Prometheus And Bob was an animated short featured on Nickelodeon's animated sketch-comedy series KaBlam!, but here's why a live-action movie version didn't happen.
Here's why a planned live-action version of the
Prometheus And Bob segment from
KaBlam! didn't happen. The 1990s was something of a golden period for cartoon shows on Nickelodeon, which includes the likes of
Hey Arnold! and
Rugrats. They produced some cult favorites like
Rocko's Modern Life and
KaBlam! too, which were unique even among Nickelodeon's madcap line-up. The latter show was created by Robert Mittenthal, Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi (McRobb and Viscardi also worked on
The Adventures of Pete & Pete and
Snow Day), and the format saw animated hosts Henry and June introducing sketches done in different styles, including claymation.
Some of the regular segments on
KaBlam! included ferret roommates
Sniz & Fondue and the
Action League Now!, which used action figures and "
CHUCKIMATION" to depict the adventures of a bunch of not-very superheroes. One of the best recurring segments was
Prometheus And Bob, which saw the government looking through tapes where a purple alien named Prometheus is trying to teach a dimwitted caveman named Bob how to do things like cook or paint. Prometheus recorded his experiments, which typically end in chaos.
Prometheus And Bob is a slapstick delight and is made all the more impressive by its stop-motion animation. The sketches were created by Cote Zellers, and in 2019 he spoke to the
Cult Popture channel about the abandoned plans to make a live-action movie version of the sketch. Zellers revealed the project was set up at Paramount, with Clueless director Amy Heckerling set to helm.
The
Prometheus And Bob movie was also set to reunite
Tommy Boy and
Black Sheep co-stars David Spade (
Rules of Engagement,
Just Shoot Me) and
Chris Farley (
SNL). While Zellers didn't specify which characters the actors would play, it feels almost certain Spade would have played Prometheus and Farley would play Bob, with the former being constantly flabbergasted by the latter's wacky antics. Farley's tragic passing in 1997 appears to have essentially doomed the project, though Zellers reveals the movie was still developed for some time afterward, which includes a screenplay he was very unhappy with.
Zellers revealed that many of the concepts from that unmade Nickelodeon
Prometheus and Bob script went in the 2010 Jack Black comedy
Gulliver's Travels. Those hoping for more
Prometheus and Bob episodes or a movie will be disappointed, however, as the writer revealed Nickelodeon appears to have little to no interest in revisiting the characters. The
Prometheus And Bob tapes skits are easy to find on YouTube, for those
KaBlam! fans who feel like a hit of nostalgia. Full episodes of
KaBlam! are also available to stream on
Paramount+.
