Editing Beavis and Butt-Head (section)

==Development==
[[File:Mike Judge by Gage Skidmore.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mike Judge]] (pictured 2011) created ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' and voices most of the characters.]]
''Beavis and Butt-Head'' was created by the American animator [[Mike Judge]]. He graduated with a degree in [[physics]] but struggled to connect with his work in [[computer science]]. In the late 1980s, he began making short [[animated film]]s on his own; he taught himself how to draw and animate and would shoot his projects with a cheap [[Bolex]] 16mm [[film camera]]. He made several shorts, including ''[[Frog Baseball]]'', which marked the first appearances of the characters. Judge cold-called networks to pitch this concept, and would send out [[VHS tape]]s with prints of his films.<ref name="Stern-1"/> The voice of Beavis was based on a kid in his high school [[calculus]] class, who would always snicker in a distinct way at their attractive female teacher.<ref name="Stern-1"/>

The [[art style]] of what became ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' was intentionally disruptive and ugly; Judge wanted it to look like "it was drawn by an insane person." The comic strip ''[[Peanuts (comic)|Peanuts]]'' was an unlikely influence: Judge stated that [[Charles Schulz|Schulz]]'s line work and sketchy sensibility worked its way into his as well.<ref name="Stern-1"/> He was also inspired by the work of [[John Kricfalusi]], and fellow Texas animator [[Wes Archer]] and his film ''Jack Mack and Rad Boy Go!''<ref name="The Austin Chronicle 1996 f569">{{cite web | title=Here Comes the Judge | website=The Austin Chronicle | date=December 20, 1996 | url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/1996-12-20/525875/ | access-date=April 12, 2024}}</ref> Aesthetically, Judge likened the program's best episodes to [[comfort food]]: "I think there’s something kind of relaxing about it," he noted. He claimed the wacky comedy of ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'' was an influence on the show.<ref name="Sacks 2022 o964">{{cite magazine| last=Sacks | first=Mike | title=Mike Judge's Secret Art of Satire | magazine=The New Yorker | date=August 7, 2022 | url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/mike-judges-secret-art-of-satire | access-date=April 12, 2024}}</ref> Other elements of the setting are left up to the viewer's imagination: there is little said of the characters' backstories, or their parents, and it's unclear whose house the characters are couch-surfing. This aspect of the show was also inspired by ''Peanuts'', where the characters also seem to inhabit a liminal world without parents.<ref name="RS-2011-08-03"/>

MTV bought ''Frog Baseball'' and two other films to air as part of its late-night animation showcase, ''[[Liquid Television]]'', from which it commissioned the series.<ref name="Strauss 1994 f837">{{cite web | last=Strauss | first=Robert | title=That's Mr. Beavis and Butt-head to You : Mike Judge Thought His MTV Twits Would Create a Buzz -- 'but Never This Big' | website=Los Angeles Times | date=November 22, 1994 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-22-ca-556-story.html | access-date=April 12, 2024}}</ref>