Good Burger is a cult classic of its time, but few of its fans know the movie has a forgotten sequel — the existence of which confounds explanation. Led by Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, the original Good Burger is a surreal, silly ‘90s movie that helped solidify the two leads as Nickelodeon stars and solidified their future in the world of comedy. While the movie is a nostalgic relic today, critics were not kind to Good Burger upon its release in 1997, and its box office was modest at best, so the fact that there was any kind of follow-up at all is downright confusing.
Originating on Nickelodeon’s sketch show All That, “Good Burger” began as a series of skits focused around a fast food place and its eccentric employee, Ed. All That proved to be Nickelodeon’s answer to Saturday Night Live, and in the tradition of SNL movies like The Blues Brothers and Wayne's World, Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures hit theaters with a film based on the recurring “Good Burger” idea. Focusing on Ed’s friendship with a new employee, the invention of a secret sauce, and competition with their ominous rivals, Mondo Burger, the Good Burger movie expands the world and characters beyond All That’s usual antics and its iconic front counter set.
With poor reviews and bigger projects for the actors on the horizon, it was unlikely Ed and the Good Burger staff would ever escape the small screen again. But oddly enough, that didn’t stop a sequel from being produced. The publishing company Aladdin created a true direct sequel to the movie in the form of a book. Released in 1998, a year after the the movie, and titled Good Burger 2 Go, the novel gives insight into an unmade live-action Nickelodeon movie that could’ve been.
Good Burger 2 Go, penned by Dan Schneider, who was one of the movie's screenwriters, and Kenan & Kel scribe Steve Holland, is a rare curiosity and considered to be quasi-lost media. However, the book’s jacket and its overwhelmingly positive reviews provide insight into the story’s premise. After the events of Good Burger, the fast food restaurant finds itself in trouble for selling Ed’s secret sauce without testing, study, or even a license. With the need for official approval and the last of the sauce gone, they need Ed to create another batch. The only problem is that Ed is on the move, across the world and in parts unknown, trying to return 18 cents change to a customer. With Dexter, his best friend from the movie, on his trail and along for the ride, the two become involved in an international kidnapping plot as Good Burger’s taste test draws near.
Despite modern reviews praising it for the kind of over-the-top insanity normally experienced on one of Nickelodeon’s shows, the book faded into obscurity, with little known about how and why this story exists in the first place. Since then, at least, Thompson and Mitchell have returned to the counter for a few laughs for old times’ sake. This included a “Good Burger” reunion on The Tonight Show and Mitchel reprising his role as Ed for the 2019 revival of All That. According to Thompson and Mitchell, as late as 2018, Nickelodeon was optioning another movie, and the two were open to the idea.
Fans had already had a second serving of Good Burger, though, just one that never reached the big screen or received much recognition. Regardless, it’s probably unlikely we’ve seen the last of Ed and the crew of the dysfunctional fast food joint. Nickelodeon is the type to embrace its past, and perhaps like the burgers Ed serves up in the movie, the idea for a remake, another revival, or sequel, just needs a little more time to cook.