BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The growing number of outlets for original material has made it possible for independent producers such as Stewart St. John to create a long list of programming. The latest venture from his Wonkybot company is the adult animated series “The Swines” slated to debut on Nov. 19 on YouTube with six 11-minute episodes.
“The Swines” teaser trailer on Oct. 15 will coincide with the launch of the new Wonkybot.com website. The first long-form official trailer for the animated series will be available on Oct. 22.
The comedy/soap opera is set in a world that revolves around a quirky and dysfunctional family of anthropomorphic pigs living in the town of Oinkersfied. Needless to say, it is a real pigsty.
The inspiration for the characters hits very close to home for St. John.
“Yes, I’ve turned family members into hogs,” St. John says proudly. “It’s funny, heartfelt, and definitely the most personal project I’ve ever done. For us, it marks the moment we go from audio – after launching 17 original podcasts – to full-on animation.”
St. John is an award-winning writer, director, composer, and filmmaker who worked in a more traditional television format before launching Wonkybot. He was a writer on such television programs as “The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,” “Sabrina: The Animated Series” and “Seventeen Again.”
The company does take on this new avenue while continuing to produce products for the “Tara Tremendous” franchise established in 2018. At the heart of the podcast series is 14-year-old Tara Tremendous who accidentally acquires the powers of every superhero in the world. The next step with that character is a feature film.
Through Wonkybot, St. John, Todd Fisher and Michael Plahuta have created the “Tremendous Universe” with such projects as “Tara Tremendous,” “Spooky Troop” and
“Origins Unknown.”
The focus of “The Swines” is once-celebrated Hoggywood director Sebastian St. Piggleton who refuses to “sell out” by directing vertical content for social media as the industry collapses around him. He’s reminded of the 10,000 acres his late hillbilly grandmother left him back in Oinkersfield and decides to go back to the place he swore he would never go again.
What begins as a quick plan to cash out spirals into a full-blown family circus when his inheritance overlaps with his parents’ property – reigniting old rivalries, bruised egos and small-town chaos.
St. John isn’t worried about how his family will react to his going whole hog on them.
“Let’s just say I come from a mixed and diverse family with a very healthy sense of humor – and plenty of material. As Mom likes to say, ‘Our family is God’s favorite sitcom.’ ‘The ‘Swines’ is definitely inspired by my own family dynamics, but everything is filtered through satire and affection,” St. John says. “No one character really represents one person – it’s more like the collective chaos, love and absurdity that comes with growing up in a big, opinionated family.”
This animated project marks a major move for the company after producing audio content for so many years. That focus won’t change but is being broadened.
St. John continues to embrace audio productions because he had found them to be a laboratory for him to “hear” the characters and universes in his imagination come to life. He was able to accomplish this on a minimal budget.
“But I’ve always seen animation and live action as the next logical step for Wonkybot, since those are the mediums I began in. But audio gave us a chance to establish IP and maintain ownership, and then take those properties into other mediums,” St. John says. “Now we finally have the tools to bring everything those projects – and other original ideas – to life, visually and independently, and on our own terms.
“So, it’s really about creative evolution – not leaving audio behind but expanding what we can do with it.”
St. John stresses the Tara Tremendous movie as the start of what they call the “Tremendous Universe.” Plans are in the works to make more headway into film, television and books.
Until then, St. John has to hope his family of pigs don’t turn into bores (or boars).
“Well, if they are then I’ve failed miserably. These pigs have big personalities, real heart and plenty of family drama that I think many people can relate to,” St. John says.
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