"Halfway There Day" is the first segment of the eighth episode of the first season of Kiff. It is the fifteenth segment overall.
Synopsis[]
Kiff is in charge of the important holiday meal, and nothing can go wrong.
Plot[]
It is July 2nd and Table Town is celebrating Halfway There Day, the holiday where Tabletonians celebrate making it halfway through the year by putting 50% effort into everything. Kiff is in charge of making dinner at the Chatterley home for the annual Halfway There Day dinner crawl, and is working hard to ensure that her meal does not look like it was made with more than 50% effort. Feeling that Kiff is forgetting the spirit of the holiday by stressing herself out, Beryl sets Kiff aside and tells her the story of Beverly, the woman who was banished from the dinner crawl for putting too much effort into her meal.
Despite her family encouraging her to relax, Kiff continues to let her perfectionism get in the way, which eventually causes her to use up all her ingredients. She rushes to Slim Pickins to buy more, but the store is sold out of groceries. A woman notices Kiff sitting dejectedly on the sidewalk and upon learning of Kiff's situation, she gives Kiff some extra packed meals she has cooked. While thanking the woman, Kiff remarks that she "almost pulled a total Beverly" earlier that day, unaware that the woman is Beverly herself.
Back home, Kiff lays out Beverly's meals on the dinner table, then leaves with her family and Barry for the dinner crawl. While they are gone, Beverly breaks into the house through the chimney. When the crawl reaches the house, the participants are shocked and appalled to see that it has been lavishly decorated for the occasion. They declare the Chatterleys banned from the crawl, despite Kiff insisting that she is innocent. Beverly then emerges from the shadows, revealing that she redecorated the house. Confronted by the crowd, Beverly retorts that nobody can do anything about it since she has already been banned from the crawl.
As the angry crowd surrounds Beverly, the legendary Centaur Claus suddenly appears and flies down to the scene. Centaur Claus admonishes the crowd for thinking that Halfway There Day is about strictly giving 50% effort, when it is actually just about not feeling pressured to give 100% effort. He then points out the irony that on a holiday devoted to not feeling pressure, they themselves are putting pressure on people like Beverly and Kiff, who feel more comfortable giving 100% effort, to give 50% effort. Realizing their mistake, the crowd accepts Beverly back into the crawl.
With the situation resolved, the Halfway There Day celebrations continue. Centaur Claus brings out his magical garbage can, into which everyone throws slips of paper containing New Year's resolutions that they no longer intend on keeping. They then throw a party inside the Chatterley residence, while Centaur Claus watches from outside, satisfied. He reminds the viewers to go easy on themselves, then jets off into the sky on his garbage can.
Cast and characters[]
Voice credits[]
- Kimiko Glenn as Kiff Chatterley
- H. Michael Croner as Barry Buns
- James Monroe Iglehart as Martin Chatterley, Rose Chatterley, and Tom Chatterley
- Lauren Ash as Beryl Chatterley and Beverly
- Eric Bauza as Roy Fox and Reggie
- Eugene Cordero as The Pone
- Lucy Heavens as Helen
- Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as Centaur Claus
Additional voices[]
- Lauren Ash as Sally
Appearances[]
- Kiff Chatterley
- Barry Buns
- Sally (debut, on TV)
- Bill (debut, on TV)
- Beryl Chatterley
- Martin Chatterley
- Rose Chatterley (debut)
- Tom Chatterley (debut)
- Beverly (debut)
- Roy Fox
- Helen
- The Pone
- Centaur Claus (debut)
- Reggie
- Gladys (non-speaking, on TV)
- Glarbin Gloobin (non-speaking, on TV)
- Biker Lady (non-speaking, on TV)
- Liz K. (non-speaking, on TV)
- Trevor Angstrom (non-speaking)
- Renée du Bedat (non-speaking)
- Pat Chatterley (debut, non-speaking)
- Sweepy Steve (non-speaking)
- Mary Buns (non-speaking)
- Harry Buns (non-speaking)
- Kristophe Buns
- Candle Fox (non-speaking)
- Gerard (debut, non-speaking)
- Terri Buns (non-speaking)
- Miss Deer Teacher (non-speaking)
- Darryn (non-speaking)
- Snekole (non-speaking)
- Dr. Lyon (debut, non-speaking)
- Mrs. Lyon (debut, non-speaking)
- Gram Gram (non-speaking)
Locations[]
Songs[]
- "Halfway There" (Carol & Jingly Rock versions) – written by Nic Smal, Lucy Heavens, and Sarah Lloyd
Trivia[]
- Opening sponsor: Slim Pickins.
Cultural references[]
- Halfway There Day and Centaur Claus are the Tabletonian equivalent of Christmas and Santa Claus.
- Slim Pickins is named after Slim Pickens, an actor and rodeo performer best known for his portrayals of cowboys. Pickens himself derived his stage name from the expression "slim pickings".
- Kiff is seen wearing an apron with the phrase "Kiff the Chef", a play on the expression "kiss the chef".
- After breaking into the Chatterley residence, Beverly grins evilly in a manner similar to the Grinch in the 1966 animated TV adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss.
Continuity[]
- A poster mentioning Halfway There Day was previously seen on a bulletin board inside Wish Wash in "Farley".
- Centaur Claus was previously seen in a picture in Helen's living room in "The Five Pigeons of the Acapellapocalypse".
- The plane kiddie ride outside Slim Pickins is of the same kind previously seen in "Kiff's on a Plane".
- When she learns that she has been conversing with Beverly, Kiff says "Yikeseeola."
Errors[]
- At the Chatterley residence, Harry alternates between wearing a plain black T-shirt and his usual print T-shirt.
- Terri shortly disappears from the background while the families are listening to Centaur Claus.
Production[]
Olives being served on Halfway There Day.
- The picture book sequence was designed by Abigail Rae Lowe in a style inspired by Mary Blair and the Little Golden Books series.[2]
- In one page of the picture book, a can of olives is shown as an example of an appropriately mediocre Halfway There Day snack. This "sparked a sharp division amongst the design team about whether olives are good" which "resulted in bg designers plugging discreet cans of olives into backgrounds throughout future episodes" as a joke.[3]
Gallery[]
Click here to view the gallery for Halfway There Day.
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ Sugrue, James (May 6, 2023). Board samples from one of my favorite Kiff episodes “Halfway There Day”. The design team did such a great job emulating my boards into special poses and I’m so happy the team at Yearim followed my take of Beverly falling from the roof. #disney #kiff #storyboardartist. Instagram. Retrieved on April 20, 2024.
- ↑ Lowe, Abigail Rae (April 17, 2023). This next set of Kiff pieces I’ll be posting was maybe the most special to me during my time on the show. I got to design the illustrations for the storybook telling the tale of Beverly in the episode “halfway there day.” It was so fun exploring a golden book/Mary Blair style for the Kiff world, a style I’ve always loved. I leaned on the amazing boards by @daffyfan83 for the compositions ❤️ I’ll put the words for each page in the captions 📖 . “‘Twas halfway there day, and time for the crawl, where dinner would be eaten in the houses of all…” . . . #disneykiff #kiff #visualdevelopmentartist #disneychannel #disney #visualdevelopment #girlsinanimation #propdesign #storyboardartist #disneychannel #colordesigner #visdev #lighting #illustration #colorkey #colorkeys #characterdesigner #character #colorartist #sketch #backgrounddesign #backgrounddesigner #animation #womeninanimation #animationart #storyboarding #backgroundpainter #bgpaint #bgdesign #backgroundpainting. Instagram. Retrieved on April 10, 2024.
- ↑ Lowe, Abigail Rae (April 21, 2023). This page was particularly fun, because choosing a can of olives as a mediocre and gross snack sparked a sharp division amongst the design team about whether olives are good. This resulted in bg designers plugging discreet cans of olives into backgrounds throughout future episodes, so keep an eye out! So what about you? Olives or no olives? 🫒??? . “‘First came the starters at house number one. Simple, easy, and oh so much fun!“ . . . #disneykiff #kiff #visualdevelopmentartist #disneychannel #disney #visualdevelopment #girlsinanimation #propdesign #storyboardartist #disneychannel #colordesigner #visdev #lighting #illustration #colorkey #colorkeys #characterdesigner #character #colorartist #sketch #backgrounddesign #backgrounddesigner #animation #womeninanimation #animationart #storyboarding #backgroundpainter #bgpaint #bgdesign #backgroundpainting. Instagram. Retrieved on April 10, 2024.