CHIODO BROTHERS

A Family Affair — The Chiodo Brothers

The Chiodo Brothers—Stephen, Charles, and Edward—are an American trio of sibling special effects artists known for their expertise in clay modeling, creature creation, stop-motion, and animatronics. Raised in Deer Park, New York, they gained recognition for their cult classic film Killer Klowns from Outer Space and their contributions to films such as Critters, Ernest Scared Stupid, and Team America: World Police.

Their work includes the claymation sequence for the "Large Marge" scene in Pee-wee's Big Adventure and the stop-motion elements of the North Pole scenes in Elf. They also created the mouse dioramas in Dinner for Schmucks (2010), the stop-motion Stone Age creatures for mid-'90s Cup Noodles ads, and served as puppeteers on The Thundermans. In 1992, they produced the live-action CBS Saturday morning show The Amazing Live Sea-Monkeys®, starring Howie Mandel. Additionally, they crafted a puppet segment for The Simpsons episode "The Fight Before Christmas" (2010).

The post-punk band Chiodos was originally named "The Chiodos Bros." in tribute to them before modifying their name.

The Chiodo Brothers' studio has also created clay animation segments for The Simpsons, including:

• A Davey and Goliath parody in "HOMR" (2001).
• Parodies of The California Raisins and Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town in "'Tis the Fifteenth Season" (2003).
• A couch gag featuring Gumby in "The Girl Who Slept Too Little" (2005).
• A Wallace and Gromit parody in "Angry Dad: The Movie" (2011).
• A nightmare sequence parodying Davey and Goliath in "Ned 'n' Edna's Blend Agenda" (2012).