The Belcher Family From Bob’s Burgers Were Originally Cannibals

Artist, Jay Howell regularly preaches the importance of getting your work seen by as many people as possible. While living in the Bay Area, the illustrator consistently handed out his comics and zines and even left them in public places to be discovered. One person to whom he gave his work was Loren Bouchard, a frequent patron at his barista job. An animator/writer/producer/director, Bouchard is known for creating such shows as Home Movies; and Lucy, The Daughter of the Devil, after working on and co-producing Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist. Loren loved Howell‘s work, and one day, he asked the cartoonist if he’d be interested in working on a show concept he had. The premise was built around a family of cannibals that ran a restaurant where they’d steal bodies from the crematorium next door and grind them up to make their burgers.

This is how Jay became the original character designer for the FOX network’s animated hit, Bob’s Burgers. Throughout the show’s development, numerous things evolved or were outright abandoned. The cannibalism aspect was one of the first things to get the axe, although it is strongly referenced in the first episode where Louise spreads the rumor that the family sells human flesh. Another major shift is that, in the pilot, the character of the Belcher‘s daughter, Tina, was originally a boy named Daniel.

This clip shown here predates the pilot. In this early proof of concept footage, the cannibalism element is still very much “alive,” as Bob and Linda grind up body parts in the basement. At this point, the characters still have the little Jay Howell eyes, and producers had yet to scale back on Jay‘s trademark long noses.