Stop-Motion Animation Characters Ginger and Pickles Cartoons Attract 90,000 Views on YouTube

Feb. 13, 2011 - PRLog -- Views of test footage of stop-motion animation characters Ginger and Pickles have surpassed 90,000 on YouTube.  The characters are the title stars of “The Adventures of Ginger and Pickles,” a children’s cartoon show being created by John Cavalli and Peter Sailsbery in San Francisco, California.

“The test footage looks great, and the feedback is very positive,” said John Cavalli, co-creator of Ginger and Pickles.  “We’re working with amazingly talented people, including some of the best stop-motion animators and top-notch musicians in the Bay Area.”

In the first footage, a bird poops on Professor Picklepants’s head. Being a black belt in origami and never discouraged, Picklepants merely takes a towelette from a container of Play N Wash from his vest, folds it into a pterodactyl, plays with it for a moment, and then washes off his face.

“Pickles is an intellectual who isn’t discouraged by, well, the crap that life drops on him,” said Cavalli.  “We think boys need positive, non-violent role models who think on their feet like Professor Picklepants.”

The second stop-motion test footage features Ginger Smacks, a sweet, strong gingerbread girl from the land of 7 herbs and spices.  Ginger wakes to an annoying alarm clock, then glides to her candy box vanity to put on her face—literally—with a pastry bag.  

“Ginger is the leader of the duo—she is driven and decisive,” said Peter Sailsbery, Ginger and Pickles’ co-creator.  “Although the footage shows her putting on her face and primping herself, she’s all business in the show.”

Cavalli and Sailsbery met in November 2008 and immediately started to create “Ginger and Pickles,” which concerns a gingerbread girl and a pickle character.  Ginger is a strong, decisive Southern girl much like Scout of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” while Pickles is a scholarly British gentleman, who never gives up.  To allow for a variety of situations, John and Peter plan to have Ginger and Pickles recruited to highly specialized temporary assignments few could perform.

Filming began in January, 2010, and the first clip “Professor Picklepants Hails a Taxi” was posted on YouTube in February.  In March a second clip “Ginger Smacks Puts On Her Face” was completed and also posted to YouTube.  Production of the short has been completely financed by John Cavalli.

Top-notch talent has helped create the test footage, lead by Scott Nordlund—who has worked on MTV logos and Sesame Street Shorts, as well as made moving images for the rock group KISS and directed the “Jurassic Park” music video for Weird Al Yankovic.

Contributing animators include Amy Adamy, who was a key animator on “Coraline” and Chuck Duke, whose works include Tim Burton’s “James and the Giant Peach” and “The Fantastic Mr. Fox.”  Nordlund also mentored Bradly Werley, who currently works as a Stop Motion Lab Technician for the Academy of Art University of San Francisco.

Musicians include Bay Area songwriter and producer Bobby Gould, who wrote and performed the music in the Ginger short.  Jon and Alexander Eccles produced the rocking, catchy theme song “Junk and Stuff” heard at the end of the shorts. Jon also produced the musical score for the Pickles short.

Cavalli and Sailsbery are currently seeking an executive producer to help fund production of a full half-hour short. The San Francisco Film Society has also graciously granted them Fiscal Sponsorship to make donations to the project tax deductible though their non-profit organization http://www.sffs.org/donate/donate-now.aspx?pid=818.

For more information about Ginger and Pickles, contact John Cavalli at (510) 363-2275.  Test footage of Ginger and Pickles can be seen on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHGSWQyJ5gU and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nqBgB1C7QY&feature=related.



About John Cavalli
John Cavalli entered the job market at the young age of 11, throwing the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper onto his client’s porches, cars, roof tops, and even swimming pools.   He moved onto the fast food circuit, including a stint serving soft serve ice cream cones and cigarettes at the Alameda County Fair racetrack.  At 17 he landed at AT&T where he held various technical, instructional, and sales positions for 25 years.  John recently returned to the San Francisco Chronicle where he writes press releases.  John has written comedy scripts skit and poems all his life, and his mom swears he has some artistic abilities. John has no distinguishing scars or tattoos, and if he could be any color it would be fruit-stripped orange.

About Peter Sailsbery
Peter Sailsbery was born in the wetlands across the Puget Sound from Seattle and raised in the deep freeze of Alaska.  Due to weather conditions, Peter spent most of his critical developmental years indoors battling cabin fever and entertaining his imaginary friends and their guests. He has held jobs as an ice cream maker and seller of fine clothing for caddy women, and he has held various positions in the entertainment industry.  Peter has one distinguishing birth mark that bears a strong resemblance to a green gummy bear on his arm and his favorite flavor is purple.

About Alexander and Jonathan Eccles, Musicians
Alexander and Jonathan Eccles, brothers since birth, have been collaborating on various music genres for quite some time now.  They currently perform and write songs with King Baldwin.  Jonathan also currently plays in Mass Fiction and works on various independent musical productions. The brothers have been known to score a short film or two and are notorious among the San Francisco indie scene for their prolific songwriting and ability to write, record, and finish songs in a two hour time limit. Fans can find them at the local Olive Garden.

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About The Adventures of Ginger and Pickles
Ginger and Pickles are stop-motion animated characters. Ginger Smacks is a driven, Southern gingerbread girl and Professor Peter Pickles is a scholarly British pickle. The duo work a variety of highly specialized temporary assignments in an alternative San Francisco. Their smorgasbord of assignments includes stints as astronauts, game show hosts on “Wheel of Jeopardy,” food critics for the opening of Mexican-Chinese Confusion Restaurant Cha Cha Cha Chinatown, and, even players for the Pittsburger Pirates.