is a so-called "master of disguise" — whether he is a doctor, a lawyer, or a beauty pageant queen, no one seems to recognize him. Only a few people know Craig can talk; Sanjay and his close friends keep it a secret. Craig does not like to be called just a pet.
• Vijay Patel (voiced by Kunal Nayyar) is Sanjay's father and owns a clearance store in the neighborhood. He has invented various mechanicals, such as a party-obsessed, dancing robot, the Partybot. He also knows that Sanjay's pet snake Craig can talk.
• Darlene Patel (voiced by Grey Griffin) is Sanjay's mother who works at a hospital as a nurse and a surgeon. She often tells Sanjay stories about her work. She also knows Sanjay's pet snake Craig can talk.
• Hector Flanagan (voiced by Matt Jones)^[11] is Sanjay and Craig's weird eye patch-wearing friend. He can annoy them at times and has a crush on Megan.
• Belle Pepper (voiced by Nika Futterman) is a sixteen-year-old girl who works at the Frycade, Sanjay and Craig's favorite place to hang out. Sanjay has a crush on her, yet when he attempts to talk to her it does not work out. Even though she is a good friend of Sanjay, she rarely shows any signs of seeing him as her boyfriend, unlike Megan, who shows her passion constantly.
• Megan Sparkles (voiced by Linda Cardellini)^[11] is Sanjay and Craig's enthusiastic and overachieving friend who takes part in beauty pageants. Megan is an intelligent, talented beauty pageant winner who can get carried away at times, but loves helping Sanjay. She has a secret crush on Sanjay, although Sanjay does not seem to feel the same way, though he does care about her as a friend.

Recurring characters

• Mr. Leslie Noodman (voiced by Tony Hale)^[11] - is Sanjay and Craig's psychotic neighbor who hates snakes. He has a pathological fear of them because of a prank his father pulled on him when he was young (his father actually pulls many pranks on him, thus, he hates his father). He loves his cat, Lady Butterscotch, but is Sanjay and Craig's number one enemy. He cares deeply for his award-winning blueberries and likes to use his shovel as a weapon. He seems to be aware that Craig can talk, and wants to kill him.
  • Lady Butterscotch - is Mr. Noodman's pet cat. Noodman appears to really admire her. As revealed in "Butt's Up", she was originally owned by Darlene, until Noodman bullied her during a game of Butt's Up. Darlene shows grief over her loss.
• Sandy Dickson (voiced by Grey Griffin) - is the leader of the hard rock band "Tuff Skulls". She has two brothers named Scabs and Baby Richard. She is shown to be a goth girl, and is the lead singer for her band. She rides a motorcycle with a sidecar for her monosyllabic fraternal twin Scabs. Sanjay and Craig appear to really dig her music, and although Sandy and her brothers look like bullies, they're mostly indifferent to Sanjay and Craig's adoration and would never intentionally harm them, though she can be very aggressive at times.
  • Scabs Dickson (voiced by Grey Griffin) - is a member of the Dicksons' band, "Tuff Skulls". He has a sister named Sandy and has a younger brother named Baby Richard.
  • Baby Richard Dickson (voiced by Nolan North) - is a member of the Dicksons' band, "Tuff Skulls", and is the youngest of the Dicksons. He is shown to be very rude to Sanjay, Craig, and their friends.
  • Brenda Dickson (voiced by Grey Griffin) - is the mother of Sandy, Scabs and Baby Richard. She only communicates through grunting and snorting, but as revealed in "Enter Sandman", she can actually talk, but only when her children aren't around.
• Remington Tufflips (voiced by Chris D'Elia, credited as "Remington Tufflips")- Tufflips is depicted as a washed-up action movie star from the 1980s who Sanjay and Craig idolize. To them, he is the raddest guy to ever walk on the face of the Earth. Despite his has-been status, Tufflips' ego and arrogance have swelled over the years, along with his waistline. To Sanjay and Craig, he is still the king of cool, in their adoring eyes. Although he is Sanjay and Craig's ultimate hero, he usually keeps forgetting their names.^[12]
• Tyson (voiced by David Hornsby) - is a very rude and sarcastic young man who speaks in an English accent, and is Sanjay's primary rival for Belle's affections. He carries a scooter in his pants, and often attempts to ruin Sanjay's life.
• Sam Lastnamè (voiced by Tania Gunadi) - is a former member of the Butts Up Club, and Sanjay's newest friend. She first appeared in the episode "Butt's Up", and also appeared in "Street Dogg", "Huggle Day" and "Stunt School Special" in background roles. She made a full return in "G.U.T.S. Busters" where she is forced to compete against her friends.
• Ronnie Slithers (voiced by Nolan North) - is a wealthy Cornsake snake whom he is revealed to be Craig's long-lost brother who first appeared in "A Tail of Two Slithers". Ronny's cruel tendencies has led Sanjay and Craig to believe that they're no longer the best of friends. He later joins Sanjay's side by revealing to his soldiers that he is a Snake, and later gets returned to the pet shop, where he formerly lived with Craig before Sanjay found him.
• Dolph Lundgren (voiced by himself) - is the founder of the town the series took place in. He made his first appearance on-screen in the episode "Huggle Day", where he tries to search for Huggle Bunny and reveals to Sanjay and Craig on how he really founded Lundgren and Huggle Day. Before the events of the series, he became lost and cold in the middle of nowhere, then suddenly he was saved by Huggle Bunny and was given some shelter. But he has failed to pay him back thanks to the greed of the citizens of Lundgren.
• Booger Johnson (vocal effects provided by Maulik Pancholy) - is Megan's seemingly adorable pet gerbil. Sanjay once took care of him while Megan was out of town, and tried to get Craig to see him as a friend instead of a snack. He is also has the most hearts on a social-media site named "Heartyface".
• Penny Pepper (voiced by John DiMaggio) - is the owner of The Frycade and Belle's father. Penny makes the wings at the Frycade, and is good friends with the Patels.
• Debbie Jo Sparkles (voiced by Grey Griffin) - is Megan's mother.
• Grandma Wheezy (voiced by Eliza Schneider) - is Sanjay's Grandmother, as well as Darlene's Mother. She is very optimistic, but also wise. She first appeared in the episode "Conquistador".
• Farmer Larry (voiced by Toby Huss) - is the crazy farmer at Blueberry Farm and helps Sanjay and Craig make blueberry jam to keep Mr. Noodman from calling the pound in the episode "Dog Wave". He is also the current owner of Sanjay's former dog "Barfy".
• PMA Guy (voiced by Carl Faruolo) - is a judge and a stand-up comedian, who has an obsession with laughing.
• Huggle Bunny (voiced by Nolan North) - is a carnival entertainer. He is considered to be mysterious, magical, and creepy by many people. The town of Lundgren celebrates a Christmas-like holiday centered around him, which they name "Huggle Day".
• Chido (voiced by Natasha Lyonne in "Bike-o Psycho", later voiced by Pamela Adlon) - is a sarcastic and tough red-headed girl who owns a bike named "Glutte". She also makes paper hats and also plays electric guitar as a hobby. Chido made her first appearance in the episode "Bike-o Psycho". In "Combo Attack", Megan befriended her, and they both formed a band together called "Character Select".
• Barfy (vocal effects provided by Fred Tatasciore) - is a purple barfing dog that Sanjay wants to adopt. He entered the contest to win Barfy for free 100 times; the plan was successful, but it also backfired, as Sanjay ended up winning not only Barfy but also 99 other dogs. Barfy was given to Farmer Larry because Mr. Noodman would harass the purple dog and also because Farmer Larry needed some blueberry dogs. Barfy returns in the episode "Barfy's Babies", when she gave birth the three puppies named Barfy Jr., Lil' Beef, and Puppy.
• Noodman's Father (voiced by John DiMaggio) - is the seventy-year-old father of Leslie Noodman. He enjoys making his son's life miserable by pranking him with his fear of snakes. He has a fear of cats especially Noodman's pet cat, Lady Butterscotch.
• Noodman's Grandfather (voiced by John DiMaggio) - is the grandfather of Noodman's father. Like his father's son, he enjoys pranking his son with his fear of cats. He appears in the episode "Family Re-Noodman". He also has a fear of Butterflies.
• Randy Noodman (voiced by Christopher Mintz-Plasse) - is Noodman's teenage nephew who seems to get along well with Sanjay and Craig. He is one of the few recurring characters who knows that Craig is a talking snake, but keeps the secret for himself. Randy made his debut in the episode "Dude Snake Nood".
• Uncle Thurop (voiced by Thurop Van Orman) - is one of Noodman's relatives. He is short and has a broken leg. He appears in the episodes "Family Re-Noodman" and "Fart Baby".
• Mr. Flanagan (voiced by Nolan North) - is Hector's "cool" father.
• Mrs. Flanagan (voiced by Linda Cardellini) - is Hector's mother.
• Hector's Grandmother (voiced by Grey Griffin) - is Hector's grandmother. She cooks Hector's favorite Tamales, and is considered to be a hugger when greeting people.
• Sweet Cheeks (vocal effects provided by Fred Tatasciore) - is Hector's pet dog who has very large cheeks.
• Maximum Dennis (voiced by an Nolan North, credited as "Maximum Dennis") - is a popular American Tough Guy. Sanjay and Craig once disguised as him in order to beat Tyson, and to attract Belle.
• Chicken Chuck (voiced by Nolan North) - is a frequent visitor to "The Frycade", and good friend of Penny. He was ranked #1 on the wall of wings, before Tyson took his spot. He also works at an Amusement Park, as shown in "Heightmare", and a Car Wash, as shown in "Old Farts". In "Middle Shame" it's revealed that Chuck is his last name and Chicken is his first. In the same episode it is revealed that Chuck was raised by chickens in a farm.
• Raska Boosh (voiced by Adam DeVine) - is a comedic internet prank show host of a show called "Booshed", Sanjay and Craig are his biggest fans.
• Mr. Munchie (voiced by Sam Lavagnino) - A candy store owner who has the voice of little kid and sells weird candy like Flip Flopas, he was member of Hector's Grandmother's book club and has a crush on her.
• Chill Bill (voiced by Michael-Leon Wooley) - A cool wandering Bassist who lives in a convenience store in cavern underneath a sinkhole.

Production

Jay Howell said that the idea began with a comic he and Dirschberger had made about a man who was a snake charmer. Dirschberger then changed the snake charmer character to a 12-year-old boy "without a weird quirk or affectation".^[9] Howell said that the show's inclusion of gross-out humor was based on the fact that both he and Jim Dirschberger have mothers who are nurses, "and they've told us a lot of gross stories over the years".^[13] Since none of the three creators had produced a show before, Nickelodeon chose Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi, the creators of The Adventures of Pete & Pete, as executive producers. Howell said that McRobb's and Viscardi's experience on Pete & Pete helped them add "surreal kids' stuff" to Sanjay and Craig.^[9] Unlike most animated shows, Sanjay and Craig does not rely on scripting. Instead, the writers make an outline, which is then converted to a storyboard.^[9]

Episodes

Reception

David Weigand of the San Francisco Chronicle said that the show is "juvenile but also smart and funny" and "understands that kids are kids but also are often more sophisticated than children's television acknowledges."^[16] Giving it 3 stars out of 5, David Hinckley of New York Daily News said that the show "doesn't tiptoe around the stuff kids love most. Like gross stuff and absurd slapstick that in real life would probably get you killed."^[17] Marah Eakin of The A.V. Club gave the first two episodes an "A".^[18] The premiere episode had an estimated 3.6 millions viewers.^[19][20] Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the show two out of five stars, stating, "There's no rhyme, reason, or reality to the characters' misadventures, which can be a fun departure from real life but at the same time doesn't give them anything positive to glean from the content."^[21]

Broadcast

The series airs worldwide on Nickelodeon. It premiered on September 6, 2013 in Southeast Asia,^[22] on November 4, 2013 in Australia and New Zealand,^[23] on November 5, 2013 in the UK and Ireland,^[24] and on February 3, 2014 in South Africa.^[25]

Home media

DVD releases

References

External links

• Sanjay and Craig at the Internet Movie Database
• Sanjay and Craig at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Sanjay and Craig at TV.com