Parents looking for new entertainment programming for children should consider “Da Jammies,” a new 3D animated sitcom offered by FarCor Studios and Toon Farm. “Da Jammies” is designed to teach young viewers lessons about life and the music business. The cartoon mixes traditional children-oriented storytelling with hip-hop and R&B music, fashion and a diverse set of characters.
“Da Jammies” centers on groups of kids who attend a performing arts school where they struggle to balance real-life issues with their dreams of making it as entertainers. “ We wanted to create positive hip hop for kids,” rapper William “Dolla” Chapman II (Created By, Co-Executive Producer, Co-Star and Co-Music Supervisor) said during an interview with Popdecay at Comic-Con San Diego 2009. “We didn’t want [our children, neices and nephews] to listen to the same music we listen to because of the content. We kept the music and the delivery of the vocals, but changed the lyrical content to make it kid-friendly, he added.
“We wanted to provide an alternative to the magic and wizardry presently offered on TV and get back to when we were kids and had cartoons like “Fat Albert,” “The Chipmunks,” and “Voltron” and make it relevant to today,” offered Aulsondro “Novelist” Hamilton, (Created By, Co-Executive Producer, Co-Star and Co-Music Supervisor) in the series. “You look at Da Jammies and it will kind of remind you of “Fat Albert” and “The Chipmunks,” but it will also remind you of “Fame” because it’s about 5 kids in the suburbs who all aspire to be stars. Kids will look at Kanye or Jay-Z or Beyonce and say “I wanna be like them,” but they gotta deal with their everyday life, and that’s what we focus on, everyday life.”
Hamilton and Chapman are Toon Farm founders and music industry vets who serve as co-exec producers as well as writers and stars on “Da Jammies”. ““Schoolhouse Rock” and “Fat Albert” taught strong values and positive lessons,” Hamilton said. “William and I both have young children now and we know how hard it is to find constructive parent-friendly entertainment for kids. We want “Da Jammies” to be the hip new version of “Schoolhouse Rock,” he added.
Like many cartoons of the 70s and 80s, “Da Jammies” features a prominent moral theme. “The moral theme is unity and team work. You’ll get that with every episode,” Chapman said. “We have one episode dealing with honesty,” added Hamilton.
Ralph Farquhar, Co-President of FarCor Studios (Executive Producer: “Moesha,” “The Proud Family,” “The Parkers,” “Just Jordan”) said that the demo he saw reminded him of Disney’s “Proud Family,” especially in terms of the color palette, but what intrigued him most was the musical component driving the piece. “This was an opportunity to put some current musical themes in an animated context that would be really unique.”
“Da Jammies” presently has 13 episodes in the can and features an all-star voice-over cast including Kyla Pratt, Lil JJ, Tiny Lister, Marcus Polk, James Avery, Kim Whitley, Kurtis Blow, YoYo and more.
The show has a deal with TF1 and launches internationally in October at MIPCOM. Executives are in conversations with CW’s 4kids for a domestic launch, according to Farquhar. Advanced conversations with cable networks regarding distribution are ongoing.
Check out ‘Da Jammies” online at http://www.4kids.tv/da-jammies and visit FarCor Studios for more information about “Da Jammies” http://www.farcorstudios.com/html/dajam_ad.html