Humboldt Hillbillies: Local Folk Put Out an Animated Clip About Life at a Marijuana Grow
Hey, cannabis folks, a few local growers dug into their own experiences to create a risque’ video look at local marijuana culture. (Perhaps it could go without saying, but….of course, they want to be anonymous.)
These secretive folks nonetheless want everyone to get a look at what they are trying to create so….we’ve been chosen to introduce the Emerald Triangle to what they’ve been working on for years–an animation about our area and its marijuana culture in the Family Guy tradition.
First, a bit of background. Two couples began thinking about four years ago that our local outlaw culture was a rich mine for comedy.
“We were born and raised here,” explained a woman we’ll call Honey. “Well, two born and raised here and two who came here with no prior idea and fell in love…We’ve experienced Humboldt County, the thick and thin of it. There’s some really hilarious situations that happen here.”
The two couples tossed around some ideas, drew some sketches, and eventually came up with six major characters and a few minor ones. “The main characters are based on us,” Honey explained. (After watching the clip below you’ll have some idea of why they might want to be anonymous.)
Then Honey said they reached out to an animation attorney. “He was a little tough on us at first,” she disclosed. “He told us ‘It will be kind of difficult for you to get anywhere.’ At his suggestion, we hired an…animation company.” In part, they hired the company because they hoped it’s reputation would open doors in the industry….It didn’t.
“Once we got the clip made, none of the networks wanted to watch our clip because we were nobody,” Honey said. “But we’ve gone so far, we couldn’t give up on the idea.” The two couples decided to reach out online to viewers starting with Redheaded Blackbelt readers.
“We’re kinda relying on the community to see if this idea is going to go any further or not,” Honey explained. “We’ll see if the viewers give them notoriety. If it doesn’t take off here at home, it’s probably not going to take off.”
Honey acknowledges the show is “a little risque’.
“We’ll probably step on some people’s toes,” she said with a laugh. But, she insisted, “Humboldt Hillbillies will be a gritty version of life here….It’s raw and real… We wanted to formulate the show around situations that have happened.The characters for the most part are based on real people that either we know or have come across.”
So, Emerald Triangle folks, heeeeeere’s The Humboldt Hillbillies
“If you like the idea, then maybe, hey, buy a t-shirt,” said Honey. “That will help fund another episode.”
The process of creating this clip and the surrounding social media presence (see links below) was expensive and stressful, according to Honey. “It was a fairly difficult process,” she said. “[The clip] doesn’t look like anything major to make…but it cost more than we had anticipated that was for sure.”
Working with a production company from out of the area was especially difficult, Honey said. “We needed to feel out if they were the kind of people we wanted to work with. Could they take sketches we created and make animations from that?”
But beyond that, the two couples had what Honey called, “a really interesting time getting them to understand what Humboldt is about.”
She paused. “There was a lot that was lost in translation,” she said. For the next step, they’d like to work with people familiar with the culture.
“We would like to use this article to approach local animators,” she explained. “We want to keep it local…We tried to do it the corporate way and outsource but they had a hard time understanding us.”
If you’re interested in getting in touch with the creators of the Humboldt Hillbillies, then reach out to them on any of their social media sites.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/humboldthilbil
Facebook: www.facebook.com/humboldthillbillies
Instagram: @humboldthillbillies
Website: https://www.humboldthillbillies.bigcartel.com (This site is still under construction.)
YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZYNxiB3H8eE
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Oh boy…
Really? Come on…
Stupid
Awesome job!!!!! I know at least half those folks. Looks like the alderpoint crew. That’s hilarious. Keep up the good work. Even if it can’t go mainstream the island mountaineers will watch it obviously.
Awesome. I’m already a huge fan.
Wow this is not a good portrayal of our community in the wake of our industry trying to become a respected appellation. I understand that there are some very unconscious people growing and we as a community are trying to fix that. There are just as many people if not more who are utilizing impeccable cultivation techniques and provide high quality cannabis in a professional manner. It is an offense to in this area to portray our community in this light when so many peoples livelihoods will be effected. I would go as far to that say is callous and shortsighted. Its not funny that our economy is about to take a large hit and irresponsible to vilify an entire community from this very narrow perspective. Every local business relies heavily on this industry whether they want to admit it or not. Many students, single moms, servers, teachers, and other hard working people supplement their incomes through trimming just to get by. Please don’t make light of the very scary reality that we will be facing together. Bummed me out to see this! I hope we can start respecting each other and ourselves in this community. This is a time when we really need to come together not tear each other down.
Obviously you’ve never heard the terms “satire” or “parody”. You guys need to learn to laugh once in a while and not take some cartoon so seriously. Unless of course it comes across as more of a documentary and not a cartoon. Go watch The Daily Show, SNL, Late Night or any number of video sites. Family Guy, the Simpsons, Anything on Adult Swim and hell, we can go back to the days of Liquid Television on MTV. People have made fun of life and culture since well….forever.
I don’t believe its accurate I think these people decided to hang out with the worst side of this community and to potray that. I wish people could know what it was like to grow up with out power or running water sometimes. Watching your parents work 24/7 just to feed us and keep warm and still sometimes getting snowed in and watching your supplies dwindle and not having a phone to call out if you needed help. Its not easy living in the woods and it certainly wasn’t easy for the people who started this movement. But it was beautiful and free and I am so blessed that I was able to grow up knowing nature and how to respect her. I remember my parents friends coming up from San Francisco and being surprised at how good the water was or how clean the air was. I only hope that maybe that side of Humboldt would be shown to the world because it really is an amazing place if you surround yourself with the right people.
MissET , you hit all the right notes. I appreciate your passion and agree with you 100%
bla bla bla. i see you brought the wine i get the cheese. . living in the woods, snow!!! oh my!!beathfull and free. bla bla bla. no power, no running water, so what. Here’s a new flash. not easy living in the city either. gets some help before its to late. then go hug a tree. lol
Get over yourself. Yes some folks throw a bunch of money at the newsest bestest dope technologies thinking they are going to crush it…and some of us just buy good quality dirt with the best strains and feed it mendo grow more and we still outgrow you. Our outlaw rebel shit for brains jacked up rigs gun packing colors light drinking personas are just our cover you dumb dope yuppie.
Did you mean respected applalacian?
Whatever Joan Baez.
I totally agree with Miss ET. The cartoon is pretty lame and I must say I can’t even relate to any of those characters. I am a multi generational Humboldt resident. The hills life have some characters, yes, but this is horse shit. Just to represent some of us who really are from here let me explain myself. I have two kids and my parents live right down the road. My brother served this country in Kuwait in the early 90’s as well as a bunch of his buddies. All of them raised from a lifestyle most people dramatize cuz they’ve been here 10 years and don’t know what it was really about. Not one piece of that show represents the MAJORITY of those good people living in this county (in the hills or otherwise). Your representation is of the most unlikely of characters you will meet in the humhills. Honestly, you folks must hang out with extremely effed up people. I wouldn’t even consider those characters legit. Rather a disgrace to a real hillbilly. Your friends and the people you associate with must be pure trash. Good job! Absolutely freaking unbelievable. No wonder nobody wants your show.
You’re right. It’s a pathetic attempt at humor and a bad representation of the Humboldt Marijuana culture and the story behind it. The hippies started it in the late 1970’s, and fought the law, state, county, and federal through the 1980’s and 1990’s. The Hillbillies or Redneck’s jumped in later when it was safer to grow.
Wow they making is look stupid. I’ve never experienced anything like this.
lol
I don’t like it, it’s perverted humor is trashy. It doesn’t capture our culture here at all. Driving a lawn mower in the house running over a cat,no one does that. The creators have some twisted humor. Totally disappointed.
its a cartoon
Perverted, trashy, inaccurate portrayal of even the stereotypes it parodies: yup, it should be a huge hit with American viewers! The bar’s as low as it can go now for entertainment in our culture, but frankly I find this less offensive than election coverage right now.
Try watching some ” adult swim “.
back to the drawing board please. Animation good. Goofy and cute BUT not authentic — could be anywhere usa. totally missing the artisan growers i know in south eastern Humboldt.
Thanks for the positve, constructive critizism Laura!
good job
Miss Et has her panties in a bunch. She must be part of the emerald family flammers who bulldoze ridgetops to put up hoops to grow more weed. Not every parcel in this county is suitable for cultivation. Especially not forest land. Get a parcel map from the tax assessor’s office with the names of the nit wits that signed up for that dumb deadline. Then take a plane ride from Murray field or rhonerville and get back to me with your rhetoric about folks being professional and in an ethical manner that doesn’t destroy our natural landscape. Your blowing smoke up the wrong people’s dress. Get a clue ! You obviously have a very narrow perspective. Lighten up! That one guy almost exactly resembles Patrick Murphy to a tee. Spot on! There’s no appellation when you don’t grow in humboldt native soils. Ever seen a vineyard in napa planted in smart pots? Never. Ever seen a vineyard in mendo truck in thousands of yards of potting soil? Never. You obviously have no idea what that word really means. Try educating yourself on these issues before you make inflammatory comments!
You are 100% correct that not every parcel has the right soils or the proper water collection capabilities. You also are right that smart pots are environmentally unfriendly way of farming. Utilizing good land management , watersaving, and sustainable practices does make some areas with prime soils ideal for farming. Cannabis growing did not start with people bringing bags of dirt into the woods it was communities dry farming around river beds with compost made from locally collected materials it was also not the mono-crop that you see today. People with the right education in sustainable agriculture will hopefully be able to get an appellation and I meant that. There are people with years of experience who have a lot to offer and people coming here with awesome new soil microbiology techniques who are doing it right. Its not just locals who care about this land. I don’t want the world to look at this cartoon and forget about the community culture that still runs strong in these hills
Geez ‘adults’ of HumCo, take a liberal pill and read into the COMEDY. it’s clearly not a real representation, it is a OVER EXAGGERATION, and it’s pretty on cue if it wasn’t exaggerated, which is why I think yall are so mad. Name 3 things in this little clip that’s ‘sooooooooo bullshit’.. none of it. It’s funny. Stay mad bros
Jeff for President!
Loved it! Shared it on facebook! Very funny. Those criticizing it clearly are not fans of SNL or South Park.
SNL is funny??? Not this century.
This humor can’t come close to South Park. Be real.
right on jeff. i think missET needs a good old country style roll in the hay. sounds like it been a while. why so serious. its a cartoon. glad i dont live in your skin missET. get some help before its to late. lol
Who the hell who find an accurate description of Humboldt funny?
The only part that made sense was when they pulled out the clipping trays. Running the cat over-Not Good.
Ummm…no.
I’m with you MsssssET. And your perspective is the one that is real. I don’t see the humor. Never saw these people in 40+ years. Parody…..nope. I’m sorry I watched it. Name three things that are bullshit? All of it. At least not in my world.
got thru a minute or so….couldn’t take any more
DUMB. Not much humor unless your one of the stoners who made it. Just makes a good reason not to smoke it. Just bad taste all around
This is just bad. Really bad. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
The concept is good, unfortunately the same “societal rejects” that make up characters also wrote the plot.
The animation is good the writing is crap.
East Siders known for being redneck, west Siders known for being child molesters.
This is an awful representation of what Humboldt country growing is like. I wouldn’t support this for future production. So many offensive slogans and actions, and yes, I know how to take a joke. Can we discuss the “Thumb Sucking Self-Hating Jew” graffiti scrawled across the broken fridge in the yard. Or what’s up with the weed-created menorah? If this is the “alder point crew” as one person commented, there’s obviously a great reason why so many people avoid going out there.
Never stop not going there.
Pretty funny – some people will like it and some won’t. What I’d do is make the next episode focus on the humorous aspects of going legal, or dealing with trimmers that don’t speak English,etc. Have fun….
I gave it to 1:36 before giving up.
Didn’t even get a minute into it. Click! OFF! Mainstream America will probably eat it up., like they do most sleazy Trumpish-scrap. So much sarcasm these days. Watch the #3 Stooges , that is funny And stupid. This is only the Latter.STUPID….. IN CAPITALS! Ille bet if i bought a tee shirt now i could sell it on Ebay next year for double or at least trade an LB. for it .[Kick me in the rear if im wong.]?Maybe were all in complete denial, but this is trash at its worst. OFF! I’m afraid we are going to see alot more of this junk. We are beating the Golden Goose to death, while Rome burns a Fatty- Spliff….GREED!
the 3 stooges !! just say mo!! light up lighten up, it a cartoon.
Believe me I have a sense of humor and it’s just more of the same tired infantilization of cannabis culture. I’m sure there are plenty of arrested development Americans that will eat it up though.
Funny, I like , definitely a peek into the grower scene.Now you how the rest of the world views humboldt growers
Hillbillies & Drunks. NIMBY. Puke.
Out of the millions of pipe dreams that were discussed at the trim table in all those years , you went with this one?
LoL!!!
Didn’t do it for me.
Well, that was depressing.
Back to the drawing board is right. I know only one guy in Humboldt who plays a banjo, so why, WHY banjo music? Where is the
1) wannabe rap star.
2) trophy wife with a boob job and hair extensions
3) the Eco extremist vegan with dreadlocks and a snobby attitude
4) the big guy wearing carharts( not bib overalls)
5) the money man who’s always in a hurry driving a big lifted truck pulling an inclosed trailer full of clones
6) and Vern, what would a Humboldt comedy be without Vern?
The accents are horrible, I’m sorry, I just don’t find humor in the riding mower, the head dr was completely out of place, and the crushing beercan guy is just not going to keep my attention and the boner popping up, well, enough said. Hope you come up with a more realistic angle and if this is your reality, that is pretty sad but okay, to each their own. I’m mostly amazed you say you picked out professional artists. Need simplified color and characters and not so grainy. Good luck.
This is basically a pitch reel, we are looking to cover every aspect of Humboldt County but how much can you really encapsulate in four minutes – we are looking to expand and we had to cover a lot of different bases in the short time frame with the reel. We appreciate the feed back, we expected a handful of negative comments. We have a lot of work to do but regardless, we are looking forward to production.
You expected a handful of negative comments–probably because there is always a preponderance of negativity on the local blogs? Well, you might have expected even worse, considering your intent with this boondoggle.
I sincerely hope you don’t waste another moment of your lives or the unwitting public’s time on this ill-advised project. Think about these rough synonyms: high… enlightened… uplifting… elevated… inspired… beneficial.
Then ask yourself why you would want to do something with your evident money and skills that is lowbrow, stupid, depressing, demoralizing, same-‘ol, and destructive to any efforts to edify the general public about what’s been morally (if not legally) right about grower culture.
Not really sure what you’re trying to do here, I have a different sense of humor and don’t think South Park is funny either, keep at it and I hope you find your pitch! Props for putting it out there amongst this crowd!! Woop woop
You obviously haven’t been here that long and experienced the life the majority of the hill people have experienced over the last forty years. Because this doesn’t doesn’t ring true, and because of that, it isn’t funny to most people. You don’t have to be crass, or have crass characters to be humorous. There are so many personal stories that are down right hilarious and ring true at the same time. I give you credit for producing the idea, and I give you credit and understand the hard work you have put into this project, but the execution is lacking at this point. You have the vehicle, but you have to rethink your presentation.
A project like this starts with good writing. If you intend to show this to industry people and actually get a meeting you should take your time, cross every “t” and dot every” i”, because you pretty much only get one chance. Someone at the level expects a finished product, because some studio can just as easily get their own professional writers on the project and animate it themselves. That’s why I feel you need central characters more true to Humboldt. I’m not sold on the Duck Dynasty approach. The character can stay, but not as a main character. More of a secondary character. You need something more unique. Like I say, if you get a meeting, or get someone to look at your work make sure you get it right the first time.
Squidbillies repackaged
Squidbillies is awesome, this was not. If your going to have Humboldt in the name keep it accurate. I don’t like the average so hum person but I still wouldn’t portray them as this disgusting mess. There’s like 2 over wheight chicks in So Hum and as many racist and guys wearing cowboy hats so make the characters and hills look like Humboldt!!
Squidbillies is awesome only to those who haven’t been to north Georgia or have roots there. Just like this pile of !$(& , it (squidbillies) is appreciated by those with no love or knowledge of Humboldt. Squidbillies doesn’t represent north Georgia; this doesn’t represent Humboldt.
Hillarious! I think some people take things too seriously. This is not the only cartoon to come out about Humboldt. Check out the Nor Cal Gold digga on youtube. I think it’s important to be able to laugh at our very unique situations. Our part of the world here in the emerald triangle is not at all like the rest of California let alone the rest of the world. Keep up the good work Hillbillies! It’s obviously not for the starchy crowd but the rest of us love your work.
Hey, thank you! Appreciate hearing that.
Sillybillies!!!don’t poke the bear
Our part of the world here in the emerald triangle is not at all like the rest of California let alone the rest of the world.
That is so true but it sure is not like this crap. There should be plenty of material without the hillbilly aspect I have never seen. If you’re gonna parody parody the real thing. Making something up is not parody. See what Penny wrote to give you some ideas. Hmm…..you’re making me as pissed off as I am at the idiot mr t.
You should take a drive out to heartwood, lots of “nice and tidy” permitted??? Artisan growers alongside the road. …..
I think some of the negative comments are people expecting a cartoon to be a
documentary.
Some of them sound like the self important green rushers that moved here from back East to teach us the error of our ways.
Those would be great fodder to take down.
With comedy it is best to punch up and not down.
Was a lot cooler place to be, 30 yrs ago. It’s still a lot better than the rest of the state. I thank the universe every morning that I live in Humboldt county. Pot or no pot. “Make the best of a bad joke. Laugh it off, you didn’t have to come here anyway!”
rod stewart. you just sated your self. so did I. hes still around . playing in las vegas $1000 a seat or more. i like that line.
Canada is kinda hot!
😈 ✂
Glad you can’t afford another episode. The last thing this area needs is more publicity, let alone pushing stereotypes of white trash idiots and their brown skinned employees. If it was more clever and less crass ie Simpsons and less Family Guy….it’s offensive in the sense of insulting one’s intelligence, which could be overlooked if it was actually funny. In my Humboldt opinion, this is the kind of thing the feds would come up with as anti-counterculture propaganda….I wonder……
Ay yo, take off your tin foil hat! 😉
I liked it, and I think the characters are dead on as representative of a good segment of SoHum.
Hey there, thanks!
I think the characters need improvements (equally ridiculous but more opulent, it’s Humboldt not Arkansas), give up the banjo tunes and the therapy stuff. The crass humor is great. Work in some stories that we read about in the news, but exaggerated and u will have something
Bears attacking hoop houses, deer eating crops, rippers getting the best of the same green rushers twice in the same yr, getting camped and shit on, uhaul getting popped infront of grocery store, trimmers taking the crop withem while the grower is on vacation … so many possibilities of satire at your disposal
That’s what I was thinking, could be some good entertainment!
Where exactly in humboldt do you see nazis? (Besides eureka)
That was too funny! Please make more!!!
The video was a sense of humor test. A lot of people failed the exam.
Horrible
It was just that one time I drove the mower in the house. The 70’s were over! That shag carpeting was not cool anymore. I whittled that cat a new leg, and he got along just fine.
Maybe consider a MissET-type character for the cast?
Lol, give these guys some credit! This was funny,if squidbillys made it this has a shot, if it was on tv with south park and such it would have a lot of viewers . And yes several things were an exaggerated look at what goes on, especially the dude popping a boner over the trashy trimigrant lol!
Haha the fat chick sucking on double Popsicle is right on point lol just look at backpage or craigslist . Other than that the cartoon is shitty attempt to show hard working, good hearted ppl like lowest of the low. If u ever grow you’d know how hard it is and how much $ and risk it take . Yes, ppl don’t dress in rock revival jeans, lebrone 300 usd shoes and don’t wear “light blue” D&G cologne , but if I lived in the woods I wouldn’t either. Tosh.0 has better cartoons.
So you look at backpage? lol
Wow, I’m just blown aways by everyone’s comments… you know what’s wrong with this place? Not the cartoon, but the people commenting about it. It’s that frame of mind of, I don’t like it so I’m going to tear it down then hide behind my peaceful wall of bs. What if this were a group of young people, with a dream bigger than growing more than their neighbor, or maybe someone put as much in as they could because they didn’t have a million dollars to throw at it. The thing is none of you know! This was an idea, a first attempt, hasn’t anyone ever looked at an original pitch reel from a major movie or show years ago and think we’ll that was shit. It takes vision, it takes time, it takes more than tearing someone’s idea down on an anonymous comment section. So just remember all your Comments, now imagine it was your kid and theyr friends who came up woth this or someone you know working overtime to do this, then read them your comments and then tell me what’s really wrong with the people here…. the cartoon, or the people reacting to it…. good luck hillbillies. Your community tore you apart, hope that was the inspiration you were looking for….
Here is thing , when you are an artist you have to have a sense of how your art may be construed by the masses and in my eyes the way that this cartoon plays out could cause harm to our community. Without having any context a lot of people outside of this region might take it to heart that this type of person is the norm here. Maybe portraying our community as backwards and dystfunctinal was what the creators wanted to show the world? but I really hope not.
I loved south park when I was a little skater punk and it first came out, then I had a lapse when i didn’t like it and I do again now. I reason I like it now is that although the creators still have some ridiculous plots the underlying messages actually are pretty on point. I mean look at the representation of the “member berries” and how people would rather think about the past rather than fix the problems our country currently facing. South Parks take on our elections is hilarious but also very real. So maybe what I would like to see, if these people were to continue this venture, is to take some of the more serious concerns that our community is facing and tie them into their cartoon. Perhaps try and make the characters less offensive and actually put some real thought into the social criticism that you want to bring attention to. Hillbillies you have an outlet to actually do something real its your choice if you want to stick with cheap humor or to help the world understand where we are coming from. This movement started as an attempt to get away from consumerist society and to live a little bit more freely with consciousness and now people come solely here for money and we literally are being bought out by corporations and gouged by the local government…. its f-ing sad so so sad and aggravating
If my kid comes up with shit I’ll tell him it’s shit even tho I’ll give him an a+ for his effort. That what’s wrong with our society today . You don’t need create real art these days. You can sit your naked ass ( not u per se) in a bucket of paint then roll around on the canvas and open your own gallery . Based on your connections you can charge all kinds of fees like you’re modern Picasso or Dali . Artists are the reflection of the society , always were and always will be. If we give props to our young generation for creating shit, then don’t get surprised why everything we possess is made in China.
Some of you people could really use some humor in your life!
I think the animation is great. I like some of the characters. Some things I believe you should add are lots of guns, speed, Costco, mice, and of course murder.
I would watch more of it, but I don’t know if square America can handle it. Not to mention you have fierce competition with “Squidbillies”. They already grow weed and make meth so you better get creative.
I tested it on a friend and the one lol scene was when the girl drove up in the gro-dozer. Also the shot of the sign at the road fork was not long enough for me to read it.