JibJab Web Satirists Return -- With a New Target

Oct. 14, 2005 — -- The JibJab satirists are back, and this time they've set their sights on "big box" retailing. Their new animated short, called "Big Box Mart," debuted Thursday night on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

JibJab Media, the brainchild of brothers Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, first gained attention with its animated short "This Land," a cartoon parodying the hotly contested 2004 election.

Presented to the tune of the classic Woody Guthrie song "This Land Is Your Land," the cartoon featured animated versions of President Bush and former Democratic rival Sen. John Kerry exchanging lively verbal jabs. In the film, Bush calls his rival a "liberal wiener," and Kerry parries by calling Bush a "stupid dumb ass."

More than 8 million people watched "This Land" the week it was released.

In the new two-minute animated short, the main character's highly skilled factory job is shipped overseas to accommodate the "everyday low prices" he's come to expect from his favorite retailer. At the end of the song, the only work he can find is as a janitor at Big Box Mart. The animation is set to the song, "Oh, Susannah."

Gregg Spiridellis said they decided to take on mega-retailers because of their effect on the U.S. economy. "It's virtually impossible for small businesses to produce goods in America inexpensively enough to sell to big box retailers," he said. "It's a big issue affecting a lot of people, and it's a really challenging one. I mean, we all shop at these stores."

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What makes this effort different than the other short movies that have parodied public figures is that "Big Box Mart" stars regular people.

"'Big Box Mart' is about bad things happening to real people," said Evan Spiridellis. "Thanks to the Internet, we were able to invite our audience to be a part of the production in a way that's never before been possible."

In September, JibJab posted casting calls for the short on its Web site, and thousands of people signed up to "audition" for parts by uploading their photos. More than 6,700 photos were submitted, and 1,000 faces show up in the video.