There's nothing more American than a good-old fashioned, basic T-shirt.

While a T-shirt may seem like a simple thing, when featured in a major motion picture, it not only adds to the character development, cinematic backdrop and feel of a movie, but it can also make a statement -- or leave you in stitches from laughter.

Plenty of films have featured memorable, ironic T-shirts in the past: "Napoleon Dynamite's" "Vote for Pedro" T-shirt; Bill Murray's "Don't Hassle Me, I'm Local" T-shirt in "What About Bob?"; James Franco's shark eating a kitten T-shirt in "Pineapple Express"; and now, Melissa McCarthy's "Mahalo" T-shirt joins the list in her upcoming film, "Tammy," which hits theaters on July 2, 2014.

Even the legendary James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause" and Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire" were on to something back then when they made a basic, white T-shirt look effortlessly cool and macho.

So what does it take to make a memorable T-shirt that's worthy of the big screen?

LA-based Mexican-American designer, Hugo Maldonado, who designed the T-shirt for Oscar nominated Melissa McCarthy's hilarious and loveable character, "Tammy," tells Latin Post that it takes a creative collaboration spearheaded by smart, kind and comedic minds like McCarthy's and her husband, actor/director and partner-in-crime Ben Falcone, to really bring a project home.

"They are very welcoming, the first reaction you get from them they are just really friendly and they are always genuinely interested in what you have to say," he said of McCarthy and Falcone, who made his directorial debut with "Tammy."

"She wanted something that was random and funny... [the 'Mahalo' T-Shirt] was something that was her idea really, we had different choices and at the end of the day she said we're just going to go with 'Mahalo,'" he added.

What makes the "Mahalo" T-shirt extra memorable and hilarious is that McCarthy's head is actually the head of the animated character, a flip-flop wearing, California bear who is living it up on a Hawaiian vacation and sipping on a coconut drink. "Mahalo" is a Hawaiian word meaning thanks, gratitude or admiration.

"He is just the loveliest fella," McCarthy told Latin Post about Maldonado. "He is just a true, lovely gentleman. At that age [25] he has such an old soul."

McCarthy admits that it was a weird request to ask him to come up with four different animals that were quirky in their own way, but Maldonado delivered.

"I think it's like when you come back with those T-shirts from vacation, and you are just like 'oh no!' You can't be more land-locked than Tammy in Central IIinois. We all felt very confident that Tammy for sure has never been to Hawaii... It was just so funny to us."

"[Maldonado's] terrific he can just do anything," she added. "I have to say that shirt made me laugh until the end."

"He is such a good kid, and he's so talented," Falcone said. "That's how she gets caught [after the robbery wearing the 'Mahalo' T-shirt]... We wanted to find something you would find in a novelty store."

In "Tammy," McCarthy ("Bridesmaids") is down on her luck, totals her "clunker car" and gets fired from her "thankless job at a greasy burger joint," only to come home and find her husband getting cozy with their neighbor. Broke and without wheels, her grandma, Pearl (played by Academy Award-winner Susan Sarandon), is her only option as she has a car, cash, and an a desire to see Niagara Falls, not to mention a saucy and exciting past as an Allman Brothers groupie. During their road trip, the duo learns a lot about eachother and themselves.

The film also has a stellar cast of "SNL" alum and comedic actors, including: Allison Janney ("The Help"), Gary Cole ("VEEP"), Mark Duplass ("Togetherness"), Dan Aykroyd ("The Campaign"), Academy Award-winner Kathy Bates ("Misery," "Midnight in Paris"), Sandra Oh ("Grey's Anatomy") Oscar nominee Toni Collette ("The Sixth Sense") and Nat Faxon ("Bad Teacher"). Will Ferrell and Adam McKay produced the film with McCarthy.

Since the collaboration with McCarthy, Maldonado was amazed to recently see a huge billboard featuring "Tammy" in his "Mahalo" T-shirt on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California -- prime real estate for promotion and huge exposure for Maldonado's artwork.

"It's pretty gigantic," he said. "I was pretty overwhelmed and excited."

Maldonado has yet to see the film, but he recalled seeing the first appearance of the "Mahalo" T-shirt with McCarthy and Falcone on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," where they premiered the official trailer for "Tammy."

Maldonado said that he was amazed to learn that his "Mahalo" T-shirt appeared in "80 percent" of the film, where McCarthy, who plays Tammy, robs a burger joint and is then on the lamb, only to be found in same T-shirt.

While working on the Warner Bros. lot in LA, Maldonado had the opportunity to meet McCarthy and Falcone during the shooting of the CBS sitcom, "Mike & Molly," starring McCarthy and Billy Gardell, who play Mike and Molly, a couple who fall in love after they first meet in a Chicago Overeaters Anonymous group. Maldonado's print, "Dip and Salsa" has appeared on an episode of "Mike & Molly," which was renewed for a fifth season. Maldonado also did a couple of paintings for McCarthy and Falcone's children, including a "Miss Piggy" painting for their daughter's birthday.

In addition to the McCarthy-Falcone comical duo, Maldonado has done artwork for actors Chris Pratt ("Parks and Recreation"), Anna Feris (the "Scary Movie" film series), Frank Grillo ("Captain America") and Reno Wilson ("Mike & Molly").

Maldonado, who is of Mexican descent, was born in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California.

Throughout his childhood, Maldonado was captivated by everything from animated cartoon series and feature films to more contemporary comic books and graffiti, tied in with the vibrant Chicano and Mexican culture. Drawn to these images, he has been creating and studying art independently ever since.

In 2007, he began painting with oil and acrylic on stretched canvas, when his main focus was to capture unique and captivating characters. He has since been working on developing his unique style and hopes to someday release a graphic novel. McCarthy says that she plans on continuing to collaborate with Maldonado in the near future.

Check out a Latin Post exclusive interview with Melissa MccCarthy, Ben Falcone and Susan Sarandon at a special screening in New York and the official trailer for "Tammy," which hits theaters on July 2, 2014.