MBMBaM 809: Lesser Luigi Model

Summary

MBMBaM Episode 809: Lesser Luigi Model

Date: April 13, 2026
Hosts: Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy

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Episode Overview

This week’s episode is a classic McElroy blend of pop culture riffing, semi-sincere advice, deep dives into weird fast food PR, and passionate (if somewhat unhinged) discussion about Mario movies. The brothers explore the landscape of animated video game movies, mascots both official and unofficial, and tackle pressing questions like, “Is it disrespectful to eat your lunch in a cemetery?” and “What even is a ‘Saucy by KFC Drips by Pepsi’ crafted beverage?”

Tone: Loosely structured, high-energy, irreverent, and frequently veering into extended comedic riffing.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Chris Pratt, and Voice Acting

[01:34–14:13]

• Mario Fever and Waluigi Rumors

  • Griffin confesses he’s got “Mario Galaxy Fever,” noting the movie's unstoppable box office ([01:34]) and spreading an untrue rumor (via Google AI hallucination) that Wario and Waluigi appear in the post-credits scene—only to find out they don’t ([02:06]).
  • Hilariously rails against AI’s inability to distinguish “wishes and dreams” from facts:
    • Quote: “It doesn’t understand, like, wishes and dreams. It doesn’t understand aspirations.”
      —Griffin ([02:37])

• What is “LLM”? (Lesser Luigi Model)

  • Justin coins the term “lesser Luigi model” as a jab at large language models, riffing on AI’s misinterpretation of Mario lore ([02:59]).

• Wario & Waluigi’s Relationship

  • A running joke: are they brothers, business partners, married, or all of the above? ([03:08])

• Chris Pratt as Mario: Unforgiven

  • Justin reveals ongoing bitterness over Chris Pratt’s Mario:
    • Quote: “I still hate that he is Mario.”
      —Justin ([03:53])
  • Travis relates a TikTok clip where Chris Pratt’s Yoshi impression is just him saying “Yoshi,” critiquing Pratt’s entire approach to voice acting ([04:47]).

• Is it possible to do Mario without the accent?

  • Griffin briefly attempts a defense of Pratt:
    • Quote: “Show me the voice actor... not so fast, you can’t do it Italian at all.”
      —Griffin ([05:43])
  • Justin immediately pushes back:
    • “It might be nice to ask an Italian person.” ([06:03])
    • Suggests many actual voice actors (Matt Mercer, Francesca) would do better.

• Ben Schwartz as Sonic vs. Chris Pratt as Mario

  • Travis brings up how Ben Schwartz brought something unique to Sonic unlike Chris Pratt’s Mario, and that range doesn't make up for a lack of “aim”:
    • Quote: “Chris Pratt has range but no aim. He can fire arrows wildly in any direction.”
      —Travis ([10:08])

• Casting Fantasies: Garland of Celebrity Voices

  • Jokes about Luis Guzmán as Wart, Danny Trejo as Waluigi, Idris Elba as Wario—marveling at when voice actors can truly “own” and elevate a character like Elba did with Knuckles ([13:05]).

• Movie Fatigue

  • Justin, exhausted by the film, actually found himself wishing the line at the concession stand for cheese was longer so he could delay his return ([13:49]).

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Mascots: DIY Fandom and Security Nightmares

[15:11–23:08]

• Advice Question: “How do I offer to make my local ice hockey team a mascot?”

  • Griffin recounts the legend of Towel Man at St. Louis Blues hockey games, a fan-turned-institution who was never officially hired, showing how sometimes “asking forgiveness is easier than permission.”
    • Quote: “He just started fucking doing that. And then he’s been an institution... people love Towel Man.”
      —Griffin ([17:14])

• Unauthorized Mascots: Friend or Foe?

  • The team debates how arena security might deal with a DIY mascot, wondering how you’d sneak pieces of a costume into a game ([18:38]).
  • Illustrates the increasing “nastiness” of mascots—“Are you gonna be chill, like Gritty, or unchill, like the Raptors mascot who just devours people?” ([19:33])

• Mascot Travel and Lore

  • Griffin argues it’s “bullshit” that mascots only perform at home games—shouldn’t they travel with the team, too?
  • Travis insists mascots should stay in character the whole trip:
    • Quote: “If I’m on the bus, I don’t want to see Jeremy. I want to see Louie.”
      —Travis ([21:29])

• Mascot Innovation: The Zampopi

  • Suggestions for traveling mascots in their own “Pope mobile,” maybe a protective Zamboni ([21:53]).

• The Rise of Gritty and the Philly Fanatic

  • Celebratory riffing on the creation of Gritty, praising the designer’s vision and the gritty, “sleep paralysis demon” energy that’s become beloved:
    • Quote: “He’s a dirtbag and he’s insane...he’s barely even aware that we’re playing hockey.”
      —Justin ([22:41])
  • The designer should be “protected from themselves.” ([24:26])

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Advice Segment: Eating Lunch in a Cemetery

[24:29–31:30]

• Is it ok to eat lunch in your car, in a cemetery?

  • The brothers debate appropriate cemetery etiquette, with Griffin joking anyone doing this looks like a detective “staking out” a crime family ([25:20]).
  • Travis imagines it’s a goth type chowing down a hoagie.

• Saddest Lunches

  • Justin shares his own story of eating a bunless roast beef at Arby’s in a mall:
    • Quote: “I don’t think there could be a more depressing lunch than this. But ...eating a hoagie in the shade of an oak tree at a cemetery may be more depressing.”
      —Justin ([26:18])

• Are There Too Many Bones in Cemeteries?

  • Griffin gets (slightly) unnerved by “just how many bones are close by” ([29:07]).
  • Travis counters: “Bones are everywhere, man.”

• “Bones Per Capita”

  • Griffin coins “BPC” as a metric for discomfort ([29:26]).

• Cemetery Etiquette

  • Consensus: It’s not disrespectful as long as you’re quiet and contained, don’t make Tasmanian-Devil-like noises, and don’t “fling lettuce all over the place” ([30:31]).

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Munch Squad: The Wild World of Fast Food PR

[38:00–51:09]

“Saucy by KFC” and “Drips by Pepsi”

• Justin introduces a truly baffling fast-food venture:

  • Quote: “Saucy by KFC introduces drips by Pepsi crafted beverages across all locations.”
    —Justin ([38:25])
  • Reacts to a sentence almost entirely composed of brand names ([38:39]).
  • The brothers break down the nonsense of “crafted beverages” and rib the phrase "flavor forward" appearing repeatedly in press materials.

• Menu highlights:

  • Pepsi Zero Sugar Salted Caramel Fizz
  • Mountain Dew Chili Chill (w/jalapeño and Tajin garnish)
  • Groans at the idea of putting jalapeño in soft drinks ([41:06]).

• Brand Synergy Satire

  • “Saucy soirees” in Florida will allegedly feature:
    • A live DJ, a “sauce sommelier,” guided sauce tastings, and giveaways ([44:41]).
  • Travis predicts the need for a “recovery tent” or “IV drip” after these flavor-forward experiences ([45:14]).

Burger King Slider’s Box

• BK is testing a box of six unusually small (possibly just shrunken regular) hamburgers.
  • Visual confusion over the box’s sizes, scale, and Burger King’s insistence on “no tough choices”:
    • Quote: “If you’re at Burger King and you’re looking at the menu and you think, boy, this is tough. You need some tougher things.”
      —Justin ([48:32])
  • Six burgers in a box is deemed both disastrous and potentially life-changing.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “They could have Waluigi get up on the screen and take a shit in a toilet for an hour and a half and we’re talking about 250 million opening weekend.” —Griffin ([01:37])
• “Chris Pratt has range but no aim. So he can fire arrows wildly in any direction.” —Travis ([10:08])
• “He just started fucking doing that. And then he’s been an institution... people love Towel Man.” —Griffin ([17:14])
• “I do think that mascots have gotten nastier in the last decade... are you gonna be chill, like Gritty, or unchill?” —Griffin ([19:33])
• “Saucy is the perfect partner to debut these beverages and deliver a flavorful, share-worthy experience.” —Justin reading a press release ([41:28])
• “If you’re at Burger King and you’re looking at the menu and you think, boy, this is tough. You need some tougher things.” —Justin ([48:32])
• “I’m different now.” —Griffin, after the idea of eating six sliders ([49:23])
• “He threw all the brownies individually.” —Griffin ([54:13])

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [01:34] Mario Movie fever and Chris Pratt voice acting discourse
• [15:11] Mascot creation & Towel Man lore
• [24:29] Cemetery lunch question (advice segment)
• [38:00] Munch Squad: Saucy by KFC/Drips by Pepsi segment
• [46:08] Burger King Slider’s Box discussion
• [54:00+] Show wrap-up and signature chaotic brownie toss

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Episode Character & Tone

• Dynamic, unstructured comedic banter, turning even sincere advice into surreally funny scenarios
• Satirical, affectionate takes on nerd and pop culture
• Frequent collaborative riffing, references, and callbacks to running gags

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Whether you’re looking for takes on animated video game movies, guidance for local sports team mascots, or a deep-dive into the consumer confusion of fast food releases, this episode exemplifies the McElroys’ unique brand of family chaos and pop culture savvy. Perfect for both long-time fans and anyone in need of advice about cemeteries, mascots, or jalapeño Mountain Dew.

Transcript

[Griffin McElroy]

The McElroy brothers are not experts and their advice should never be followed. Travis insists he's a sexpert, but if there's a degree on his wall, I haven't seen it. Also, this show isn't for kids, which I mention only so the babies out there will know how cool they are for listening. What's up you cool baby?

[Theme Song Singer]

It's the start of something beautiful A

[Jordan Crucciola]

small acquaintance has blossomed it's ripened into

[Theme Song Singer]

a precious friends I could have never seen what was coming for me Hangs at the skate park Hangs by the beach My life it feels like life is Ah, it's better it's better with you My life ah, it's better, it's better with you this is who you are it's better, it's better with two. It's better with you.

[Justin McElroy]

Hello everybody and welcome to My Brother, My Brother and Me, an advice show for the modern era. I'm your oldest brother, Justin McElroy.

[Travis McElroy]

What's up Trav nation? It's me, your middle is brother Travis. Big dog. Wolf. Wolf from the heater award winning McElroy.

[Justin McElroy]

It's a meagre if you.

[Griffin McElroy]

McElroy Griffio. I got the fucking. I got the fucking bug Bad boys.

[Travis McElroy]

Oh no.

[Justin McElroy]

You're saying Mario Galaxy Fever.

[Griffin McElroy]

I've got Mario Galaxy Fever. Me and fucking every other American on Earth. $207 million domestic grow so far. Fucking the train can't be stopped. They could have Waluigi get up on the screen and take a shit in a toilet for an hour and a half. And we're talking about 250 million opening weekend.

[Travis McElroy]

This guy can't be seen.

[Griffin McElroy]

This guy can't be fucking stopped.

[Travis McElroy]

I haven't seen it. Does that happen in the movie?

[Griffin McElroy]

Here's you know what sucks? Can I tell you what sucks, guys? I googled Wario Waluigi Mario Galaxy movie post credits scene? It's not in there. Before you think I'm giving away some sort of insane spoiler, I googled it and you know what happened? Google AI said early reports show that Waluigi and Wario do show up in a post credit scene of the Super Mario Galaxy movie. And guess what? They fucking don't.

[Travis McElroy]

So what kind of early reports do they have boots on the ground. They have people like on site, in the trenches reporting on this.

[Griffin McElroy]

I have to imagine this dipshit large language model machine found my livejournal that was like Christ Jesus, I would do anything to get these two nasty Italian brothers in the film. Please I would do anything. And it saw that and said, well, that must mean they're in it. Cause it's a fucking robot. It doesn't understand, like, wishes and dreams. It doesn't understand aspirations.

[Justin McElroy]

That's what LLM is. It's the lesser Luigi model. And it finds the lesser Luigi and tries to insert it into all that,

[Griffin McElroy]

tries to jam it in there. God, I was so fucking pissed off.

[Travis McElroy]

Are Wario and Waluigi brothers?

[Griffin McElroy]

We don't need to. We've talked about this so many times before.

[Travis McElroy]

I thought they were a couple.

[Griffin McElroy]

They're married.

[Travis McElroy]

Okay.

[Griffin McElroy]

It's just they.

[Justin McElroy]

I guess, business partners. They were roommate and Jerry's.

[Griffin McElroy]

They're roommate. Business partner, married.

[Justin McElroy]

Listen, I realized something when I was watching the Super Mario Galaxy movie that kind of surprised me.

[Griffin McElroy]

What's that?

[Justin McElroy]

I'm still, like. I was watching it, and I was like, why don't I like the first one of these more?

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Cause it's like I'm seeing all this stuff, like plants I know from my childhood, you know, pipes that I recognize as though I know my own name. And then Mario starts talking, and I realized something that I don't feel great about. But I'm gonna tell you guys, I still hate that he is Mario.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

It still makes me mad that Chris Pratt is Mario. And once he started talking, you know, I started thinking, he's still bad at this, and I'm still mad that he's Mario. I thought it's been years.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

I'm still furious he sucks at it. Tell me he doesn't sound like Mario.

[Travis McElroy]

Still. Boys, can I have a second on a soapbox about Chris Pratt and voice acting? Yeah, that I think is. There was a TikTok clip. Justin, to your point, this is like, how was I? Yeah, no, I'm backing you up.

[Griffin McElroy]

Can Travis have a minute to. Can Travis have a minute to back you up hard?

[Justin McElroy]

Are you building a second bigger soapbox behind my soapbox?

[Griffin McElroy]

It envelops. The soapbox is hollow, so it can envelope.

[Justin McElroy]

Cake is tiered.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

My soapbox is on top of yours. So it's higher, but it's smaller.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

I feel like yours is bigger, and you have kind of put yours on top of mine like a dad putting his son on his shoulder.

[Travis McElroy]

Like, I would never do that. There was a TikTok clip to publicize the movie with the cast, and it was like, do your impression of Yoshi, and then Donald Glover will judge your Yoshi. And Chris Pratt volunteers to go first, and then just goes, Yoshi.

[Griffin McElroy]

So he just does it, and it might just be the only thing he knows how to do. It might just be. It's like, sucks when you do voices. When you do voices, that is technically lying, which is a sin, which Chris Pratt cannot do.

[Justin McElroy]

It's against his religion.

[Travis McElroy]

It's short for Christ, Pratt.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Griffin McElroy]

It is against his religion to do sinning. I will say this boys in. Oh, gosh. I don't want to be on this hill. So I'm going to say it, and then I'm going to get off the hill real fast.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay.

[Griffin McElroy]

Ink Chris Pratts. The Fitz.

[Travis McElroy]

What?

[Justin McElroy]

No, no, no. Say it with your whole chest.

[Griffin McElroy]

Ingres. Pratts defense. Show me the voice actor that they come to and they say, you're Mario now. And this voice actor you can name, literally, anyone says, all right. And then the casting director says, not so fast. You can't do it Italian at all. You show me the voice actor who's gonna fucking crush that role.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay. So my first thing is, it might be nice to ask an Italian person.

[Griffin McElroy]

Sure.

[Justin McElroy]

As long as we were putting together a list. Like, if you're like, hey, Justin, give me a list of. Give me a list of Snow White Gentiles. You should play Mario better than Chris Pratt. I could probably come up with 10.

[Travis McElroy]

Right, right. You know, like.

[Griffin McElroy]

But the same.

[Justin McElroy]

I mean, Mercer is going to be on the list. Francesca is going to be on the list. Yeah. I mean, I got a lot of greats that I think would really clean his clock in a pretty authoritative way.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah. I mean, Matt Mercer can walk the tightrope. Matt got Ganondorf, but do it hot. And Matt Mercer was like, I can do a hot Ganondorf. Bazinga. He gets Ganondorf every time.

[Travis McElroy]

There is also a way, Griffin, to do a Mario voice at all that's also your own. Like, Ben Schwartz took Sonic, and he's not doing Jaleel White. He tries to do. He's doing Sonic voice.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, yeah. Now, I will say in Griffin's offense,

[Travis McElroy]

Jaleel White, you've got to stop being a Chris Pratficket.

[Griffin McElroy]

No, no, no, no. That's nothing. I'm not being a Chris Pratficket. I'm just saying that, Sonic, I'm taking

[Justin McElroy]

a Chris Pratt fall right now.

[Griffin McElroy]

And I'm just saying that Sonic doesn't have a rich accent of a different sort of culture, a different sort of ethnic group. And so I think it is slightly easier for one to transform that role to take Mario and do him pretty much. Not. Not really Italian. He sneaks a little bit of. He puts a little bit on it sometimes, but, like, for the most part, zero Italian content in this.

[Travis McElroy]

Mario Alan Tudyk.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah. No.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah. Like, there's lots of, like, people that are better at acting than Chris Pratt. Peter Colon argument.

[Travis McElroy]

But doing the Optimus prime voice.

[Griffin McElroy]

Okay, okay, okay.

[Travis McElroy]

Now, this might be because you said transform a lot and played in the scene in my head, but if he was like, luigi, we get the old spark. Like, that would fucking rule.

[Griffin McElroy]

Now show me a better wart than Luis Guzman. That doesn't exist. That can't be done.

[Justin McElroy]

That's a choice.

[Griffin McElroy]

That's something.

[Justin McElroy]

He's making a choice.

[Griffin McElroy]

Making a choice.

[Justin McElroy]

Luis Guzman's an actor.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah. I don't know why.

[Justin McElroy]

Sounds like somebody.

[Griffin McElroy]

I don't understand.

[Justin McElroy]

Sounds like somebody.

[Griffin McElroy]

Sounds like someone. I don't know why. Wart's in the motion picture. Wart's whole sequence in the movie seems like a total fucking fever dream. Wart. There's like.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah. Oh, it's just.

[Griffin McElroy]

It's just out of nowhere. And then Wart's there and Birdo's there, and they're like, what's up? We're from the one that people don't talk about a whole lot. Do you want to have a big casino fight? And they're like, yeah, that seems like it'd be cool to have in the movie. And then they made $207 million domestic.

[Justin McElroy]

You know those packing peanuts that you get sometimes that are made from digestible materials, like corn? Yeah. And they advertise on there, like, check it out. This stuff is made of corn. Like, you could eat it.

[Griffin McElroy]

Don't, don't.

[Justin McElroy]

But, like, you could eat it, but

[Travis McElroy]

if you accidentally did.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, yeah. That, to me, is Chris Pratt's acting.

[Griffin McElroy]

Okay.

[Justin McElroy]

It's like, they give it to you and you're like, what do you want me to do with this?

[Travis McElroy]

Is it acting?

[Justin McElroy]

And they're like, well, sort of. I mean, it could be acting. Could be. Don't eat it.

[Griffin McElroy]

Don't eat that.

[Justin McElroy]

Don't eat it.

[Travis McElroy]

But if you act, like, analytic, it's not unlike acting.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, yeah. You won't die. You'll live through it. You'll have no poops.

[Griffin McElroy]

You won't shit. It doesn't poop.

[Travis McElroy]

That does happen every time I watch one of the Jurassic World movies. I don't poop for days.

[Griffin McElroy]

I saw the Garfield movie twice in theaters, and I had to go to the hospital and get it cut out.

[Justin McElroy]

If you think that the same person can Play a dinosaur adventure man and the world's laziest cat. I give you credit for that because there's probably an actor that has that range. It's not Chris Pratt. Do you know what I'm saying? It's certainly not Chris Pratt.

[Griffin McElroy]

Mm. Luis.

[Justin McElroy]

He's not a dinosaur man. And a fat, lazy cat and the hero plumber of the day. I don't think he's all of those.

[Travis McElroy]

Well, what it is just is Chris Pratt has range but no aim. So he can fire arrows wildly in any direction.

[Griffin McElroy]

Here's what's fucked up. His Mario is a great Garfield. His Garfield is a pretty good dinosaur adventure man. He's just kind of always one to the left.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Chris Pratt's star lord brought about the idea into the MCU that literally anybody could be a Marvel superhero. And I swear to God, it was the beginning of the end for the whole enterprise. The moment the audience saw themselves represented on the screen by Chris Pratt was the fucking first coffin nail. Now we're just watching a guy with a tape player running around shooting aliens.

[Travis McElroy]

We're dead.

[Griffin McElroy]

It was also the first time that someone got super hot for a Marvel movie. And, I mean, I don't know that that was as bad of a sort of chance.

[Travis McElroy]

Obviously you didn't see Eric Bana, but you're right.

[Griffin McElroy]

You're right.

[Justin McElroy]

Eric Bana, he hulked out, man. He was like 8ft tall.

[Griffin McElroy]

Well, he got huge.

[Travis McElroy]

Bradley Cooper doing the Rocket Raccoon voice would have been better as Mario Bradley.

[Justin McElroy]

Rocket. Rocket Raccoon would be better as Mario.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

If they said Bradley Cooper as rocket Raccoon.

[Griffin McElroy]

As Mario. As Mario.

[Justin McElroy]

Mario. I'm there day one. I was already there day one. I'm there day zero, I guess. Yeah.

[Griffin McElroy]

Well, I think they recognized sort of the shortfall, the shortfalling of Chris Pratt in the first Mario movie. The Chris Pratt fall in the first Mario movie. And that's why they gave him approximately nine lines of dialogue in the second movie that bears his Christian name.

[Justin McElroy]

Yes. He sent this one in via voice memo, I think.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, a lot.

[Travis McElroy]

Is Seth Rogen back as Donkey Kong in this one?

[Griffin McElroy]

Fucking no.

[Justin McElroy]

No. They got the reports in that people like that part, so they had to get rid of.

[Griffin McElroy]

They said Seth Rogen. Seth Ro.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay.

[Griffin McElroy]

Do a donkey Kong voice. 100 out of 100 people aren't going to bring what Seth Rogen brought to the role.

[Justin McElroy]

He took it.

[Griffin McElroy]

He owned it. Donald Glover, you're Yoshi. You can only say Yoshi. And you can say that also. Fuck. I Didn't know I had that in me. You can say that also. He takes it, owns it, disappears, becomes it. It's like Luis Guzman.

[Justin McElroy]

Your plaudits, please, Mr. Guzman. We must make time for the others.

[Griffin McElroy]

Who am I gonna play in this one? Well, do you remember Super Mario Bros. 2? No. No one does. Well, the final boss. That is a big frog that burps bubbles named Wart. Be him. You're him now. Own it, become it. He does. He disappears. Where'd he go? Where's Louise?

[Justin McElroy]

And then he says. And then he says, do I need

[Travis McElroy]

to do the whole Louise Gooseman voice

[Justin McElroy]

that everyone always loves? And they say, yes.

[Griffin McElroy]

In that voice. He says, guzman, which, like, do you

[Travis McElroy]

want me to do the Louise Guzman voice that everyone enjoys? And it is I, Danny Trejo. Do you want me to do the Danny Trejo voice as well? Oh, Danny, you're not in this one. Danny Trejo. Very well.

[Griffin McElroy]

Danny Trejo as Waluigi would fucking slap ass. That would be good. I'd love a menacing. That's actually a deep and menacing Waluigi.

[Travis McElroy]

Oh, give me Idris Elba as Wario.

[Griffin McElroy]

Idris Elba's already Knuckles, so that can't. Idris Elba's already Knuckles, so he can't. Idris Elba. Idris Elba has. Idris Elba took Knuckles and fucking turned it into a new, better knuckle. Like, Idris Elba is the fucking. The exception that proves the rule here. Cause he took it. He made it something funny so strong that Paramount spun off a whole series about him.

[Justin McElroy]

He elevates the material. Because if Idris Elba thinks Knuckles is

[Travis McElroy]

cool, then maybe I'm cool too. You know what I mean?

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

Right?

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah. Hey, Idris. Me too. Knuckles is cool, man. Yeah. We have something to talk about.

[Travis McElroy]

I do like to picture Idris Elba entering a club going, oh, these nerds are with me. And, like, getting them in there, too. It's nice.

[Griffin McElroy]

I hate that I'm gesturing.

[Justin McElroy]

I ran out for my second pee break during Super Mario Galaxy, and I, no kidding, had the thought after they brought me the cheese for my pretzel bites. I said out loud, I wish that had taken longer.

[Griffin McElroy]

Okay.

[Justin McElroy]

They went to go get the cheese for the pretzel bites. I said, I wish that had been a longer. I wish that had taken more time.

[Griffin McElroy]

It's exhausting.

[Justin McElroy]

I wish there had been a longer line or something.

[Griffin McElroy]

It was an exotic.

[Justin McElroy]

Now I have to go back in.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

How often do you think somebody in a boardroom in Hollywood Is pitching a Mario movie. Sonic movie crossover movie.

[Griffin McElroy]

Everyone is pitching that.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah. They should just compete in the next Olympic games. Mario and Sonic. We have a. There's president. A Smash Brothers game is probably actually the more like most likely scenario. Can you even imagine all how horny Hollywood is going to be? Hollywood is going to be so horny when they're like, have you seen this video game that has every character ever in it? How toyetic is it the most toyetic

[Travis McElroy]

if they use that as like an Avengers thing where it's like, now we have an excuse to make a Metroid movie. You have an excuse. I think they're working on the Zelda movie.

[Griffin McElroy]

They are.

[Travis McElroy]

We're gonna make.

[Justin McElroy]

No the Zelda movies actually. I finished that recently.

[Travis McElroy]

Oh, sick.

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, you got the part.

[Justin McElroy]

No, I'm all the parts.

[Travis McElroy]

Whoa.

[Justin McElroy]

I am also filming it in the backyard. It's pretty good so far. It's 13 minutes long. Highly sexual. I'm a professional mascot costume fully nude. I'm a professional mascot costume maker.

[Travis McElroy]

You can't say that in the middle

[Justin McElroy]

of asking a question.

[Griffin McElroy]

You can't inject fully nude into someone else's costume.

[Justin McElroy]

I'm a professional mascot costume maker and I have recently gotten into ice hockey. I've started going to a local rink with friends and supporting the team. Go Redhawks. They don't have a mascot and I can't stop thinking about making one for them. How do I offer to make my local ice hockey team a sick ass hawk mascot and hopefully get paid for it? That's Lucy from London.

[Griffin McElroy]

Here's. I know a little bit about Isaki and I think that there's a. I think that there is a route you can follow here that is like pretty good. It is so much easier to ask forgiveness than permission in this regard. The St. Louis Blues hockey Club I really like. It's so cool to wear sports stuff in the show. Guys, I wish you knew what this power felt like. I feel like I can really mask like so deep when I'm like, people

[Justin McElroy]

really like my hair. So I.

[Griffin McElroy]

That's a good point.

[Travis McElroy]

Kind of iconic.

[Griffin McElroy]

True. The St. Louis Blues have a guy named Towel Man. Towel Man. He sits up in the nosebleeds. Every time that the Blues score a goal, they ring a bell. The number of times that they have scored a goal. And Towel man whirls around a towel while they all scream the number of goals. And then he throws the towel forward into the front the more forward rows. So you know if you know where Towelman's sitting. You can sit in the section below him. You can buy what's called the VIP towel seat. And odds are you're going to catch most of those towels. Assuming the blues are having a guy.

[Justin McElroy]

Wait, the towel man's an employee?

[Griffin McElroy]

No, tell me.

[Travis McElroy]

This is the question. You said they have a guy and

[Justin McElroy]

I have a guy. So do they have a guy like I have a rat problem or do they have a guy like I have an employee?

[Griffin McElroy]

No, he, he, he. He's not a fi. He's super. Not official guys. He wears.

[Justin McElroy]

He wears towel VIP seats. They're. They're selling again. They're marketing against the presence of towel guy.

[Griffin McElroy]

He's been around since the mid-90s, and he has shorts that he painted with blues logos. And sometimes he wears a tuxedo shirt and a little bow tie. And he calls himself towel man. And he spins around the towel and he throws. He just started fucking doing that. And then he's been an institution. He's at every, every, every home game. People love Tal man. He gets a close up every time they score a goal. The TV cameras zoop right to towel man. So that's a pretty strong mascot.

[Justin McElroy]

But he's not employed and he's not a mascot.

[Travis McElroy]

He doesn't represent the team. When the.

[Griffin McElroy]

He's more of a mascot than fucking Louie the. Hey, who's our mascot for our cold sport team, Polar bear? Call him Louie for the. Like, it's fucking. You didn't think about that for a second. That's got huge Chris Pratt energy. But tal man.

[Justin McElroy]

Chris Pratt stars as Louis in Louis the movie.

[Griffin McElroy]

Towel man has lore. Tom man has drive. Tall man has power. He got up there and he just started fucking doing it and then the blues couldn't get rid of him. So if you start showing up to these red hot games and you start handing out Arby's coupons, they're not going to get rid of you.

[Justin McElroy]

What's the exact number of times you have to throw your towel into the crowd before they're like, actually, I know what we've said the other times, but don't stop doing that.

[Griffin McElroy]

We love it.

[Travis McElroy]

Do it every time.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, we know we've been begging you to stop throwing the towels because everybody hates it.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

But now it's an institution and you can never stop.

[Travis McElroy]

I think that it would be very powerful if you started wearing a full blown mascot costume and then just sitting there until the camera panned to you and like, you're up on the jumbotron or whatever and you're like, oh, me? I guess I could do a little, like, dance and maybe hype, but I wasn't planning on this. But here I go.

[Justin McElroy]

I think that if you are a security guard at a sporting event, the number one thing, you are trying to stop getting through fake mascots. Because if you get somebody in there who's like, you just see somebody in a mascot costume you don't recognize, it's like, no, I can't today. Like, I've got a lot of other stuff going on. I don't have an email about this. Like, I can't do that. Just go to. Go to Trigrant, because I can't.

[Griffin McElroy]

I mean, it's hard to judge someone who has that kind of reaction. Because I do think that mascots have gotten nastier in the last decade, and most stuff has gotten nastier in the last decade. But, like, you can't see some random mascot show up and be like, are you gonna be chill, like, gritty, or are you going to be unchill? Like the Toronto Raptors mascot who just devours. Who just devours people. Just eats people raw whole out in the stands every day.

[Travis McElroy]

Can I extend your security guard? Right. You see six people show up. Each one, one person has a mascot wing on, but nothing else. Right. And then just normal clothes. Another person, the right arm. Wings.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yes.

[Travis McElroy]

Another person. Leg, leg, chest, Head. That's more. The head is probably the most suspicious.

[Griffin McElroy]

The head's the hardest one to get in there, huh?

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, the head I think you almost have to put onto a kid as they're walking in and then take it back after they're through.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

I think that that's the only way you get the head in. But, yeah, you're right. Trapp. Maybe the. Maybe like the wing, you put it in a sling in like a cast, they don't notice that one. You got maybe the leg you wrap like a cast.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

And then the other leg. A lot of cast so far with a different cast. So you get like one person has their left leg broken.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

You know what I think, right?

[Griffin McElroy]

You know what I think is bullshit is that mascots only have to perform at their home games. I think that's foolish. I think that they should have to travel with the teams, and I think that they should have to be there. Do you think that when the St. Louis Blues are playing a game in Dallas, they want to fucking be? No. They know everyone there hates their guts. And I don't see why Louie doesn't pack up and travel along with them and just Try to give them strength. You're only here to help them in the home games. Kind of a fair weather fan. All mascots ever.

[Travis McElroy]

And I'm just going to say in character, the whole trip.

[Griffin McElroy]

The whole trip.

[Travis McElroy]

If I'm on the bus, I don't want to see Jeremy.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

You know, I want to see Louie.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

I don't know, guys. That's a tough room. That's a tough room with limited periph.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

You know what I mean? Like, you're gonna. That's tough to win a crowd.

[Griffin McElroy]

You have a 35 degree cone vision.

[Travis McElroy]

Your FOV.

[Theme Song Singer]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

It's like 20%. You know, you got beverages chucking at you from all directions. It's a tough room.

[Travis McElroy]

Mascot Pope mobile.

[Griffin McElroy]

Okay, okay. It's a Zamboni.

[Travis McElroy]

This is a taunting action. Yes.

[Griffin McElroy]

Drawing the ire of a Zampopi, if you will, that you can drive around on the ice and you will protect him. And it's like a two. It's like an Orwellian two minutes. Hate. Like, the home crowd's going to love that too. Throw all your shit. Throw all of your shit at. At Gritty. He'll. He will take it like a fucking

[Travis McElroy]

champ and it will make him stronger.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, yeah. Gritty should show up to games that his team is not involved in at all.

[Justin McElroy]

People would be excited to see Gritty.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

I think that Gritty could be treated like a visiting dignitary.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Like, you can't get mad at Gritty.

[Griffin McElroy]

No.

[Justin McElroy]

And by the way, huge congratulations to whoever had the strength of vision to see Gritty through the creative process.

[Travis McElroy]

Yes.

[Justin McElroy]

You know, as somebody who does a lot of creative work, you know, I can. It's hard for me to imagine having an idea like Gritty and just withstanding those meetings where you're like, no. Yeah. You don't get it. You don't get it. He's a dirtbag. He's a dirtbag and he's insane. And he's barely even aware that we're playing hockey. You know what I mean? Like he's. It's crazy. Like, it's. And they had to go through those meetings like, no, you don't get it.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

He's a crazy turnpike.

[Travis McElroy]

No notes at this time. Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Trust me. Please, just make the. The eyes have to be bigger.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

I told you. Just make what I told you.

[Travis McElroy]

It's going to rule oranger.

[Justin McElroy]

He needs to. Oranger, Crazier, angrier.

[Griffin McElroy]

He needs to be able to pump so hard that his belly shake up and Down. He needs that.

[Justin McElroy]

You need him to look so wild that if he froze in place for four straight hours, it would seem in character. Right? Like, trust me, people will love hockey about it.

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, my God.

[Travis McElroy]

Listen, I'm the one who's seen this sleep paralysis demon that I'm basing him off of.

[Justin McElroy]

You have to deal with it.

[Travis McElroy]

So listen to me.

[Justin McElroy]

You have to make it so it gets out of my head. Please.

[Griffin McElroy]

I'm pretty sure that the person who designed Gritty also designed the Philly Fanatic, which is like a gritty with a wild proboscis kind of coming. I mean, Philly Fanatic and Gritty are definitely related, right? Philly Fanatic is a big green monster. It looks like if Oscar the Grouch was different in every capacity except for the color of his fur and had a huge honking horn on the front of his face, Gritty is like this way wilder eyes, way more a feral. Gritty, I think, is the Philly Fanatic. I think that same designer. And so this is a person that needs to be protected from themselves.

[Justin McElroy]

Yes. Period.

[Travis McElroy]

Okay. Okay, yeah, got it, got it, got it, got it.

[Justin McElroy]

Another. Another question. I like to eat lunch in my car, but where I live, it is increasingly hot and my car has no ac. Recently I noticed the cemetery down the road from my work has some nice.

[Travis McElroy]

Has great air conditioning.

[Justin McElroy]

Has great air conditioning. And a built in McDonald's. A nice big oak trees next to the roads that run through it. Would it be okay for me to pull over next to one of these trees and eat my lunch in the cemetery? Or would that be disrespectful to the spirits that make it their home? That's from a lunching fiend. Now, I will say this pretty authoritatively. You must make sure that driving is permitted in the cemetery first because you do not want to run afoul of that. If it is a no driving cemetery and you're just driving around, it doesn't matter where you eat your lunch. They're gonna ask you to go, yeah.

[Griffin McElroy]

If I see someone sitting in their car in the shade of a big oak tree in the cemetery eating a hoagie, I'm going to assume that they are a detective and they are staking out, like maybe some crime boss has gotten murdered. And this detective is like, even though he's gone, I'm still gonna watch the family. Cause I don't know, maybe he got in too deep and he felt like he was part of the family. I don't know. This is turning into something else. As I sort of talk about it. But I will assume you're a detective. Staking out.

[Travis McElroy]

You boys just made me so happy. Specifically Griffin talking about Big Hoogie. Cause I was picturing like somebody like a Lydia Dietz esque character that's like, I want to connect. I feel at home with the dead. I'm comfortable here. I'm like a poet and a poet's heart. And then they pull out a big old submarine sandwich and a bag of Baked Lays and a Capri sun and they're slamming it down. And it made me so happy to picture.

[Griffin McElroy]

Thank you. Yeah,

[Justin McElroy]

I used to work a lot of mall area jobs. And when I was on the. I used to do the Atkins, you know, when the low carb craze was all the rage. And it was not uncommon that I would take a lunch break from my mall area job. And then go into the Arby's that's physically inside the Huntington Mall. And then go and order a Big Montana and just go discard the bun. And then sit there and eat a half pound of roast beef inside an Arby's inside a mall in my Best Buy uniform. Now, the reason I mention this is because I can remember thinking, I don't think there could be a more depressing lunch than this. But I do wanna credit this question asker. Because pulling into the shade of an oak tree in the cemetery. Cause it's too hot to eat in my car in the sun. May be a more depressing lunch than my retail break at Arby's. So congrats. Thank you so much for this mental image. It has washed away me and my blues. Sucking down the slivers of roast beef.

[Travis McElroy]

Especially if a ghost were to roll up on you at that point and be like, whoa, hey, are you okay? Hey, man, that seems sad. I've got a lot, you know, going on with me, but oh boy, oh my.

[Justin McElroy]

You have to practice the interaction. If a crotchy old caretaker comes by and they're like, what are you doing? You have to be ready to say it was too hot to eat in the sun. So I parked under the shade of the cemetery tree to enjoy my lunch. Just if you say that full volume with your whole chest, People are gonna be so confused. They're not gonna know what to say next.

[Travis McElroy]

They can't kick you out just having Arby's with Gamma like we used to.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, Sharing one more Arby's with grandma.

[Travis McElroy]

And also tomorrow and maybe the day after that. Maybe like five days a week.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, I'm having A really hard time getting up, processing it. So I may be here eating my Arby's beef for months really. Until winter. Until winter time.

[Travis McElroy]

Gamma and I had beef at the inn that we didn't squash. And so this is my way of squashing the beef with my dead Gamma.

[Griffin McElroy]

I want to be one of those people that see a cemetery and see it as like a beautiful, well tended place of quietude and contemplation. And a place where one can go to reflect and sort of think about life and what's important.

[Travis McElroy]

Take family photos.

[Griffin McElroy]

Let me finish my serious point before you do. An unserious point. But there's. I couldn't. I don't know that I can get over just how many bones are close by. There's too many.

[Justin McElroy]

It's like a bones.

[Griffin McElroy]

It's hard to once you. And it's one of those things where you can't forget a thought. You can't not think about something. And once I'm there and I think about one thought, don't think about pink elephants. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But for me it's a bone. And then it's like. It doesn't scare me, but I'd rather be somewhere with a lower, you know, bpc. Bones per capita.

[Travis McElroy]

Bones are everywhere though, man.

[Griffin McElroy]

They're really not.

[Travis McElroy]

You live in D.C. okay. There's lots of people have died there so much and the whole world, long before cemeteries were a thing.

[Justin McElroy]

People.

[Travis McElroy]

Bones are everywhere.

[Justin McElroy]

But dinosaurs are one of those things when you're a parent and you do have to look at your kid and be like, yeah, we keep all the bones here just in case. We keep them all together, the new bones.

[Griffin McElroy]

Sure, Travis, there's bones everywhere. There's lots of people who have lived and died. But a lot of those bones have turned into bone dust and enriched the soil. Turn into a beautiful tree that a caterpillar eats and then that gets powers a bird. Like that's all beautiful circle of life stuff. But a lot of this stuff here is fairly new bones and they're gonna be around for a while. It doesn't like again, I'm not scared. I'm not grossed out. I think I just like to be somewhere, just somewhere. I'm a little scared.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah. Just a little scared.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah, you can say it.

[Griffin McElroy]

I'm just a little.

[Travis McElroy]

But I don't think that bones or ghosts or whatever care if you have a sandwich. If you're eating some fries, you're having a burger. I don't think that's what would bother a ghost.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah. Now Wait. Do you make crazy noises when you eat a sandwich? When you slop one down, are you, like, with your windows rolled down? Cause don't do that. Don't munch super duper loud and tear at it like the Tasmanian Devil flinging lettuce all over the place.

[Travis McElroy]

Griffin. Only now do I realize that in your head, they're still in their car, parked under the big oak tree, eating their lunch. That's why they look like a cop and not because you thought that detectives always eat sitting on the ground under a big oak tree.

[Griffin McElroy]

Would it be okay for me to pull over next to one of these and eat my lunch in the cemetery? So at what point did they say that they do get out of the car?

[Travis McElroy]

I just assumed they got out, and that's on me. I realize this now.

[Justin McElroy]

Spread a little blanket.

[Griffin McElroy]

Have a little picnic. Okay.

[Justin McElroy]

A picnic in the cemetery.

[Griffin McElroy]

I don't think that feels.

[Justin McElroy]

They like to eat in their car. They like to eat in their car.

[Griffin McElroy]

They love to eat in their car.

[Travis McElroy]

It's worth it.

[Justin McElroy]

I don't know if they love the

[Travis McElroy]

smell of the smell.

[Griffin McElroy]

They can listen to their favorite tunes.

[Justin McElroy]

Podcast, maybe.

[Travis McElroy]

Should I be so bold?

[Griffin McElroy]

So I think they're in their car. I think they're in their car.

[Justin McElroy]

I think they're in their car. Let's take a break and head on into the money zone.

[Theme Song Singer]

It's better. It's better with you.

[Griffin McElroy]

So Squarespace is our first sponsor this week. Squarespace lets you make websites that can do basically anything. Like what?

[Justin McElroy]

Like what?

[Griffin McElroy]

Like a business. They can do a business. They can help you sell.

[Justin McElroy]

They run the business for me.

[Griffin McElroy]

It won't run the. Well, I don't know if it'll run the business for you, but it'll let you sell products and services and your time on there, and then you can get paid. They do invoices, appointment scheduling. I might just do one of these. I would love to have appointments scheduled. Like a platform.

[Justin McElroy]

A website for you.

[Griffin McElroy]

Just a platform for me. I get a lot of. Of requests. Like, hey, can I have 10 Robux? And I'll say, put it on. Put it on the calendar, man. You got to request the. You got to request the appointment to get your 10 Robux, because I need you to prove that it's.

[Travis McElroy]

Make me a pitch.

[Griffin McElroy]

Make me a pitch. Why do you need the Robux for the fucking Mr. Beast fart race 2000? Tell me about it.

[Justin McElroy]

Because if it's recurring. If it's recurring, it's recurring.

[Griffin McElroy]

10 robux for each. MrBeast Fart. So you could make that with Christmas. Thank you. If you wanted to.

[Justin McElroy]

We've all made pretty sure Tommy Talarigo gets his Oof money.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, there's no way he's getting paid for that.

[Travis McElroy]

Why does Rachel keep asking you for Robux, Griffin?

[Griffin McElroy]

Well, she has a deep addiction to MrBeast Fart Race 2000. And she says she's got to be number one on the leaderboard so that senpai will notice her. I say, Babe, Mr. Beast is not looking at the leaderboard on his Roblox game. That's crazy, dude. But she says, please, please, I need 10 Robux. I say, you have money? Like, you have money. I don't know why I. And she says, I never learned how to buy the Robux because you can buy them off site, off platform, and you get a better return roi because Apple's not dipping their snood in. I say, babe, it's one URL. But she doesn't want it. She doesn't want to hear about it. So Squarespace, we've used. All three of us have used it to make a million websites. And it truly is easy. It makes something that looks good. And I. Shit, man. You know by now if you need a website for your business or for yourself, and if you do, just fucking use Squarespace because it could not be easier to make something that looks good and is so functional and is so great. So head over to squarespace.com mybrother for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use offer code, my brother to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

[Justin McElroy]

And if you want to, if you find that URL hard to remember, you can check out griffinrequests.com and it's going to get you right there. Thank you so much.

[Griffin McElroy]

Thank you.

[Justin McElroy]

Griffin requested. Huh?

[Griffin McElroy]

There's no way you snatch that. No, that doesn't. That site can't be reached.

[Justin McElroy]

Griffinrequests.com Check it again in 30 seconds.

[Travis McElroy]

Jabroni Griffin called me one day and he said, travis, I'm hemorrhaging money. Yeah, I don't know what's happening. And I say, oh, Griffin signed up for Rocket Money. And he did. And then he called me back and he said, Rachel is spending $8,000 a week on MrBeast Fart Race. And I said, okay, well, you need to cancel that. And Griffin said, I don't have the courage to stand up to my W and tell her to cancel it. So then he had Rocket Money cancel Rachel's subscription to MrBeast Fart Race.

[Griffin McElroy]

Rocket Money saved my marriage. Rocket Money saved my marriage.

[Justin McElroy]

Wow.

[Griffin McElroy]

Rocket Money saved my marriage. It says here to say it three times so it really locks in there, but rocket it did.

[Travis McElroy]

So if you're looking to get your finances in order right, Rocket Money is the personal finance app that helps you find and cancel unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. I use Rocket Money. I found it incredibly helpful, incredibly useful. If nothing else, I and I keep this pretty close to the vest. You guys might now know this, but I have adhd. Yeah, I know. And there are times where I still

[Griffin McElroy]

haven't told you what that stands for,

[Travis McElroy]

but when you're part of the great mystery, I will look at a thing and be like, I need to cancel that. I'm paying for that thing. I need to cancel that. And then as soon as I look away from it, oh God, it's gone from my brain and I'll never do it. So being able to just click on Rocket Money, please cancel this for me, daddy. And then they do it. It means the world to me. Thank you so much. Rocket Money. They can also categorize your transactions, keep track of stuff for you, let you know where your money's going. It's incredible. So let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. [e-mail] mybrother that's RocketMoney.com my brother. RocketMoney.com mybrother Let Rocket Money daddy help you today.

[Griffin McElroy]

It's I want to say now that Rocket Money doesn't project the energy out. Maybe that Travis has assigned to them in this advertising spot. There is no sort of like dom.

[Travis McElroy]

They don't help.

[Griffin McElroy]

Well, yeah, it might.

[Travis McElroy]

Daddy. Daddy doesn't have to be a DOM thing, Griffin.

[Griffin McElroy]

It could just be a nice talk about anything else.

[Max Fun Drive Announcer]

Max Fundrive starts next week. Max Fun. Shows like this one are creator owned, the network is worker owned and we're all supported by members just like you. Max Fund Drive is the best time to support the shows you love. You can get Drive exclusive gifts, a bunch of new bonus content, and join in on the fun as shows hit their milestones. Plus, we've got dozens of meetups and counting. We got live streams and more. So stay tuned because you don't want to miss it. MAX Fund Drive 2026 is starting Monday, April 20th.

[Jordan Crucciola]

I'm Jordan Crucciola, host of Feeling Scene, where every week I have a different actor, director or writer as my co host and whoever that co Host may be. It is a sure bet that we are digging deep and having a great time doing it.

[Griffin McElroy]

I love that you just said that.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

I mean, if I were gonna join a cult, I think this might be

[Jordan Crucciola]

a fresh look at your favorite film and a peek behind the curtain at how movies get made.

[Justin McElroy]

Oh, okay.

[Travis McElroy]

I'm gonna tell you this whole story.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay. I almost got fired from that movie.

[Jordan Crucciola]

You should be listening to Feeling seen.

[Travis McElroy]

I had so much fun. I love what you're doing.

[Griffin McElroy]

I hope I did okay.

[Jordan Crucciola]

New episodes every week on maximum.

[Justin McElroy]

I want a munch squad. I want to munch squad. Welcome to Munch Squad. It's podcast within the podcast, profiling the latest greatest brand eating. Here's the scoop. Saucy by KFC introduces drips by Pepsi crafted beverages across all locations.

[Travis McElroy]

Wait, what?

[Justin McElroy]

You heard me right? Exactly what I said when I said it just then.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Saucy by kfc. Saucy by KFC introduces drips by Pepsi crafted beverages across all locations.

[Griffin McElroy]

Can you have a sense that is all proper nouns? Because I didn't think that that was grammatically possible until this moment.

[Justin McElroy]

It's a Saucy by kfc. Drips by pep. Drips by Pepsi is Saucy by KFC Awesome. This is what I'm trying to get.

[Travis McElroy]

I'm hung up on the crafted bever.

[Griffin McElroy]

Well, look at them, Travis. They're beautiful.

[Travis McElroy]

What is crafted? Tell me in that moment.

[Griffin McElroy]

Submatum.

[Justin McElroy]

They're crafted by Pepsi, Travis. It's a flavor forward experience with the introduction of drips by Pepsi crafted beverages. You know how when you're thinking about Pepsi, the image in your head is like a man in like a cap and a leather apron and he's crafting a Pepsi.

[Travis McElroy]

You know what I mean?

[Justin McElroy]

You know, that's the image of Pepsi's like a craftsman. Well, now they're crafting beverages for you. A new lineup designed to elevate the brand's signature chicken tendies and sauce centric menu.

[Griffin McElroy]

The KFC brand. I mean, see, this is where it's going to get confusing. They can't say the brand because I don't think Pepsi's out there.

[Justin McElroy]

Saucy by KFC has 10 locations. Right. And all the drips by Pepsi are at Saucy by kfc. Uh huh. Saucy's like KFC but just tendies basically and a sauce forward. It's about flavors, it's about sauce, it's about drips, it's about Pepsi.

[Travis McElroy]

So it's a sauce forward and a flavor forward. Experience.

[Justin McElroy]

There's. Yeah, yeah. 1. A fifth beverage, Tropical Energy Escape, will be exclusive to the flagship Carrollwood location in Tampa, Florida.

[Travis McElroy]

So I guess Tropical Energy Escape does sound like what the CEO of like an oil company does after he's been found out. Like he's been deferred, defrauding millions of people and he's like, ooh, I better make a Tropical Energy Escape.

[Griffin McElroy]

He's got a Dr. Evil rocket that just sort of blasts off. Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

Takes him right to a tropical island with no extradition policy.

[Justin McElroy]

Each drink incorporates layered flavors and mix ins such as caramel, cold foam, jalapeno and popping boba to deliver a customizable flavor driven experience.

[Griffin McElroy]

Awesome.

[Justin McElroy]

So you got a Pepsi Zero sugar salted caramel Fizz.

[Griffin McElroy]

Crazy.

[Justin McElroy]

There's Tropicana Rainbow Splash lemonade. That's Tropicana and Starry blended with passion fruit and pineapple. Okay. Mountain Dew Chili Chill. That's Mountain Dew and Tropicana lemonade with pineapple, jalapeno and mint finished with Tajin.

[Travis McElroy]

I don't care.

[Justin McElroy]

And then there's pink raised pop. Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

How much you love jalapeno. I could see it in like a margarita. Right? A beverage like that. The idea of like, here's like a soda to drink with your meal. Surprise. Pranked. You punked. I put jalapeno in it.

[Justin McElroy]

Drips by Pepsi was built to redefine what a crafted drink experience looks and tastes like. And we're thrilled to bring that vision to life on saucy by KFC's bold flavor forward menu, said Scott Finlow, global chief marketing officer of PepsiCo. Away from home and presumably someone who

[Travis McElroy]

still has to sleep at night.

[Justin McElroy]

Quote, Saucy is the perfect partner to debut these beverages and deliver a flavorful, share worthy experience. Saucy by KFC positions itself as a flavor obsessed playground.

[Griffin McElroy]

Holy shit.

[Justin McElroy]

Where sauces are the centerpiece and chicken tendies serve as the canvas for customization across formats from dipping to sandwiches and wraps.

[Travis McElroy]

Okay, they've used the phrase flavor forward multiple times. Are there people crafting flavor neutral and flavor backward food experiences like that? Presumably.

[Griffin McElroy]

That's nice and everything. If you go to KFC Presents Drips.

[Justin McElroy]

Sorry, sorry.

[Griffin McElroy]

KFC presents Saucy based on a book by Sapphire. Saucy by kfc.

[Travis McElroy]

Saucy by kfc. Featuring Drips by Dre.

[Griffin McElroy]

Drips by Dre. If you go there, you can eat spicy mango chutney, chicken dippers and jalapeno pesto ranch dippers. And then you can drink a Goddamn salted Mountain Dew with mint and tajin and jalapeno. So yeah, Travis, it is a flavor forward experience. The sheer number of flavors you can get with two menu items.

[Travis McElroy]

With two items, we need to stop moving flavors forward. Then that's too many flavor. Maybe flavor backwards.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yes.

[Justin McElroy]

With Drips by Pepsi, we're extending that creativity to beverages with bold, playful combinations that elevate every bite and sip experience.

[Travis McElroy]

I don't think I want a playful experience in my soda.

[Griffin McElroy]

If I drink a regular Mountain Dew that's playful enough already. If I drink a. My body doesn't. Wouldn't know what to do with a Mountain Dew at this point. At 38, almost 39, it wouldn't know what to do. I don't need to mix in a lot of other stuff in there.

[Travis McElroy]

Every time I drink a dark soda, I'm playing a dangerous game until I get a kidney stone. Yeah. So, like, I'm playing a dangerous game enough over here.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

I.

[Justin McElroy]

In conjunction with Yum Brands and PepsiCo, am hosting three events in Florida to celebrate the mansion and the. Yes. I personally. Oh, cool. To celebrate new restaurant openings in Florida, select locations will host saucy soirees. High energy grand opening events. Featuring what? There are three. There's three different. Four different things that it lists as being part of a saucy soiree in Florida. Okay. Celebrating these high energy grand opening events, there's four things that I know that will be at them in Jacksonville, Gainesville, and Tampa.

[Travis McElroy]

Pit bull. What?

[Justin McElroy]

I mean, maybe a pitbull tribute band. Like, what are you talking about?

[Griffin McElroy]

I was just gonna say live music.

[Travis McElroy]

Saucy by kfc.

[Griffin McElroy]

Is live music one of the four things present?

[Justin McElroy]

Live dj.

[Griffin McElroy]

Live dj.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay.

[Travis McElroy]

Bikini contest.

[Justin McElroy]

So close. Sauce sommelier.

[Griffin McElroy]

Okay.

[Travis McElroy]

Oh, I was right there. I was one degree off.

[Griffin McElroy]

Water jet pack. Water jetpack dancers.

[Justin McElroy]

Guided sauce bar tastings.

[Travis McElroy]

Oh, I was about to say mixologist.

[Griffin McElroy]

Come with me.

[Justin McElroy]

Take my. Take my hand. No, that's what the soft smollier does. He takes you on a journey through the sauce bar tastings. There's also giveaways.

[Travis McElroy]

And then I assume the fifth one is recovery tent.

[Griffin McElroy]

You just.

[Travis McElroy]

IV drip.

[Justin McElroy]

They also have flaming diarrhea hole. It's a hole where there's fire underneath it, like a literal incinerator.

[Griffin McElroy]

And you just feel like sink way.

[Travis McElroy]

And then they've invented something here. It's just called a bowel movement. Doula. I don't know.

[Justin McElroy]

But we're just massaging it through the lower bowels. You need to breathe through this part.

[Travis McElroy]

Do you want to do this in the bathtub? Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay. So that pain you're feeling, that is the jalapeno sauce that's making its second run through the lower intestine.

[Travis McElroy]

That is natural and beautiful.

[Griffin McElroy]

That's awesome.

[Justin McElroy]

I just. Okay. This is not as important, I would say, as this information, but I did want to. I did want to share this discussion with you. Burger King tests Slider's box in two markets. So you know how things have been lately.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yes.

[Justin McElroy]

You know how things have been lately where everything costs $800. Well, here comes Burger King to the rescue with a possible slider's box. Now, this is what I wanted to talk to you guys about. And this fucking may not even be the podcast. I don't know what is happening. What is happening? I think Burger King does not want to reveal the size of the sliders. Huh? They have made a box with six tiny hamburgers. And I know what you are thinking, how that is what a slider is, but it's not. These are hamburgers that have clearly been shrunk down. And then they're showing a hand holding it. But do you see what I'm saying, guys?

[Griffin McElroy]

It's like the thumb is.

[Travis McElroy]

The thumb's inside it.

[Griffin McElroy]

The thumb has burrowed into the burger.

[Justin McElroy]

I think they just really want to show you scale. I think.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah. I don't believe any of those elements were present in the same building.

[Griffin McElroy]

No, no, no. That's a superimposed png, definitely. These are not. These burgers aren't. These are normal sized mini 1990s burgers. These are normal sized. 30 years ago, this is what burgers looked like, and now there's six of them. This does not a slider make.

[Justin McElroy]

I don't think this is what the offering will be. I feel like they took pictures of their regular burgers and hit control T and shrunk them down to this size. I swear to God.

[Travis McElroy]

They also put two different boxes at two different sizes. One's wide open. Yeah, Trav, which box is it?

[Justin McElroy]

Crazy, dude. Yeah, there's the King size sliders are bold, flame, grill and snackable burgers designed for whatever craving strikes.

[Travis McElroy]

Anything snackable if you try hard enough. That's not right.

[Justin McElroy]

That's right. Guests can build their own box of two or six King size sliders. Okay, Trav, so that's what we have.

[Griffin McElroy]

That's a little box.

[Travis McElroy]

Yes.

[Justin McElroy]

And then there's six box.

[Travis McElroy]

Even with that information. Justin, go back up.

[Justin McElroy]

The scale is wrong.

[Griffin McElroy]

It doesn't look wrong.

[Travis McElroy]

The two Sized box.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Is like. It's wrong.

[Travis McElroy]

Two thirds of the size of the six side. What's happening?

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, you should be able to fit four or five burgers in that other box.

[Justin McElroy]

From sharing with friends to sampling a little bit of everything, the King size sliders box is built for how today's guests are craving more variety, more flexibility. And this is the part that really fucking cooks my noodle, guys. No tough choices.

[Travis McElroy]

Thank you.

[Justin McElroy]

I mean, that is the last line. The last line of this fucking press release. It's built for how today's guests are craving more variety, more flexibility and no tough choice. If you are at Burger King and you're looking at the menu and you think, boy, this is tough. You need some tougher things. You need some harder things in your life.

[Travis McElroy]

I think, I think, honestly, if you decide, no tough choices, I'm gonna get six burgers to eat. You have put a tough thing in your life. I would say you've made life hard on yourself.

[Justin McElroy]

You've made a huge difficult choice without even realizing that you've made a huge, difficult, life altering decision.

[Griffin McElroy]

Potentially, yeah. Six boygis.

[Justin McElroy]

Potentially six boygies.

[Griffin McElroy]

I'm different after that. I'm different now.

[Justin McElroy]

You may be thinking back to this moment in several years. Sliding door style. If only. Slider's doors only.

[Travis McElroy]

If I could change one thing.

[Justin McElroy]

Oh, Clarence, I wish I could go back. Yeah, Trav. Actually, to this point, the decision to eat either two or six tiny hamburgers is really hard. Because that is a hugely different thing. I mean, two or six, there's three varieties.

[Travis McElroy]

One box only has two options in it.

[Justin McElroy]

Right.

[Travis McElroy]

They know what they're doing.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, that's a huge difference. If someone called you and said, what are you doing? You say, I'm eating two small hamburgers at Burger King. Oh, interesting. Here's what I wanted to talk to you about. What are you doing? I'm eating six small burgers at Burger King. Oh, God. I'll be there in 10 minutes. Don't go anywhere. Stay put.

[Travis McElroy]

Promise me, David. Promise me. It also seems like there's no dividers or containers within this box.

[Griffin McElroy]

No, no, no.

[Travis McElroy]

So it's also a fun way.

[Justin McElroy]

Dammit, Travis. You're right about that too.

[Travis McElroy]

It's a fun way to end up with a real jumble o burgers.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah. Give me a burger ball.

[Justin McElroy]

There are guys, I'm not kidding you. Probably 150 discreet components in this box. If it was like accessories, right? There's like probably 150 things. There's like onion petals and little Pieces of bacon and cheese slices. Like, this thing's gonna be a wreck.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, it's a disaster. This box. This box ain't getting through your front door.

[Justin McElroy]

It's not get. Yeah, no way. Door smashed, more like. It's not getting there. All right, well, that's the news. That's the news of the stuff that's really important. Thank you so much for listening to our podcast. I'm sorry as I am so many weeks that I talked about fast food so much.

[Griffin McElroy]

It's just really, really. They're really.

[Justin McElroy]

I don't know, some weeks they're not wilding out and they were really going in a hog wild this time. Had to mention it.

[Travis McElroy]

Should I throw my fantasy football championship ring?

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, my God. We have so much stuff before we throw something.

[Travis McElroy]

I know that, but I just. I really want to get in.

[Griffin McElroy]

Daddy got you that. And it's a sports award, and you're the one who has it.

[Justin McElroy]

I had a sports award. That would be very sad.

[Griffin McElroy]

I'll be pissed off. Dad'll be sad. I wouldn't throw your sports award.

[Travis McElroy]

I can throw this box of cosmic brownies I just have sitting on my desk.

[Griffin McElroy]

Now we're talking. Dang. Now we're cooking.

[Justin McElroy]

Now we're cooking. Max Fun Drive starts next week. Whoa. Get stoked. There's a lot of fun content coming. And I'm sorry I called it content, but that's. But it's just the only term general enough for all the crazy crap we're going to be doing next week. Yeah, there's a lot of fun. I hope you're there.

[Travis McElroy]

Along that line, make sure you follow McCoy family on Instagram because we'll be posting about, like, we're doing streams, like, the whole time constantly and posting shit and everything. And we'll be posting it all on Macroy family Instagram to let you know when that happens.

[Griffin McElroy]

Get on board.

[Justin McElroy]

Can I mention to you that Montaigne is doing an Australian national tour in August? Montaigne obviously created our incredible theme song and is an incredibly fun performer who, if you follow them on social, you really see someone who is pushing to evolve artistically constantly. And it's a really fun sort of journey to watch. So go to montanemusic.com au for details.

[Griffin McElroy]

Thanks to Montaigne. Peace for themselves.

[Justin McElroy]

Thanks to Montaigne.

[Griffin McElroy]

We have some new merch at the merch store. We got the Crow and Wilson enamel pin. There's a Miggy prayer candle, a bunch of new stuff. It's an Omnar to Win shirt celebrating our it still feels good, by the way, guys, I don't know if you still, like, are getting shined.

[Justin McElroy]

Yes, very, very validating. I put it on a resume this week and I couldn't have been happier.

[Travis McElroy]

Still waiting on that award.

[Justin McElroy]

I was so unironically delighted.

[Griffin McElroy]

Haven't gotten that award yet though, huh, Trav? Yeah.

[Travis McElroy]

No, no, no. Still waiting on the shipping on that one. All right. They'll reach out and delivered, I assume.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah. All right.

[Justin McElroy]

We were talking about this with dad recently and Travis was talking about not doing a speech and dad said, well, at least you brought home the hardware. And Travis said, well, actually, I didn't do that either. They're going to mail.

[Travis McElroy]

Yeah, they're mailing it.

[Justin McElroy]

They're going to mail it.

[Griffin McElroy]

Is there a safe. Travis, I got to say, I want to. And honestly, this could be for you too, Justin.

[Travis McElroy]

I worry about.

[Griffin McElroy]

I think you guys should maybe buy those nets that they have at like, batting cages so that you have like a great surface. I have a huge surface here that I can yeet. Whatever into. And I'm probably not going to fuck anything up as long as I don't smash the Deku tree. I don't. I worry that Travis doesn't have a great spot to chuck this box of cosmic brownies.

[Travis McElroy]

Yep. Okay.

[Griffin McElroy]

Okay. Yeah, we didn't expect that at all. Didn't expect that at all.

[Justin McElroy]

That was great. All right, thanks. My name is Justin McElroy.

[Travis McElroy]

I'm Travis McElroy.

[Griffin McElroy]

I'm Griffin McElroy.

[Justin McElroy]

My brother. My brother, me. Kiss your dad square on the lips.

[Griffin McElroy]

He threw all the brownies individually.

[Travis McElroy]

Separate ones.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, it was one. Yeah, but each one was like one frame in the video.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, it was really good.

[Travis McElroy]

Now I can only find two.

[Justin McElroy]

Oh, you're sitting on.

[Travis McElroy]

Oh, no,

[Theme Song Singer]

It's better, it's better. Better with you my life, it's better it's better with you. Is it true? It's better it's better with you my

[Griffin McElroy]

life,

[Theme Song Singer]

It's better with you

[Justin McElroy]

Maximum fun.

[Griffin McElroy]

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