In December 2021, Karissa Valencia, a Chumash tribal citizen, and Executive Producer Chris Nee announced a collaborative effort to create "Spirit Rangers," a teen animated preschool series coming to Netflix.
Half Mexican and half Chumash, showrunner Karissa Valencia grew up "torn" between modern life and native culture. That meant attending pop music festivals and using cell phones, as well as attending sweat lodges, powwows and ceremonies important to her family's tribe, which lives on a reservation in Santa Barbara's Santa Ynez Valley. One of her favorites is the bear ceremony, when the Chumash honor the bear that emerges from hibernation in the spring.
Creator: Karissa Valencia
Stars: Román Zaragoza, Cree Summer, Wes Studi
"It's so beautiful to look at, and it really is an indigenous philosophy and belief that everything has a spirit and everything is alive,". That "love for native magic, but also for superheroes and creating really fun cartoons for children" is the origin of "Spirit Rangers", the next Netflix animated series from Valencia about three brothers who transform into animal spirits unique to conserve the National Park they work and live in.
Her show is also unique: “Spirit Rangers” has a native writers room. During a time when the entertainment industry is doing a lot of public-facing work on increasing diversity and representation, Valencia has quietly done the legwork. She first connected with a fellow native writer, which turned into more and more meetings with native artists, musicians, and other talent. PBS's Alaskan Native-focused “Molly of Denali” is perhaps the only series in existence that can promote such indigenous representation in its writers' room.
Animation, and preschool animation in particular, is a niche space, Valencia said, "so I didn't really have to worry about that and find writers who also do dramas or sitcoms and read those scripts, and then meet with them." to [see if they wanted] to join the animation.”
"I love my writing team and my writing staff," she said. “I lean on them a lot, whether it's to break down the story and what mythology we want to tackle, but also to learn from each other. The show wouldn't be what it is today without all of our different experiences. Some of us grew up on a reservation, some of us didn't. Some were adopted. Everyone's story is very different, but I'm really happy that we have a whole native team [so that] we can bring all those different perspectives."
"Spirit Rangers" is one of many projects helmed at Netflix by mega-producer Chris Nee, the creator of Disney's hit "Doc McStuffins" and executive producer of "Vampirina," who now has an overall deal with the streaming service via of its production. Laughing Wild company. Nee points out that the kids' pocket of the entertainment industry, like the rest of Hollywood, has encountered problems with representation, often relying on a single writer or consultant to represent a certain culture rather than cultivating newer voices from different backgrounds. origins.
“The perfect world of having something like Laughing Wild was for me to be able to turn to someone like Karissa, who is someone who I've identified as someone who has the spark, the talent, but is relatively new to her journey and I say, ' What is the story you want to tell? And how do you want to tell it?’” he added. "As soon as I got to Netflix, I made that call and Karissa came back with pitch perfect preschool."
"Spirit Rangers" is a preschool fantasy adventure series that follows the trio of Kodiak Native American siblings, Summer and Eddy Skycedar, who share a secret: they are 'Spirit Rangers!' The Spirit Rangers can transform into their own spirit animal to help protect the National Park they call home. With the blessing of the Chumash and Cowlitz tribes, we will join the Skycedar children on their magical adventures with spirits inspired by indigenous stories."
Karissa Valencia, the creator of Spirit Rangers, told Animation Magazine, “Our show celebrates indigenous storytelling with indigenous talent at the forefront. I created this show inspired by growing up on the Chumash reservation in the Santa Ynez Valley of Southern California. I grew up with bedtime stories about our land, animals and plants. I went to Pow Wows, attended our bear ceremonies, and believed my culture was magical. However, I never saw that reflected in my favorite TV shows or movies. As a native child, that can feel incredibly isolating. I can't wait for the next generation of young natives to see themselves on screen and have new native heroes to look up to.
Watch Spirit Rangers 2022 Tv Series Trailer
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