‘Good Burger’ at 25: Kenan Thompson Recalls How They Used 1,750 Pounds of ‘Old’ Meat While Filming: ‘It Was So Nasty’

All That was one of the most popular kids’ shows of the 90s, making stars out of its cast and forming now-iconic sketches. Some of the most well-known skits were the “Good Burger” sketches, starring Kel Mitchell and Kenan Thompson.

The skits turned into a now-iconic Nickelodeon movie. After filming, Thompson revealed some behind-the-scenes details, including what it was like to make a movie involving so much meat. 

Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell’s start on sketch Nickelodeon show ‘All That’

Premiering in 1994, All That was a kids’ comedy sketch show, similar to the more-adult Saturday Night Live. The series ran until 2005, boasting cast members like Amanda Bynes, Nick Cannon, Gabriel Iglesias, and Jamie Lynn Spears. 

Like SNL, the Nickelodeon show featured an ever-changing cast of actors who starred in comedic skits and created iconic recurring characters. One of those famous sketches introduced the world to Ed, a devoted employee of the fast food chain Good Burger. 

Mitchell played Ed, cracking audiences up with his goodhearted, but dimwitted antics as he confounded customers and co-workers. The sketches were so popular that Nickelodeon gave the character a feature-length movie. 

Kenan Thompson called the meaty ‘Good Burger’ set ‘so nasty’

Good Burger the movie premiered in 1997. Mitchell reprised his role as Ed and co-star Thompson played Dexter, who works alongside Ed at Good Burger. The combined popularity of the sketch show and movie made Mitchell and Thompson stars. 

In a 1997 interview with The Morning Call, Mitchell said, “All three places, we had lots of screaming girls and that’s cool. Screaming girls is a good thing.” 

“The best part of all this attention came two weeks ago when my mom saw the movie for the first time,” he continued. “She started crying when my name came up on the screen. She really started wailing.”

Being famous TV and movie stars was a lot of fun for the then-teen stars. However, Thompson revealed there were some slightly gross elements to filming Good Burger. 

“At one point, there was over 1,750 pounds of meat on the set,” Thompson explained. “Some of it was old meat. It was so nasty. Some of the burgers would stay out there for a long time. I felt sorry for the extras who had to eat them with cold, clammy fries. But on screen, those burgers look good.”

Mitchell chimed in, saying, “It was so gross, because when I scoop out ice cream in the movie, it was really vegetable shortening with food coloring. When I poured milk on cereal, we used Elmer’s Glue so the flakes wouldn’t get soggy.”

Are Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell still friends?

Thompson and Mitchell continued to work together on All That and Kenan & Kel. When their sitcom was canceled in 2000, the pair went their separate ways. Rumors of a rift between them surfaced when both auditioned for Saturday Night Live, but only Thompson got a spot. Those rumors seemed true when Mitchell claimed he and Thompson were no longer friends. 

However, the pair apparently patched things up and even teamed up for a “Good Burger” sketch on The Tonight Show in 2015. 

“That’s my lifelong brother,” Thompson told Distractify. “We had a moment where we kind of weren’t speaking when we could have been and we both realized that,” Kenan added. “Watching his family grow up and watching my family grow up — it’s just a beautiful love movement basically and that’s how it needs to stay.”

Where are Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell today?

Thompson is still starring on Saturday Night Live and appearing in movies like Hubie Halloween and Home Sweet Home Alone. Mitchell continues to work in TV, showing up on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Good Luck Charlie, and SpongeBob SquarePants. 

Fans of Good Burger and Kenan & Kel are happy the pair are still friends. They’re keeping their fingers crossed for a Good Burger sequel!