Director Alan Foley writes for Culture about his new pre-school animation series, Mya Go, which begins this week on RTÉjr.
it all started with a little girl called Mya, who had a lot of infectious enthusiasm. At the age of two, her catchphrase was Mya Go! Mya Go play, Mya Go beach, Mya Go shop. You get the picture.
Watch Mya Go here, via RTÉ Player.
The original concept for the animated series Mya Go was the result of my wife and I searching for a visual idea that would capture the essence and excitement of the preschool genre and there she was, right under our nose, our daughter Mya. From that moment, she quickly became a concept for a cartoon.
The idea was to create a style and narrative that would be snappier and quirkier than what we were used to watching on TV. As a co-founder of Wiggleywoo (creators of The Day Henry Met) I became familiar with the various funding mechanisms in Ireland. So when I parted that company to pursue my own path with my new company, Dear Will, I found myself on a search for a new partner.
We need your consent to load this Facebook contentWe use Facebook to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
After attending some international animation markets, it was clear that Mya Go had something special and broadcasters were intrigued. With a Spanish co-producer (Motion Pic) who showed a strong interest after seeing Mya Go at Cartoon Forum in 2012, I then had the drive to find the right partner in Ireland. Who you gonna call? Dave Burke of Piranha Bar! I said, "Hi Dave, fancy making a cartoon?". Luckily he was as enthusiastic as I was, and he said yes.
Together with Dave and his partners at Piranha Bar, we set about seeking funding for this charming project. That’s when we stepped onto a rollercoaster ride that we were not expecting, but were there is a will there is a way. Eventually, after two years of loops, twists and turns, Mya Go got off the ground and we went into production. 104 episodes to be completed in a 2 year schedule, that’s a tall order. Now, a year on, we are thankfully on the air on RTE with 26 episodes. The remaining episodes are currently in production with 52 completed by September this year and the remainder next year.
We need your consent to load this Facebook contentWe use Facebook to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
I have no doubt that Mya Go has the potential to become a worldwide household name. She's designed that way, to capture the attention of kids with a huge sense of adventure , captivating colourful design and catchy theme tune that can span many cultures and backgrounds. Mya Go, Tommy Stop, Emily Share and many more diverse characters who each have a personality trait related to their name will certainly capture the imaginations of kids everywhere and there is something in there for the parents too.
But above all, what I have learned from the production so far, is that I am privileged to work with a team of people here in Ireland and Spain, that are incredibly talented and motivated in every aspect of the project, from the production team, finance department, writers, animators, art department and audio post to mention a few. Spending time with these people on a daily basis is truly inspiring.
Mya Go screens weekdays at 7.40am and 11.30am on RTÉjr.
