This story includes a few of my fan-made Chowder characters introduced in "My Chowder OCs." The storyline is based heavily on a (very funny) Donald Duck comic by Carl Barks, called, "The Crazy Quiz Show" which is part of the Lost in the Andes comic compilation, available on Amazon. Please enjoy!
It's a lovely day in Marzipan City. Inside Mung Daal's catering company, deep within his room, Mung is rapidly poring over a vasty pile of trivia books. "Caesar was born in 102 B.C.! A bushel of wheat weighs sixty pounds! Sir Francis BLT wrote, 'Ode to a Prime Rib' in 1687! Watt's steam engine was invented in 1769! Napoleon met his waterloo at Waterloo! One million needle-nosed doodlebugs can eat as many freeze-dried soy cubes as three million wedge-nosed doodlebugs! A fake mustache would weigh fifteen pounds on Venus! A pound of turquoise feathers is lighter than a pound of purple feathers!"
At that moment, Chowder and his little sister Pudding walk up to Mung. "Howdy, Mung!" Chowder greets him. "Hi, Mung!" Pudding greets him. Noticing what Mung's doing, Chowder inquires, "What'cha doin'?"
"I'm going to buy a yacht, a mansion, a limousine, and a stable of race horses!" the chef replies, still half looking at his books.
Chowder is still very perplexed. "Uh...uhm...What'cha doin'?"
"I'm planning to strike it rich!"
"How'll you be able t'buy even one box of teddy bear casserole mix when you've spent every last schment on these books?" inquires a curious Pudding.
"Well, it just so happens," Mung replies smugly. "That these books will be the very key to my fortune!" He turns to the kids. "Go on, ask me anything! Anything at all!"
"Wow, he really does think he's smart!" Chowder whispers to Pudding. "Wonder what we should ask him."
"Sumpin' real hard, maybe?" Pudding whispers in reply.
"Good idea!" the little cabearit boy turns to the chef. "Uhm, say Mung, how many ounces are in a pound?"
"Sixteen!" Mung replies confidently.
"Wow, he really is smart!" an impressed Chowder exclaims. "Miss Snickerdoodle(1) gave me a B minus on my test paper for not knowing that one!"
"Yes, I know just about everything." the chef says smugly.
"That's real nifty, Mung," Pudding states. "But how'll you get all those nice stuffs jus' from answerin' questions?"
"I'm glad you kids asked that," Mung quickly switches on the TV. "Look!" A commercial quickly flashes on the screen, "Jellatin-O, the dessert there's always room for, presents 'That's Just Crazy' Marzipan City's wackiest game show, which gives contestants the chance to win many fabulous prizes!"
"A game show? Wow, cool!" exclaims an excited Chowder.
"Neat!" Pudding hops up excitedly.
"Well, we'd better hurry if we want to make it in time, kids." Mung notes.
"Sure thing, Mung." the kids reply as the three of them quickly dash out the door.
Mung and the kids hurry downtown to the Marzipan City TV studio. "What luck," Mung silently muses to himself. "I've been waiting for one of these TV gold mines to come to town for months!" He and the kids quickly dash past a surprised ticket taker and hand him their tickets, then begin making their way to their seats through a bustling crowd. "One side! Comin' through! Make way! Bread 'n butter!" Mung exclaims.
"Hey!" "What a nerve!" the people in the crowd exclaim indignantly.
From the audience, Mung's two assistants Schnitzel and Cinnamon look on in amazement. "Say," Cinnamon notes as she motions toward Mung, who's just hopped into his seat. "Isn't that Mung over there?"
"Radda radda." Schnitzel replies.
"He must be here for the prize." Cinnamon muses.
Meanwhile, Chowder and Pudding are still making their way through the crowd. "'Scuse us!" Chowder exclaims. "'Scuse us, pwease!" Pudding exclaims. "Bread 'n butter!" Chowder says. "An' jelly!" Pudding adds.
Chowder's friend Jelly, who's sitting in the front row of the audience, wears a perplexed look. "Thought I'd heard someone call my name." she muses.
Chowder and Pudding quickly seat themselves on either side of Mung as the show's host steps out onto the stage. "Ladies, gentlemen and creatures of all ilks, welcome to another fine production of That's Just Crazy! The world's stickiest, goopiest, GOOIEST game show, which offers many fabulous prizes!" The host then motions to the right of the stage, where several prizes, including several large barrels of money and dice cycles with multi-sided wheels, are sitting.
"Wow!" Mung exclaims excitedly. "Look at those big barrels of money!"
"And looky," Pudding adds. "They're givin' away dice cycles, too!"
The host then turns to the audience. "And now, may we have a volunteer from the audience, please?"
"I'll do it!" Mung exclaims abruptly, as he rushes up onto the stage. "I know all the answers!" Unbeknownst to him, however, Chowder and Pudding had been following him closely behind. Becoming aware of the footsteps behind him, the chef glances over his shoulder and sees he kids standing behind him. "What are you kids doing here?!" he demands.
"We're, uhm, being here." Chowder replies. A scowl crosses Mung's face. "No matter, I work better with an audience anyway."
The host turns nonchalantly to his assistant, who's standing nearby, and whispers, "That blue guy looks like one of those professional prize grabbers! Let's give him the full royal treatment!"
"Good idea, sir." the assistant replies.
The host then turns to Mung, "Pardon me, sir, but what might your name be?"
"Mung Daal."
"Well, Mung, you'll certainly have something BIG in store for you tonight!" the host replies. A smug expression crosses the chef's face. "And I'll take it all in thousand-dollop bills!"
"Very well," the host replies. "But remember, if you fail to answer the question, you'll have to take the penalty!"
"Fine, fine," Mung replies with a slight tad of impatience. "Let's just get on with the questions now."
"Very well, very well," the host replies, giving a small nonchalant wink over his shoulder. "How many kilowatts are in a freedoffagraph?" The chef can only scratch his head in perplexity. "What's a freedoffagraph?"
A buzzer suddenly goes off in the background. "Time's up!" the host exclaims. "And since you weren't able to answer the question within the time limit, you now have to take the penalty! These creampuffs!" Fromm offstage, the assistant pelts Mung with creampuffs rapid-fire. BLAT! SKWISH! GLOP! "Gooey!" the host laughs.
"Rats..." a cream-covered Mung grumbles.
The host then traipses up to Chowder. "Now I shall ask a question of this little boy. What's your name, lad?"
"Chowder."
"Well, Chowder, this will certainly be a big opportunity for you to win one of our fabulous prizes!"
"Oh boy!"
From the front row of the audience, Chowder's friend Peanut Butter, who's sitting with Chowder's other friends, glances up at the stage. "Look you guys," she says excitedly, motioning toward the stage. "It's Chowder 'n Pudding!"
"Hi, guys!" Chowder's friends all exclaim as they wave to their two pals.
"Howdy, guys!" Chowder politely waves back. "Hi, guys!" Pudding waves too.
The host then turns to Chowder again. "Now, how many arms does a chicktopus have?" A perplexed look crosses the little cabearit boy's face. "How many arms? Hmmm..." Noticing his perplexity, Mung leans over and begins whispering the answer in Chowder's ear(Well, as far as anyone could see, that is-Chowder's hat always covered his ears). "Qzzzz, mzzzz, mmmm, bzzzz..."
"NO COACHING!" from out of nowhere, the assistant hops out and drops a cooking pot over Mung's head, then hits it with a wooden spoon. WHAM! BANG! CRASH!
The host then turns toward Chowder again. "Now, how many arms does a chicktopus have, lad?"
"Uhm...depends on the chicktopus?" the little cabearit boy replies.
"Good answer, yeah! Good answer!" Chowder's friends cheer and clap from the audience.
"That's close enough! You win!" the host replies. Chowder's eyes grow wide. "I won! I can't believe I won! Ohmigosh!"
"You now may have your choice of this large barrel of money or this nice dice cycle." The host motions toward the aforementioned. "Take the mon-" Mung begins to shout before he's cut off sharply by the assistant dropping a largish watermelon on his head. SKIVSH! "NO COACHING!" the assistant exclaims.
Chowder selects a purple dice cycle with eight-sided wheels and begins merrily pedaling it across the stage. "Woohoo!" Mung can only look on disdainfully.
The host turns to Mung. "Losers get three chances. For your next question, Mung, how many sugar-coated strudel-doodles can a herd of flutter-frogs eat?" Mung begins to scratch his head in perplexity again.
A buzzer goes off in the background again. "Time's up!" the host exclaims. "Ooh, I'm sorry, Mung, but you haven't won the prize." He then takes a small piece of paper out of his pocket. "But to show you that our hearts are in the right place, we'd like you to have this consolation prize-" He then drops it on the floor. "Whoops!"
"Ooh, a certificate!" the chef exclaims elatedly as he bends down to pick up the aforementioned. No sooner does he, however, than the assistant wallops him in the bum with a tennis racket. "For being the biggest dweeb on this show! Ha ha ha!"
"Oh, for goodness sakes!" Mung grumbles.
The host then turns to Pudding. "Would you like to answer our next question, little girl?"
"Uh huh!" the little cabearit girl replies excitedly.
"What's your name, Dearie?"
"Pudding."
"Well, Pudding, you now also have a chance to win one of our fabulous prizes!"
"Oh goodie!"
"Now, our next question is, how many shmeggs are in a dozen?" A perplexed look crosses Pudding's face. "How many shemeggs in a dozen...Hmm...Oh..." Now noticing her perplexity, Mung leans over and begins whispering in Pudding's ear. "Qzzzzz, mzzzzz, bzzzz..."
"NO COACHING!" Upon seeing this, he assistant quickly drops a large barrel over the chef's head, then pulls it away, leaving him trapped in a large, barrel-shaped red gelatinous glob. "And here before your very eyes, ladies and gentlemen, is a tempting globule of Jelatin-O!" the host notes, motioning toward same. "The dessert there's always room for, now in 15 delectable flavors!"
Mung sticks out his tongue, then licks his lips. "Mmm...cherry."
The host then turns to Pudding again. "Now, how many shmeggs in a dozen, Dearie?" The little cabearit girl nervously counts on her fingers. "Uhm, uhhhh..."
"Take your time! No hurry!" the host replies.
Pudding ruminates for about a second more, then quickly answers, "A dozen!"
"Good answer, yeah! Good answer!" Chowder's friends cheer and clap from the audience again.
"That's correct! That's absolutely correct! You win!" the host replies. An elated look crosses Pudding's face "I won? Oh boy, oh boy!"
"You now may have your choice of money or this nice dice cycle." The host motions toward the aforementioned. "Take the money! Take the money!" Mung bellows. Unfortunately, Pudding isn't able to hear him through the jell, and ends up picking a brown dice cycle with a sunflower decal(Resembling the one on her hat) on the basket. "Whee!" she squeals joyfully as she pedals it across the stage.
Mung snorts and glowers from inside his gelatinous enclosure. "My, my!" the host notes. "You look pretty angry in there! I'd better not let you out just yet." Upon this, he then turns to Chowder again. "Would you like to answer the next question, lad?"
"Sure!"
"All right: What is five times five minus twenty-five?" the host inquires. Chowder begins scratching his head in perplexity again. "Five times five...Minus twenty-five...Hmmm..."(He had never been that good at math.)
Growing more and more frustrated, Mung quickly pops his head out of the Jellatin-O trap and begins rapidly whispering in Chowder's ear, "Qzzzzz! Mzzzzzz! Mmmmm! Bzzzzzz!"
"NO COACHING!" The assistant quickly throws a large bowl of whipped cream over the chef's head and plants a large cherry on top of it. The audience roars with laughter. "I hate this show." Mung grumbles.
The host then turns to Chowder again. "Now, what is five times five minus twenty-five, lad?" Chowder can only stare in silence. A buzzer suddenly goes off in the background. "Time's up!" the host exclaims. "You've said nothing; the answer just so happens to BE nothing! You win again!"
"All right!" Chowder cheers.
From the audience, Chowder's friend Cheese turns to Cupcake, another one of Chowder's friends, who's sitting next to him. "Cool! Chowder won again!"
"Wonder if he'll pick th' money or another dice cycle." Cupcake muses.
"You now may have your choice of this little barrel of money or this shiny new dice cycle." The host motions toward the aforementioned. Feeling his anger rising, Mung bursts out of his gelatinous enclosure with superhuman strength. "TAKE THE MON-"
"NO COACHING!" The assistant quickly pops out of nowhere and gets the chef in a headlock.
Chowder then selects a green dice cycle with blue sixteen-sided wheels and begins pedaling it across the stage. "Yay!"
"What are you kids going to do with three dice cycles anyway?" Mung inquires disdainfully. "There are only two of you!" Chowder stops pedaling and sits sideways on the seat of the dice cycle with a look of perplexity on his face. "Gee, I never thought of that..."
"Hmm..." Pudding muses.
None of them have long to contemplate this, however, before the assistant quickly confronts Mung again. "You have one more chance to win the barrel of money-the BIG barrel! Now, are you going to settle down and answer the question civilly?"
"All right, fine!" Mung replies irritably. "But one more of these phony questions and I'll throw down on you both!"
"Very well," the host replies as he turns to the chef. "Here's your question: How many drops of water pass over Niagara Falls in a week? You have only one minute to answer."
Hmm, that was volume six of electrokinetic science! Mung thinks. He then begins to answer, "Nine trillion multipadillion, six hundred and eighty-six squadripadillion, fifty octo decimadillion, eight hundred and sixty-three centripadillion..."
"Have mercy!" the host whispers in shock to the assistant. "He's answering!"
"This isn't in the script!" the assistant replies worriedly. "Don't worry," the host replies, looking at his watch. "He isn't finished yet!"
"Nine hundred and forty epicpadillion, six hundred and five maximumillion, thirty three impossibadillion," the chef continues. "Seven hundred and ninety-one compounded ultrafatillion, three hundred and forty super trillion, fifty-nine duper dillion, twenty-nine billion, seven hundred and fifty million, four hundred and six thousand, five hundred and thirty three drops!" Mung then promptly collapses to the ground in exhaustion.
The host frantically looks at his watch. "One minute exactly! I can't believe it!"
Chowder and Pudding stare wide-eyed at this incredible accomplishment. "Ohmigosh, Mung WON!" Chowder exclaims enthusiastically. "That big barrel a'money's as good as his." Pudding notes.
The host dolefully helps a very dazed Mung to his feet and dusts him off. "All right, you win!" he groans. "You now have your choice of this huge barrel of money or this shiny new tricycle." He then motions toward same. Unfortunately, Mung is in such stupor that he doesn't reply. The host impatiently shakes his shoulder, "Come on, come on, which will it be? The money or the tricycle?"
"Money or tricycle? Money or tricycle?" The entranced chef begins running his finger up and down over his puckered lips; he then picks the tricycle and begins pedaling it across the stage, with his head tucked under his collar. "Look no head!"
From back in the audience, Cinnamon turns to Schnitzel. "I like him, he's silly." she whispers, motioning toward Mung.
"Radda" Schnitzel replies.
The end.
Voice Cast
Chowder-Sean-Ryan Petersen
Pudding-Michaela Dean
Mung Daal-Dwight Schultz
Schnitzel/Assistant/People in Audience-John DiMaggio
Cinnamon/People in Audience-Grey DeLisle
Host/People in Audience-Tom Kenny
Peanut Butter-Katherine Shepler
Jelly-Zoe Miner
Cheese-Mason Malina
Cupcake-Isabella Briscoe
Blueberry-Sami Staitman
Mango-Colin Depaula
People in Audience-David Lodge, Stephanie Sheh, Ashleigh Ball
(1)I hope to introduce Chowder's teacher in future stories.
