My Butt Has a Fever


My Butt Has a Fever is a 2022 American animated short film based on the Fox animated sitcom Bob's Burgers. It is directed by the series creator Loren Bouchard and series director Bernard Derriman, written by Bouchard and Nora Smith, and produced by Janelle Momary-Neely. It features the voices of series regulars H. Jon Benjamin, Dan Mintz, Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy, John Roberts, Kristen Schaal, David Herman, and Brian Huskey. It centers on the Belcher kids as they perform the titular song at Wagstaff School's talent show, much to the dismay of Mr. Frond.
My Butt Has a Fever debuted in front of film screenings in Alamo Drafthouse Cinema theaters across the United States in May 2022. It later premiered on FXX that same month, in a move to promote, The [Bob's Burgers Movie|The Bob's Burgers Movie], which released in theaters on May 27, 2022.

Plot

and Linda close the restaurant for the day so that they can see their kids, Tina, Gene, and Louise, perform at the school's talent show. At the talent show, the kids are aided by Teddy, who is under the stage starts and is given the go-ahead to start the music. They begin to sing the song, "My Butt Has a Fever", which shocks Mr. Frond and sends him on a frenzy to put an end to their performance.
Eventually, Mr. Frond chases the kids off the stage and outside, to which the trio quickly run back inside and lock the disgruntled teacher out in response. Tina, Gene, and Louise get back on stage to continue the song, to an excitable crowd. Mr. Frond makes his way back into the auditorium via the school's front door, and declares that the kids all have detention. The next day, Tina, Gene, and Louise serve their punishment but agree that the performance was worth the trouble.

Production

In 2020, Bob's Burgers creator, Loren Bouchard, confirmed that The [Walt Disney Company|Disney] was initially planning to release an original short film based on the show, My Butt Has a Fever, in front of one of their theatrical releases. This move would have mirrored the previous decision to have The Simpsons 2020 short film, Playdate with Destiny, release in front of Pixar's Onward that same year. The COVID-19 pandemic however scuttled these plans for a while. In May 2022, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, announced that the short film would debut in front of film screenings in their theaters across the United States, in a promotional campaign for the then-upcoming, The Bob's Burgers Movie.

Release

My Butt Has a Fever debuted in front of film screenings in Alamo Drafthouse Cinema theaters across the United States in May 2022. The short later premiered on FXX that same month, in a move to promote, The Bob's Burgers Movie, which released in theaters on May 27. The short was later released as a bonus feature on the Blu-ray releases of the film, on July 19, 2022. The song from the short was released by Hollywood Records on digital platforms and as a part of The Bob's Burgers Movie soundtrack vinyl in January 13, 2023.

Reception

John Schwarz of Bubbleblabber gave the short film an 8 out of 10 rating. He commented on the animation quality's similarities to The Bob's Burgers Movie and wrote: "I’m not sure it’s worth sitting around on FXX in waiting for the short to premiere, but, if like The Simpsons, Disney wanted to get more shorts produced for Hulu or Disney+ or something, I’d be totally down".