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The Surprisingly Interesting History of Mr. Peanut

So, lately I’ve been showing overseas fans of Sausage Party that Bill Hader may have been way ahead of the game than we thought. Fans of Sausage Party know that he plays Firewater, along with Tequila and El Guaco respectively. But did you know before his infamous trio of admirable and possibly racist food products, Bill Hader was already a foodsona? That’s right, since 2013 Bill Hader has been the voice of the one and only Mr. Peanut.

Okay this news is so big every Sausage Party fan must know of this! Having Twinkie the Kid as an honorary foodsona and not Mr. Peanut is a crime! But while sharing this piece of information with the world, I found something quite interesting. Well, interesting if you’re into voice acting and obscure history, but interesting nevertheless. So, because I have nothing better to do today, here’s the surprisingly interesting history of Mr. Peanut.

Mr. Peanut is the mascot for Planters Peanuts and has been around for over ninety years, in fact I think it’s a century now! But during those ninety years, the mascot has gone pretty much unchanged. Sure, he’s gotten a touch up or two every decade or so, but he’s still just been the silent protagonist. Heck, even when they gave Mr. Peanut airtime he was silent.

But that changed in about 2010, 2011 maybe when they updated Mr. Peanut one more time. This time, they didn’t just give him a touch up, they overhauled him, turning this top hate wearing peanut into a tuxedo and top hat wearing peanut. And to go all out, they finally gave him a voice. Unsurprising is that thousands of people auditioned to be his vocal chords, but surprisingly hundreds were big name people. How big? Well, let’s find out by announcing the winner of the Mr. Peanut auditions…

Robert Downy Jr.

I could not make this up if I tried! Iron Man was voicing Mr. Peanut. And, admittedly, he didn’t do that bad a job. Here’s some of the videos he’s done as the snack mascot, bearing in mind some will be hyperlinked as there’s a five video embed limit on tumblr.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB4LtH1NoGM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEdH4adFIE4

Match made in heaven right? Well… something happened in 2013 that made Mr. Peanut’s voice change from RDJ to BH. That’s right, Bill Hader took over the role of the Peanut. Was it the right call? Well, let’s look at his videos, beginning with the redub of Robert’s Christmas TV spot! Wow, that’s harsh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiX4E70xUws

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHxUcZzz2wk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10HaYEC96Vk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTdGZrBofYY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZn7ZzyQQzA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9DpUjW68eY

Not to choose sides, but I think the Bill Hader voice is better. And no, not cause of the quantity of commercials. First, listen to the voices and you can tell the personalities are different. They both play the part of a sophisticated nut with a side of fun loving. But, RDJ’s Mr. Peanut sounds a little stuck up, like a guy who was born rich. BH’s Mr. Peanut somehow keeps his everyman persona, like he was just a regular guy who got lots of money, and tries to keep the riches of his new life from spoiling him. Also, there’s some spark to Hader’s voice that makes his take on Mr. Peanut more universal. Though we have less commercials of RDJ’s Peanut, the character is always the same suave guy. Hader’s Peanut has been a suave guy, a scientist, a motivational speaker and a creeper. I can’t overlook that in the last video, I’m sure it’s for laughs, but it’s creepy. On the other hand, it makes Hader being in Sausage Party three times more believable.

But think about it, Iron Man got ousted out of his job by Fear from Inside Out. Isn’t there some kind of bad blood between them now? Isn’t there going to be a team up commercial where they can settle this?

Well… kinda?

Let me explain.

First, that’s Robert Downy Jr as Mr. Peanut’s stunt double, Doug. RDJ has given Doug the same personality as his original Mr. Peanut, only with the same smarminess you’d give any guy who’s this close to being a movie star. We see Mr. Peanut being smugger at his stunt double. He’s also a little vindictive, I mean, Doug can’t call himself “Mr. Peanut Butter” due to copyright infringement? You think this is the commercial that has Bill Hader and Robert Downy Jr kind of teaming up, but only kind of as Mr. Peanut is silent this time. Also, it’s kinda clever that Doug is Mr. Peanut’s stunt double as RDJ was also Mr. Peanut for a time.

When I first saw this commercial, it was labeled “Robert Downy Jr is back as Mr. Peanut.” This made me believe this was made during the Bill Hader era, which makes some sense. But, after a little digging, I found out this commercial aired in 2012. During the RDJ era. Which means, it’s not the team up commercial.

So, I want to end this odd look down peanut history and voice acting to say that we should get that team up commercial. Have Bill Hader’s Mr. Peanut and Robert Downy Jr’s Doug share the spotlight for at least thirty seconds. Have them advertise their products, nuts for Mr. Peanut and peanut butter for Doug. (Bring back Planter’s Peanut Butter if you have to). See if we get the shenanigans of two loveable jerks in a feud or two friends in a shaky team up. Will they be rivals Apple and Cinnamon in a race for Apple Jacks, or friends Apple and Cinnamon sharing a bowl of Apple Jacks? We’ll never know for now, but the opportunity set up in the past six years is too good to pass up!

So basically ending this with “did you know Iron Man and Firewater were both Mr. Peanut years before Sausage Party?” and “we need to make at least one more Mr. Peanut commercial to finally resolve a question that was dug up from the time capsule known as youtube.

#Planter's Peanuts #Mr. Peanut #Bill Hader #Robert Downy Jr.#Sausage Party #foodsonas