What You Didn't Know About The Burps On Rick And Morty
Since it premiered in 2013, the Adult Swim animated sitcom "Rick and Morty" has gone on to become both a critical and a commercial success. Currently, it sits at 94% Fresh among the critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and 87% Fresh among the fans. At its heart, "Rick and Morty" is a show about a usually well-meaning grandfather going on adventures with his reluctant grandson, but it doesn't hurt that the show also offers up plenty of wacky humor, of both the science fiction and low-brow varieties. In other words, it's a joy.
The character of Rick Sanchez (Justin Roiland) is the kind of person who would be reprehensible in other circumstances, but because this is a comedy, he's a delight. He's a mad scientist with authority problems, and he's not above breaking the law to make a buck. He's also, as co-creator Dan Harmon says, "a very high-functioning alcoholic" (via YouTube). As a result, Rick is constantly belching.
While it might seem like "Rick and Morty" uses sound effects to create these burps, that's not the case.
Yes, all of the burps are real. And here's how they happen
Roiland confirmed as much in a Q&A with fans on Gizmodo, while also explaining his process. During the recording process, Roiland first records all of his lines of dialogue normally. Then, he marks the lines that he wants to go back to do "burp takes" on. Unfortunately for Roiland, he's unable to burp on command. Instead, he has to rely on a combination of low-calorie beer (Miller 64, specifically), as well as air to generate the oomph he needs.
As a result, "Rick and Morty" has genuine, quality burps, and no two of them ever sound quite the same. You just can't get the same product by using sound effects.
Roiland's comments aren't surprising, considering that he's actually gotten drunk to record a "Rick and Morty" episode before. During the fourth episode of Season 3, titled "Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender," Roiland got hammered on Dan Harmon's suggestion. The resulting video has racked up more than 29 million views on YouTube. Check it out if you don't mind strong language.