#chef mcmuesli

[fivehundredflies]

you better not be aphex twin when i fucking get there

[deadbeandrop]

throwing a tantrum, as per usual

[campy-mccampface]

Bus Pass: Chef Heimlich McMuesli

Why are you like this.

Name: Heimlich McMuesli

Age: Early Fifties

Residence: His camping edition Volkswagen Bus

Origin: California, USA

Occupation: Chef, also grows fruits and veggies for farmers’ markets on the side

Orientation: Pansexual

Significant other(s): None, but several free love associates

Heimlich McMuesli is the resident cook at Camp Kidney. He’s a self-proclaimed vegetarian and his tendency to push this onto the scouts makes him unpopular at meal times. That said, he seems genuinely to care for them and only wants his idea of what’s best for them, (for better or worse.) He also doubles as a guidance counselor to them, utilizing New Age child therapist techniques and going to admirable pains to help campers such as Edward and Gretchen find peace. Per his own admission, he was an angry child and wants to put that behind him. He is however still short on patience at times, holier than thou, and very judgmental.

Biography: Canon and Headcanon

Heimlich was born to veteran hippie parents in California, not far from Prickly Pines. They ran a little farm and also sold art, clothing and handicrafts for income. He was an only child and thus was kept very busy by his parents helping them with their work. This lack of free time and constant delegation of chores made him very sour for a few years, but he mellowed out and quickly became a little clone of his parents, fully embracing hippie life and abstention from meat by the time he entered middle school.

As an adult, Heimlich began backpacking more often, especially in Peru, and his means of transport, a Volkswagen Bus fitted for camping, became his steadiest home. His parents passed away back in the States while he was away, (though he had been regularly in touch and visited plenty,) and he was for a while very aggrieved, but recovered. Still, the old McMuesli Farm made him mournful just thinking about it, and he was increasingly interested in his own mobility. He sold the farm shortly after inheriting it and didn’t look back. Heimlich took several odd jobs as he went up and down the country, never staying rooted in one place but making many, many friends, (and free lovers too.)

His travels brought him back where he started in California, and his newest gig was the chef for a summer camp belonging to the Bean Scouts of America. His ideas of sustenance were… very untraditional for a crowd used to canned pork and beans, but no one else was applying for the job, especially due to its pittance salary. McMuesli, who was frugal, adept at self-support and needed no room and board, was able to make it work, and so he was hired (with much grumbling and mockery, to his face) by Scoutmaster Lumpus.

By the time of the show, McMuesli has been the camp cook for five years or so. This is far and away the longest he’s stayed in a single place since the sale of his parents’ farm, and although he has yet to say so aloud, he probably plans to stay even longer. The Bean Scouts of America, who are chronically cash-strapped, are now his biggest backers; any replacement would surely want a raise. This newfound sense of tenure-esque invincibility has affected Heimlich profoundly; whereas before he would serve meat at least three times a week in return for… being allowed to complain, he’s completely remade the food curriculum to what he sees as fit. He also has a megalomanic penchant for confiscating junk food contraband, complete with security CCTV and a bank vault. He’s… a character.

Not long after his arrival, McMuesli started his “Temper Tee-Pee” program. Slinkman, who we’ve seen is chronically overstretched, no doubt was thrilled at the prospect of some of his counseling duties being shouldered. He and McMuesli generally get along well, though the former can find Heimlich grating in his worst moments. McMuesli tried once to confiscate Slinkman’s usual diet soda, and only once. I won’t go into detail, but if you watch Slinkman “go ballistic” in “Slugfest” it was more or less a repeat. After which, Slinkman’s necessary daily caffeine was left unmolested and the two agreed never to speak of it again. (Where was I? Oh yeah, the tee-pee.)

The Temper Tee-Pee program, if you haven’t seen the eponymous episode, is basically a child therapy program run by McMuesli. Campers who have outbursts are issued “temper tickets” and join McMuesli in a bespangled, hippie-dippie little tent that reeks of incense, is full of Native American paraphenalia that comes off as a bit tacky in retrospect depending on McMuesli’s heritage, and has beanbag chairs that suck you in like quicksand. (No, it’s not considered a punishment. Officially.) Here, Heimlich does… pretty admirable work of trying to understand campers’ pain and resolving it. His methods are unconventional, (“and he smells it, too,” says the little Edward voice in my head,) but they work and aren’t patronizing to a scout. (Granted, Edward and Gretchen found the peace he wanted them to find by fantasizing about running him down with a roadroller, but the end justified the means: they chilled out and learned to vibe.)

Again, though, he’s not a pillar of nirvana himself. While trying to teach the Jelly trio how to make tofu frankfurters, he leaves in a huff to backpack in Peru, and leaves the whole camp chefless. This would be unacceptable anywhere else, but as has been said, McMuesli’s just that untouchable. Another occasion sees him get VERY worked up and out of line when the Jellies insinuate eating broccoli is like cutting down trees. And, when Scoutmaster Lumpus reminds him he’s trying to gain weight, McMuesli flees in hysterics, exclaiming that the moose is “not of this world.”

He’s something else. But then again, so’s everyone in this show.

[thefunkyfrogking]

Finally about time to bring back my lazlosona! *uses that as an excuse to draw some self ship art*

[channeleven]

B-Sides: Meat Man (Camp Lazlo)

I'm hardly the biggest fan of Camp Lazlo. I watched it as a kid and I'll admit I enjoyed it. But over the years I grew apart from it. Camp Lazlo was created by Joe Murray, better known for creating Rocko's Modern Life, a show where Stephen Hillenburg would get an early start before SpongeBob SquarePants, then it seemed Cartoon Network would hit up Joe Murray to create something in a similar vein to SpongeBob SquarePants, full circle.

Aside from that tidbit, the reason I bring up SpongeBob compared to Camp Lazlo is how both shows would lose their muster as you get older. Think of it like this. As a kid, you identify with Lazlo, naive and innocent and just having fun. As an adult, you identify with Lumpus, and 95% of the world is out to get him, and you'd be watching this with your kid. It's the same reason people reacted harshly to most new SpongeBob episodes as they identified with Squidward as adults.

Not to mention, compared to Rocko which got away with adult innuendos, this felt like a considerable step down. It's not a bad thing, but it felt like it could've been better. However, while I don't want to ever return to SpongeBob ever again because that plain has been rendered toxic, I may give Camp Lazlo another chance in the future, or at least leave off with a certain level of respect, because it's not a bad show by any means, it's just not exactly for me, I'd prefer some episodes over others, because when Camp Lazlo got it right, they got it down solid.

Meat Man has to be one of the most disturbing episodes in any cartoon, and I love it for that.

The Episode

As is tradition with most Halloween episodes that only last fifteen minutes, namely this, SpongeBob and Rocko, you get one Halloween episode, followed by a b-segment that features a scary story. Got some demons to work out, you have the opportunity to do so. Compared to I Was a Teenage Gary and Ed is Dead, Meat Man went further out, and it still sticks with me.

The episode carries the cautionary tale essence, while preserving its brand of humor. If you have a keen eye, you can also determine something is wrong right away, why would a green health nut like Chef McMuesli want with a can of meat? Then again he has demonstrated psychotic tendencies in most episodes so hey, maybe this is more air tight than I thought.

What really works in this episode's favor is the flow. We get the idea something is or is about to be wrong, we just don't know how, and it gradually dawns on the viewers. Then there's the suspense, not just waiting for something to happen, but false expectancies thrown in. Is the meat trying to lure them to their doom? Or is it just messing with them? Or perhaps both.

We even get early hints to its ability to shapeshift early on, at first it seemed like only the campers could do it, but we soon get clued into its sentience, and ultimately how it would reveal itself proper. There were some things I didn't remember, like a bit where McMuesli blows up after getting a speck of meat on him, heh, why would a vegetarian keep a can of meat around amirite?

Admittedly, the fact that this turned out to be a scary story seems like an expected yet cheap conclusion, but you know how it took the shape of Raj and Clam? A little buildup later, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, good one.

Final Thoughts

While there were some elements to the episode I forgot about, compared to something like Hey Arnold! where scenes stick in my head years later to the finest detail, I respect Camp Lazlo for committing to a creepy tale. It's not all out violent, gory or packed to the gills with references, it's just a tale of suspense with a twist.

It makes me consider looking back at other episodes I remember liking as a kid, and who knows? I may do just that.

[mekuyashima]

Matching Icons?... For You and Bae (or a friend) I wanted to play with some palettes and brushes I made, so have these cute Camp Lazlo Icons with lots of love, roses and glitter!!

[official-ducktown]

I HAD TO

[official-ducktown]

Comfort Character Tag

Thanks, @noodlepals for the tag!

1. Clam (Camp Lazlo)

2. Sid (Hey Arnold!)

3. Seymour Krelborn (Little Shop of Horrors)

4. Fred Bonaparte (Psychonauts)

5. Chef McMuesli (Camp Lazlo)

I got some more but those would be my top 5 atm.

Tags - @spectrumbunny ​@transwomanfurry @clarence-wendle @jer-artspat @rock-a-noodle

Comfort Character Tag

Tagged by @crosshairlovebot. Thanks, friend! 🤍

Cobb Vanth

Bilbo Baggins

Ahsoka Tano

Dr. Otto Octavius/Doc Ock

John Silver (Treasure Planet)

My list of honorable mentions would be hilariously long because there's so many more I'd put on this list in a heartbeat. 🥰

No pressure tagging: @red-winters @dantes-devil-huntress @kyber-hearts @sageislostinspring @iceman-kazansky @pineapple-wonderland @pcrushinnerd @daincrediblegg @cealyy

[cursedcamplazlopics]

[lazloorpington]

just saying. i love this man

[thefunkyfrogking]

AU where they still went with McMuesli being a deacon and having another chef take his place.

[lukegregory448]

List of Camp Lazlo Gay ships

Lazlo X Dave (LazDave)

Raj X Harold (Haj or HaRaj)

Clam X Larrison (LarriClam/Clarrison)

Edward X Ping Pong (Pingward)

Samson X Wilbert (Sambert)

Slinkman X Nurse Leslie (LeSlink)

Chef McMuesli x Commander Hoo-Ha (HooMuesli)

[president-frankenstein]

edward was tumblr before tumblr was tumblr

depression.

[mekuyashima]

Another oldie one, from april. I umm... TOTALLY ADORE THESE GUYS, expect to see more of them in my art bc I also ship them(?)

[lazlobanana2005]

scoutmaster lumpus, chef mcmuesli says it’s not good to deny yourself of your feelings! we love you even if you are gay :) ❤️