FAQ

Contact:
Susan McLennan (416) 699-1846 Cell: (416) 568-5974 susan@reimaginepr.com

Media kit and project information: 

  • Please reach out if you would like 

    • admission to our Brandfolder with pictures, bio, media releases etc.

    • Link to Google drive art, media kit, video, etc.  

Why this project:
If you want to change the world, you go right to the kids. And we’re not talking about generational change, we’re talking about gotta happen right now kinda change. Like the change you’d have to embrace if, oh, I dunno, say much of the world was gripped by a pandemic we had to keep at bay. 

When children are engaged in a problem, they take it on, act on it, and insist that other members of the family do the same. Who do you think forced the world to start recycling, wearing seatbelts, and give up smoking? Yup, kids. Who is currently leading the fight for environmental sustainability and gun control. Again, kids. 

We are in the fight against this virus for a long time. Adults will want to skirt the rules in ways that could put themselves and families in harm’s way. But if we give the kids the information they need to keep their families safe, we all have a much better shot of coming through this more quickly and safely. 


Who is the team behind the project:
The project was created, written, and produced by Regional Emmy Award-winning  Mike Erskine-Kellie and Susan McLennan, a husband and wife couple who create tv shows and books for kids. We believe that if you can engage kids in important issues, they will move them forward more quickly than anyone else, and they will hold the adults around them accountable too. 

Our television work spans Emmy Award-winning kids shows, a digital project that was selected for inclusion in the Library of Congress and a new book called I Got You a Present! which was released by Kids Can Press on April 7, 2020. The book tells the story of an intrepid duck who is trying to get you the perfect birthday present, but fails spectacularly over and over again until Duckie makes an important discovery about friendship. Ostensibly about birthdays, it’s really about resilience and friendship, two assets we all need to weather the pandemic. 

The videos were directed by Chris Earle. Chris Earle is an award-winning playwright, actor, director, and teacher, as well as Co-Artistic Director of the night kitchen, a theatre company he founded with Shari Hollett in 1992. Chris was a writer/performer for three years with Toronto’s legendary Second City comedy troupe and has directed seven shows at Second City, including Sixteen Scandals, Bird Flu Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Last Tango on Lombard, and the Canadian Comedy Award winner Something Wicked Awesome This Way Comes. He has also written sketches for CBC Radio’s The Muckraker and was a series writer for The Second City’s Next Comedy Legend. Chris teaches improvisation, acting, and writing at The Second City Training Centre, and has taught as a guest artist at Canadore College, Sheridan College, Cawthra Park Secondary, Etobicoke School of the Arts, and Earl Haig Secondary.    

Who funded the project? Who supported in other ways like distribution, advice, etc.? 

Supporters:

The project has been made possible [in part] by the Government of Canada and was done with the help of various partners who came on to advise on and/or distribute and support the project, including 

  • CHEO

  • Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

  • UPSTREAM

  • Toronto Public Library

Who advised on the project (please see expert list for bios) 

Medical/health advisors are:  

  • Dr. Gary Bloch, from St. Michael’s Hospital 

  • Dr. Nisha Thampi from CHEO 

Parenting advisors are: 

  • Anne Douglas

  • Psychologist Sara Dimerman

How many episodes are there? 

  • There are 5 episodes, each approximately 4 minutes long

  • The Episodes are: 

    • I Need My Safety Space! 

      • Physical distancing

    • Good Helpers: 

      • Helping others 

    • Wash Those Mitts:

      • Handwashing 

      • Wiping surfaces, etc.  

    • Worry: 

      • Dealing with overwhelm and worry  

    • Nothing to Do: 

      • How to stay active during the pandemic 

Will you be making more? 

Glad you asked! We would love to. In fact, we have already identified a number of subjects that will be critical to address as we move into the next phase of the pandemic. Need to find the funding first!


Who are Spike & Toody and who is the audience: 

  • Spike & Toody are a pair of apple-juice-jet-pack-wearing best buds who try and help each other make sense of the changing world around them. 

  • The videos target kids 3-7 years old.