Animation, adventure stories score at Anime Caribe: The big 3

Two curious Caribbean-trotting twins, an orphan turtle inventor who travels on a banana-shaped boat, and a daring girl who likes to do things herself were the top three animation projects for the Animae Caribe Animation and Digital Media Festival 2017 Great 8 Projects.

Six of the projects were pitched on November 23 at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) Academy for the Performing Arts, Port of Spain. The other two were pitched on another day. The purpose of the pitch was for the projects to gain points from which they would be allocated financing for a pool of money accessed by the UTT. Regardless of their placement, each of the projects would be provided financing and move forward with training and development. The Banana Boat animated series and Bim and Bam adventure series tied for first place.

Banana Boat is about an inventive orphan turtle named Ma’Shell and his musician buddy Yellow Bird, who must work for the conniving pig smuggler Don Cook on his banana boat in order to survive, travel and solve the mystery of the disappearance of their friends from Volcano Isle.

The project was presented by electrical engineer and writer Denny Ablack, and sound engineer and musician Navid Lancaster and the audience was shown a trailer and concept art. The project is for the Y7 demographic (age seven and above) and the presenters explained it will feature Caribbean characters, settings, cultures and original music with universal comedic appeal. It is geared to encouraging children to recycle, combat pollution and to explore science. They are also looking at merchandising through the creation of lock screen photos and ringtones for phones.

Bim and Bam is about two curious six-and-a-quarter-year-old twins who get caught up in adventures while on vacation with their family. The adventure travel series, which is for children six to nine, was presented by founder and creative director of Everything Slight Pepper, Jeunnane Alkins.

Alkins explained that Bim, the girl, is scrappy and sassy and her brother Bam is a reserved, “MacGyver” type. In the trailer the duo are seen island hopping around the Caribbean in a kite and helping a leather back turtle in TT, getting splashed by a flying fish in Barbados, flying through sail boats in St Vincent and the Grenadines, watching a guy play the saxophone in St Lucia, catching a cricket ball in Antigua and jamming to a Reggae singer in Jamaica. Some of the guest characters are Sprat the garbage collector corbeau, Alex the super spy agouti and Frankie the confused flying fish.

Alkins said there are 52 scripted three-minute episodes and plots to take the story further. She said they are intended to teach the world about the Caribbean flavour in a universal way. With each new place and indigenous animal there is environmental and cultural education, and moral and character building. She said the project is unique because you get to see travel through the eyes of black children, which is quite unusual. She believes it has a world of potential for merchandising.

Third place went to Do it Yourself Zoe, presented by Jason Lindsay, managing director of Full Circle Animation. Do it Yourself Zoe is a comedy for ages seven and up about a girl named Zoe who live streams her own DIY show. The character of Zoe has a big spirit and imagination, and is up for big adventures as she uses everyday things to fix problems. She is assisted by her friend Laurie “The Selfie Queen”, practical and grounded twin brother TJ and her half brother Angel, a mischievous baby.

The other pitches were:

Cairi, an action show set in the Caribbean before the time of Columbus and featuring a young hero who wants to be become the next cacique (chief), presented by animator Matthew Hudson.

Celflux, a superhero show in which a priestess leads other individuals to save her world, presented by graphic designer and co-creator Everard McBain.

Scraps, an animated series about the misadventures of the titular stray cat in a Caribbean fishing village, presented by self-taught artist and animator Kevin Bhall.

The judges were Wayne Mandeville from the telecommunications industry and entrepreneurial development sector, veteran actor and UTT lecturer Michael Cherrie, and stylist and production designer Richard Young. The categories judged were character design development, story concept, design concept, marketability (the highest), scalability and overall presentation.

Mandeville said the vision of the projects was local, regional and global and he saw the impact they could have on our own people, economy, environment and business. “I was very impressed by what I saw today.”

Cherrie said the projects showed very good work and he was really pleased to see how identifiable the characters were. He said the design of the characters and the colours were really appealing not only to children but adults as well. He was also pleased by the use of Caribbean social issues and the inclusion of eco-tourism.

He said both Banana Boat and Bim and Bam showed vision and creativity. He said he was blown away by the sense of self-empowerment by this larger than life girl in Do it Yourself Zoey. He told the producers that with the support of mentors and the right people they have the opportunity to take the projects forward.

Young praised the projects’ sense of innovation. Bim and Bam, he said, brought the landscape of the Caribbean into a simple story with an extraordinary experience and he liked the tourism angle.

“In each (project) I was enraptured at different levels.”

He praised Anime Caribe for pushing the threshold and continuing to do so. Anime Caribe festival founder Camille Selvon-Abrahams said the producers will be contacted about the funding, mentoring and training.