From Viral Video to Bob’s Burgers: Simon Chong on Career, Coming Out, and Bear Culture
Simon Chong is the Supervising Director on Bob’s Burgers — the guy behind those viral, meticulously animated dance sequences the show’s become known for. He’s also, by his own account, a late bloomer: he didn’t come out until after university, and it was moving to London afterward that introduced him to the bear community he’s stayed part of ever since.
We talked to him about finding that community, watching bear culture edge from counter-culture into the Hollywood mainstream, and what it’s like building queer-inclusive TV from the inside.
Robin: Growing up in Llanberis, North Wales, was animation something that felt accessible to you as a career, or did you initially have other plans?
Simon: Honestly, when I lived in Llanberis I was so young, I didn’t really understand what animation was. When I saw Toy Story in the cinema at 10 years old, It clicked that whatever that was, whatever I’d just watched, that’s what I wanted to do. My mother was incredibly encouraging about my creativity as a kid, which made everything feel very attainable. Thanks mum! I didn’t really start learning animation properly until after I left school and started college. They were very early animation classes with not the best software, but they got me going.
Your story is the epitome of “right place, right time” — walk us through making that viral Archer/Bob’s Burgers mashup and the call from Loren Bouchard that followed.
I love animating and I love learning about animation. I was happily running an animation studio in London with my friends, but in my spare time I was, and still am, always animating. I find reverse engineering something to see how it was made completely fascinating, even if I’m dead wrong. I tried animating a crossover of the musical The Book of Mormon in the style of South Park. It was so much fun, and I was proud with what I made. So I set my goals higher and wanted to see if I could imitate Bob’s Burger’s animation style, crossing it over with another TV show, Archer.
I found dialogue from both shows that sounded like characters were talking to each other and using as much visual reference as I could find, I spent 7 months working nights on this 4 and half minute short. It was only really made to show my company could make TV-quality animation, never for a job. I uploaded the video in July 2017, and 24 hours later, the creator of Bob’s, Loren Bouchard, tweeted me with the words “would you like a job”. Two months later I’d sold everything I owned, left my company and my apartment to move to LA to work on Bob’s!
How did it feel stepping into a show with such a devoted, long-running fandom — did that feel like pressure?
Oh my god, massively. This small kid from Llanberis was suddenly thrust into work in on one of the most popular animated sitcoms currently on air. Full credit to the producers, they truly never once set me up to fail and made me feel completely at home very quickly. It’s cliched to say, but it does feel like a family. I adore my colleagues and they incredible talent they bring to the table every single day.
You’re known for those show-stopping dance sequences. What goes into building one from song choice to finished output?
There’s zero planning ahead. Genuinely, if I see something that interests me, that’s what I’ll do. I never have any idea what the next one until I feel its right. But it’ll start by watching reference over and over and slowly sketching out a ‘Bobsified’ version with more and more detail with each pass. I’m actually making these to get better at learning to animate dance. The welcome they’ve received online has been a lovely cherry on top of what’s already a really creatively fulfilling task.
You’re openly gay and pretty unapologetic about it online. Has being out shaped how you move through the entertainment world, for better or worse?
I never feel I need to apologise for being gay. I told myself that when I came out. And I can honestly say on Bob’s, being queer has never once held me back. With completely permission from all involved, I’m allowed to do an annual Bob’s Pride line of merch to raise money for It Gets Better. I can only speak from my experience, but on Bob’s, I’ve never felt held back at all.
Has visibility changed for LGBTQ+ creatives in animation since you started, or does the industry still have real blind spots?
I would always, always love to see more queer people making TV, and that’s in any capacity within the shows’ pipeline. We deserve a seat at every single table, so if I can be visible while doing as much of that as I can, I hope it inspires others to realize they can get in the industry too.
Representation-wise, what’s a moment or character arc on Bob’s Burgers you’re genuinely proud of?
I directed an episode written by Loren Bouchard in a recent Bob’s series called “Hope N’ Mic Night”. It featured our trans character Marshmallow returning with a new voice actor, Jari Jones. In the episode, she plays a song in Bob’s restaurant and her parents are coming to watch her. People told me they were expecting her parents to turn up and be really awful to her, but that didn’t cross our minds. Her parents turned up and supported her unconditionally. That expectation vs what we did will always stand out as a moment of TV I was very proud to have worked on.
If you could push the show’s queer representation further in future seasons, what would that look like — a bigger arc, a new character, or something else entirely?
More queer characters definitely. All types. I want quiet folk. I want exciting folk. I want all shapes and sizes. I want the full spectrum of what queerness can look like.
When did being a bear become part of how you see yourself, and what did finding that community mean to you?
I was very, very late bloomer. I didn’t come out until after university, which meant I skipped many a good opportunity to explore who I was. Right after uni though, I moved to London and that turned out to be a great place to find myself. I find myself naturally gravitating toward any queer community, but the bears have been a constant for sure. I found them welcoming and I’ve made lifelong friends from it.
Bear culture spent decades as a niche counter-culture community, but now we’re seeing it show up more in mainstream Hollywood shows. Do you think this mainstreaming has changed bear culture — for better, worse, or both?
I would say better. If more queer stories in media are hitting houses it normally wouldn’t and making a genuine difference for someone’s understanding. Be that the queer kid finding themselves or the parent looking to understand, then I am all for it. It’s EXACTLY the media I’d have wanted when I was a child to make me feel seen.
Anything coming up — in Bob’s Burgers or otherwise — you’re excited for people to see?
Out next season of Bob’s will be starting early next year and I am very excited for people to see what we’ve been cooking up. Also, check out our YouTube page Bob’s Burgers Side Orders where we’ve been uploading music videos and behind the scenes treats for people to watch while we’re between seasons.
