For decades, American Indigenous and Native communities were represented by two prominent characters in mainstream studio animation: Pocahontas and Tiger Lily. With Spirit Rangers, creator Karissa Valencia is changing that.
“We wanted to redo a lot of that in terms of source material,” the Chumash and Mexican creator tells The Hollywood Reporter of the inspirations for historical representations of Indigenous peoples in animation. “We were doing our homework, our research. We were not just basing it off of what we did a Google search on.”
From Netflix Animation, Laughing Wild and SuperProd Animation, the series follows Kodi, Summer and Eddy Skycedar, three siblings whose blended Chumash and Cowlitz family work as rangers in the fictional Xus National Park in California. While the adults monitor the park during the day, the siblings solve various problems by activating beaded necklaces that portal them to the magical dimension of Spirit Park. Once there,...
“We wanted to redo a lot of that in terms of source material,” the Chumash and Mexican creator tells The Hollywood Reporter of the inspirations for historical representations of Indigenous peoples in animation. “We were doing our homework, our research. We were not just basing it off of what we did a Google search on.”
From Netflix Animation, Laughing Wild and SuperProd Animation, the series follows Kodi, Summer and Eddy Skycedar, three siblings whose blended Chumash and Cowlitz family work as rangers in the fictional Xus National Park in California. While the adults monitor the park during the day, the siblings solve various problems by activating beaded necklaces that portal them to the magical dimension of Spirit Park. Once there,...
- 6/15/2023
- by Abbey White
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Spirits Rangers‘ little heroes will continue protecting California land — and now, water.
Netflix has renewed the history-making animated preschool series for a third season, which will expand on the season two finale’s water protectors storyline. Created by Karissa Valencia, Hollywood’s first California Native showrunner, Spirit Rangers debuted its first 10-episode run in 2020 before releasing a second season in May. Beyond its Native-led cast on and offscreen, the show also features TV’s first all-Indigenous writer’s room and more than 100 Native or Indigenous crew members from the U.S. and other parts of the globe.
The show follows Kodi, Summer and Eddy Skycedar, three Chumash and Cowlitz siblings who, after activating beaded necklaces, can portal and transform to a magical dimension. Once there, their “spirit” ranger forms — a grizzly bear cub, red-tailed hawk and a turtle — use elemental powers to protect their California National Park. The second season...
Netflix has renewed the history-making animated preschool series for a third season, which will expand on the season two finale’s water protectors storyline. Created by Karissa Valencia, Hollywood’s first California Native showrunner, Spirit Rangers debuted its first 10-episode run in 2020 before releasing a second season in May. Beyond its Native-led cast on and offscreen, the show also features TV’s first all-Indigenous writer’s room and more than 100 Native or Indigenous crew members from the U.S. and other parts of the globe.
The show follows Kodi, Summer and Eddy Skycedar, three Chumash and Cowlitz siblings who, after activating beaded necklaces, can portal and transform to a magical dimension. Once there, their “spirit” ranger forms — a grizzly bear cub, red-tailed hawk and a turtle — use elemental powers to protect their California National Park. The second season...
- 6/15/2023
- by Abbey White
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Spirit Rangers is an animated preschool streaming television series created by Karissa Valencia. Directed by Dominique Monfery and Dorothée Robert.
Spirit Rangers comes to us with all the good vibes of a series created for children in order to entertain and, at the same time, learn a good lesson: respect for nature.
Spirit Rangers
It is a series about community and the understanding between its diverse inhabitants because, in the end, we all live under the same sun, no matter how many differences (most of the time inconsequential) there might be among all of us.
A series to learn valuable lessons, full of magic and fantasy so we can leave the children (for a while) in the good hands of a tv production that aims to educate and entertain at the same time.
Enjoy it, starting Monday, May 8 in its second season.
Release Date
May 8
Where to Watch Spirit Rangers...
Spirit Rangers comes to us with all the good vibes of a series created for children in order to entertain and, at the same time, learn a good lesson: respect for nature.
Spirit Rangers
It is a series about community and the understanding between its diverse inhabitants because, in the end, we all live under the same sun, no matter how many differences (most of the time inconsequential) there might be among all of us.
A series to learn valuable lessons, full of magic and fantasy so we can leave the children (for a while) in the good hands of a tv production that aims to educate and entertain at the same time.
Enjoy it, starting Monday, May 8 in its second season.
Release Date
May 8
Where to Watch Spirit Rangers...
- 5/8/2023
- by TV Shows Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid - TV
Teletubbies are making a return. A new, animated incarnation of the popular British kids series, narrated by Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), will premiere on Netflix Nov. 14. The project was announced as part of the streamer’s fall preschool slate, which also includes Princess Power, a new animated series based on the New York Times bestselling book series Princesses Wear Pants by Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie and Allison Oppenheim, as well as the previously announced Spirit Rangers, inspired by stories from Native American tribes and landscapes of American national parks.
Returning series on the roster include CoComelon, Gabby’s Dollhouse and Waffles + Mochi.
Teletubbies became a global phenomenon when it first aired from 1997-2001 and was later rebooted for a 2015-1018 run.
Here are details about Netflix’s new preschool series
Teletubbies (premieres November 14)
Synopsis: Join colorful friends Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po on wonder-filled adventures as they learn and...
Returning series on the roster include CoComelon, Gabby’s Dollhouse and Waffles + Mochi.
Teletubbies became a global phenomenon when it first aired from 1997-2001 and was later rebooted for a 2015-1018 run.
Here are details about Netflix’s new preschool series
Teletubbies (premieres November 14)
Synopsis: Join colorful friends Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po on wonder-filled adventures as they learn and...
- 9/7/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Annecy: Netflix Animation Debuts New Footage From Filmmakers Including Henry Selick and Jordan Peele
Click here to read the full article.
Netflix Animation showcased a bevy of upcoming, diverse projects this week at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival: That included the unveiling of a scene from the anticipated Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio; the world premiere of Oscar winner Chris Williams’ original The Sea Beast, which premieres July 8 on the streaming service; and new footage from Henry Selick and Jordan Peele’s stop-motion Wendell & Wild.
The animation arm has been closely watched since April, when during its first-quarter earnings announcement, Netflix reported it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the quarter and expected to lose an additional 2 million during the second quarter. Since then, its animation business was affected by layoffs and several cancelled projects, such as Meghan Markle’s Pearl.
At the the same time, Netflix Animation is the process of opening a new Burbank facility to house its original feature animation projects.
During Annecy,...
Netflix Animation showcased a bevy of upcoming, diverse projects this week at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival: That included the unveiling of a scene from the anticipated Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio; the world premiere of Oscar winner Chris Williams’ original The Sea Beast, which premieres July 8 on the streaming service; and new footage from Henry Selick and Jordan Peele’s stop-motion Wendell & Wild.
The animation arm has been closely watched since April, when during its first-quarter earnings announcement, Netflix reported it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the quarter and expected to lose an additional 2 million during the second quarter. Since then, its animation business was affected by layoffs and several cancelled projects, such as Meghan Markle’s Pearl.
At the the same time, Netflix Animation is the process of opening a new Burbank facility to house its original feature animation projects.
During Annecy,...
- 6/17/2022
- by Carolyn Giardina
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” and Kid Cudi’s “Entergalactic” are among the titles that will be teased at Netflix’s inaugural Annecy International Animation Film Festival showcase next month.
The streamer is also bringing masterclasses and the world premiere of Chris Williams’ sea monster adventure “The Sea Beast,” starring Karl Urban and Dan Stevens, to the festival, which takes place in France.
Netflix’s showcase will offer an exclusive first look at del Toro’s upcoming stop-motion adaptation of “Pinocchio,” with the filmmaker attending in person to discuss the project, as well as the first look at “Entergalactic,” the adult animated project from Kid Cudi (Aka Scott Mescudi) and Kenya Barris, which is based on Cudi’s album of the same name.
The showcase will also include a behind-the-scenes look at David Fincher’s “Bad Travelling,” which will be included in vol. 3 of Tim Miller’s series “Love, Death + Robots...
The streamer is also bringing masterclasses and the world premiere of Chris Williams’ sea monster adventure “The Sea Beast,” starring Karl Urban and Dan Stevens, to the festival, which takes place in France.
Netflix’s showcase will offer an exclusive first look at del Toro’s upcoming stop-motion adaptation of “Pinocchio,” with the filmmaker attending in person to discuss the project, as well as the first look at “Entergalactic,” the adult animated project from Kid Cudi (Aka Scott Mescudi) and Kenya Barris, which is based on Cudi’s album of the same name.
The showcase will also include a behind-the-scenes look at David Fincher’s “Bad Travelling,” which will be included in vol. 3 of Tim Miller’s series “Love, Death + Robots...
- 5/25/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Two esteemed film professors. Two wildly different cities on two different coasts. And countless ways in which both have contributed to the ever-expanding landscape of entertainment education in the United States — and the world over.
James Schamus, three-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker of such landmark features as “Brokeback Mountain” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” former CEO of Focus Features and film professor at Columbia University School of the Arts, is one of Variety’s Entertainment Educators of the Year. He shares this accolade with Joely Proudfit, a Payomkawichum woman, director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center and chair of American Indian Studies at California State U. San Marcos.
These two forces of creativity — Schamus in New York, Proudfit in California — have been chosen as Variety’s two educator honorees not only for their dedication to the craft of filmmaking itself, but for their tireless work teaching today’s budding cineastes,...
James Schamus, three-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker of such landmark features as “Brokeback Mountain” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” former CEO of Focus Features and film professor at Columbia University School of the Arts, is one of Variety’s Entertainment Educators of the Year. He shares this accolade with Joely Proudfit, a Payomkawichum woman, director of the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center and chair of American Indian Studies at California State U. San Marcos.
These two forces of creativity — Schamus in New York, Proudfit in California — have been chosen as Variety’s two educator honorees not only for their dedication to the craft of filmmaking itself, but for their tireless work teaching today’s budding cineastes,...
- 4/28/2022
- by Malina Saval
- Variety Film + TV
Women in Film Los Angeles has a half-dozen new board members.
New to the board are Niija Kuykendall, EVP Production at Warner Bros Pictures; Michelle Lee, Director of Domestic Programming at AppleTV+; film producer Monica Levinson; and Ida Ziniti, Co-Head of the Motion Picture Literary Department at CAA.
“Each of these impressive women is uniquely expert — whether as an executive, producer, creator or agent,” Board President and Gidden Media CEO Amy Baer said in making the announcement on International Women’s Day. “Their diverse skill sets will help us to continue championing the advancement of women across all facets of the screen industries.”
She noted that outgoing board members — Stephanie Allain, Orly Adelson, Adriana Alberghetti, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, and Keri Putnam — who have completed their terms.
New to the board are Niija Kuykendall, EVP Production at Warner Bros Pictures; Michelle Lee, Director of Domestic Programming at AppleTV+; film producer Monica Levinson; and Ida Ziniti, Co-Head of the Motion Picture Literary Department at CAA.
“Each of these impressive women is uniquely expert — whether as an executive, producer, creator or agent,” Board President and Gidden Media CEO Amy Baer said in making the announcement on International Women’s Day. “Their diverse skill sets will help us to continue championing the advancement of women across all facets of the screen industries.”
She noted that outgoing board members — Stephanie Allain, Orly Adelson, Adriana Alberghetti, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, and Keri Putnam — who have completed their terms.
- 3/9/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Half Mexican and half Chumash, showrunner Karissa Valencia grew up “torn” between modern life and Native culture. That meant attending pop music festivals and using cell phones, while also going to sweat lodges, powwows and ceremonies important to her family’s tribe, who live on a reservation in the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara.
One of her favorites is the bear ceremony, when the Chumash honor the bear emerging from hibernation in the spring.
“It’s so beautiful to see, and it really is an indigenous philosophy and belief that everything has a spirit and everything is alive,” she told Variety.
That “love for Native magic, but also superheroes and creating really fun cartoons for kids” is the origin of “Spirit Rangers,” Valencia’s upcoming Netflix animated series about three siblings who each transform into unique animal spirits to conserve the National Park they work and live in.
Her...
One of her favorites is the bear ceremony, when the Chumash honor the bear emerging from hibernation in the spring.
“It’s so beautiful to see, and it really is an indigenous philosophy and belief that everything has a spirit and everything is alive,” she told Variety.
That “love for Native magic, but also superheroes and creating really fun cartoons for kids” is the origin of “Spirit Rangers,” Valencia’s upcoming Netflix animated series about three siblings who each transform into unique animal spirits to conserve the National Park they work and live in.
Her...
- 3/1/2021
- by Elaine Low
- Variety Film + TV
Chris Nee and her production company Laughing Wild are best known for creating all-inclusive children’s programming such as Doc McStuffins and Vampirina in bringing more representation to Netflix. The Peabody, Emmy, and Humanitas Prize-winning producer and writer has unveiled her first slate of series heading to the streaming giant — all of which are part of her overall deal.
“I am so excited to finally get to talk about the work I’m doing at Netflix,” said Nee. “As a writer and creator, I have so many stories I want to tell. I could easily fill my slate with my own voice. But one of the reasons I chose Netflix is that they afford me the opportunity to not only tell my stories but shine a spotlight on other talented creators and help them tell theirs.”
Nee added, “I know what it’s like to grow up not seeing myself...
“I am so excited to finally get to talk about the work I’m doing at Netflix,” said Nee. “As a writer and creator, I have so many stories I want to tell. I could easily fill my slate with my own voice. But one of the reasons I chose Netflix is that they afford me the opportunity to not only tell my stories but shine a spotlight on other talented creators and help them tell theirs.”
Nee added, “I know what it’s like to grow up not seeing myself...
- 10/15/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
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