Taking more than 100 pitches over three days during its first-ever open
call for animated projects at this year’s Comic-Con International,
Nickelodeon has announced it will greenlight Cupcakery of Doom,
created by Trevor Reece of Eureka, Calif., a writer for The
Press Democrat newspaper’s comics blog. The very first pitch taken
by Nick’s animation development team at the convention, Cupcakery
is a comedic story about two nefarious friends—a bear and a mouse—with
designs on taking over the world.
Cupcakery of Doom will be developed into an animated short and,
as with all content chosen for Nickelodeon’s global Animated Shorts
Program, it will have the potential to air on the network, appear on the
newly relaunched www.nick.com
and Nick
App, or even be developed into a long-form animated TV series. In
addition to Reece, the development team is continuing conversations
beyond Comic-Con with a number of the creators who presented pitches.
“We loved Trevor’s clever angle and adorable characters, but overall, Cupcakery
just made us laugh,” said Jenna Boyd, Senior Vice President, Animation
Development, Nickelodeon. “Trevor is a life-long Nick fan who told us he
actually sent in a story idea to our very own Stick Stickly when he was
a kid back in the ‘90s, so we had a hunch he understood our sensibility.”
Boyd also added, “It was a grueling and gratifying three-day open call,
and everyone who pitched us was talented and passionate. They had
terrific ideas and stories to tell. Besides Trevor, there are some
people we met whom we will have continuing relationships with, possibly
to join our production teams or talk further about their concepts and
ideas.”
Cupcakery of Doom follows two nefarious, eye-patch-wearing
friends, Patches, a bear, and Cheesebert, a mouse, who set out to take
over the world. To fund their doomsday device, the pair opens a
cupcakery to raise money, only to discover how much they enjoy the daily
duties of owning a shop.
“Patches and Cheesebert might not take over the world, but they will
take over your hearts, which might have been their plan the whole time,”
said Reece. “You always hear those stories about dreams coming true at
events like Comic-Con, and I am so happy that my story is now a part of
that.”
Reece is a writer and cartoonist. He currently writes
reviews and features for the “Four Colors” blog at The Press
Democrat. For the past 10 years, Reece has been an avid reader of
comic books and anything related to them. He graduated in 2011 from
Sonoma State with a Bachelor’s degree in History. His passion for art
began at a young age where during school his teachers allowed him to
express himself, even when he was drawing instead of doing his homework.
Reece currently resides in his hometown of Eureka, Calif.
Continuing its mission to open its doors to more creative talent than
ever before, Nickelodeon for the first time held an open call for
original animated projects at Comic-Con International: San Diego 2014.
On-site from Nickelodeon’s booth on the convention center floor, the
network’s animation development team took live, in-person pitches from
Thursday, July 24, to Saturday, July 26, with the goal of greenlighting
a project for the network’s global Animated Shorts Program. The team’s
meetings were held with Comic-Con attendees, as well as with
distributors scouted during the convention.
Nickelodeon’s global Animated Shorts Program, which is designed to
identify and develop original comedy-driven content for kids, was
launched in 2012. The program became global its second year. Concepts
are received in all animation, styles from 2D, digital 2D, stop motion,
CG and mixed media. Finalists are provided with the necessary artistic
and production support teams to help them complete their fully animated
original, humor-based and character-driven shorts.
Most recently from the Nick’s Animated Shorts Program, the network
greenlit 13-episodes of The Loud House by a graduate of the 2013
Program, first-time creator Chris Savino (Rocko’s Modern Life, The
Powerpuff Girls). Inspired by his chaotic life growing up in a huge
household, the series will follow 11-year-old Lincoln as he gives an
inside look at what it takes to survive the bedlam of a large
family—especially as the only boy among 10 sisters.
Nickelodeon’s 11 previously announced finalists from the 2014 Program
include: “Francine” by writer/comedian Katie Crown; “Meat Pie vs. the
Dark Ages” by Nickelodeon director Gabe Swarr; “Shelf Life” by
Nickelodeon storyboard artist Robert Iza; “Summer Memories” by
writer/director Adam Yaniv; “Ice Station Zedonk” by Nickelodeon director
Tom Parkinson; “Night Crew” by independent animators Caitlin Boyle and
Tara Helfer; “Planet Claire” by Nickelodeon executive producers Chris
Viscardi and Will McRobb; “The Outsiders” by writer Eric Bravo;
“Leander, Dre and Cyppy” by Nickelodeon storyboard artist Monica Ray;
“Ugly Mutt” by PUNY Entertainment’s Shadi Petosky and Dave Hagen; and
“Bad News Bunny” by California State University, Fullerton, graduate
Tarryn Henderson.
Nickelodeon, now in its 35th year, is the number-one
entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by
putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes
television programming and production in the United States and around
the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature
films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in almost
100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable
network for 19 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com.
Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks
of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ:VIA, VIA.B).
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