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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) \u2014 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 \u201cThe Swines\u201d slated to debut on Nov. 19 on YouTube with six 11-minute episodes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Swines\u201d teaser trailer on Oct. 15 will coincide with the launch of the new\u00a0Wonkybot.com\u00a0website. The first long-form official trailer for the animated series will be available on Oct. 22.<\/p>\n
The comedy\/soap opera is set in a world that revolves around a quirky and dysfunctional family of anthropomorphic\u00a0pigs\u00a0living in the town of Oinkersfied.\u00a0Needless to say, it is a real pigsty.<\/p>\n
The inspiration for the characters hits very close to home for St. John.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I\u2019ve turned family members into\u00a0hogs,\u201d St. John says proudly. \u201cIt\u2019s funny, heartfelt, and definitely the most personal project I\u2019ve ever done. For us, it marks the moment we go from audio \u2013 after launching 17 original podcasts \u2013 to full-on animation.\u201d<\/p>\n
St.\u00a0 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 \u201cThe Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,\u201d \u201cSabrina: The Animated Series\u201d and \u201cSeventeen Again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company does take on this new avenue while continuing to produce products for the \u201cTara Tremendous\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Through Wonkybot, St. John, Todd Fisher and Michael Plahuta have created the \u201cTremendous Universe\u201d with such projects as \u201cTara Tremendous,\u201d \u201cSpooky Troop\u201d and
\u201cOrigins Unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
The focus of \u201cThe Swines\u201d is once-celebrated Hoggywood director\u00a0Sebastian St. Piggleton\u00a0who refuses to \u201csell out\u201d by directing vertical content for social media as the industry collapses around him. He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
What begins as a quick plan to cash out spirals into a full-blown family circus when his inheritance overlaps with his parents\u2019 property \u2013 reigniting old rivalries, bruised egos and small-town chaos.<\/p>\n
St. John isn\u2019t worried about how his family will react to his going whole hog on them.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s just say I come from a mixed and diverse family with a very healthy sense of humor \u2013 and plenty of material. As Mom likes to say, \u2018Our family is God\u2019s favorite sitcom.\u2019 \u2018The\u00a0\u2018Swines\u2019\u00a0is definitely inspired by my own family dynamics, but everything is filtered through satire and affection,\u201d St. John says. \u201cNo\u00a0one\u00a0character really represents one person \u2013 it\u2019s more like the collective chaos, love and absurdity that comes with growing up in a big, opinionated family.\u201d<\/p>\n
This animated project marks a major move for the company after producing audio content for so many years. That focus won\u2019t change but is being broadened.<\/p>\n
St. John continues to embrace audio productions because he had found them to be a laboratory for him to \u201chear\u201d the characters and universes in his imagination come to life. He was able to accomplish this on a minimal budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019ve always seen animation and live action as the next logical step for Wonkybot, since those are the mediums I began in.\u00a0But audio gave us a chance to establish IP and maintain ownership, and\u00a0then\u00a0take those properties into other mediums,\u201d St. John says. \u201cNow we finally have the tools to bring everything those projects \u2013 and other original ideas \u2013 to life, visually and independently, and on our own terms.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, it\u2019s really about\u00a0creative evolution\u00a0\u2013 not leaving audio behind but expanding what we can do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
St. John stresses the Tara Tremendous movie as the start of what they call the \u201cTremendous Universe.\u201d Plans are in the works to make more headway into film, television and books.<\/p>\n
Until then, St. John has to hope his family of pigs don\u2019t turn into bores (or boars).<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, if they are then I\u2019ve failed miserably.\u00a0These\u00a0pigs\u00a0have big personalities, real heart and plenty of family drama that I think many people can relate to,\u201d St. John says.<\/p>\n
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