Kazoops.
Sydney-based animation producer Cheeky Little Media has announced that Kazoops will debut on ABC KIDS from August 1.
The series already debuted in the UK in June on CBeebies, the BBC children’s network.
Kazoops is an animated series aimed a pre-schoolers and follows the adventures of six-year-old Monty and his best friend, Jimmy Jones the loyal family pet pig.
In each episode Monty and Jimmy Jones confront grown up preconceptions about the world such as ‘you have to wear matching socks’ or ‘all games need rules’ and in doing so demonstrate the value of critical thinking and creative play.
Every adventure is set to a unique song, written and recorded by Australian singer/songwriter Scott Langley.
“We are thrilled to be bringing Kazoops to children both here and in the UK. Through Kazoops we want to inspire kids’ imaginations and foster the courage to think and see things differently. Teach them from the pre-school years that it’s okay to question things and not take the world around them at face value,” said executive producer and director of Cheeky Little Media, Patrick Egerton.
“Monty challenges a different preconception or accepted wisdom in each episode, which is exactly what kids at this age do. In writing the series our team of writers had to find ideas that would fit this mould and so the criteria was perhaps more rigorous than other pre-school shows. Some appear to challenge everyday conventions, like whether your socks always need to match, but are really about bigger ideas like the relative importance of conforming. Some are more lofty and abstract, like Monty questioning whether you can be scared but brave at the same time, which is really an exploration of the nature of courage. Over 78 episodes we cover a lot of ground, in a way that communicates to the kids without preaching, but is also meaningful to adults too.”
Kazoops is animated in CG, however pays homage to claymation in its look. For the sequences in Monty’s imagination, the series also integrates CG with 2D graphic elements to create worlds that kids could make themselves with simple craft materials.