Animism (TV series)


Animism is a Canadian animated television series that airs on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network's APTN Kids block. Animated for APTN by Zeroes 2 Heroes, the series mixes First Nations mythology with urban fantasy concepts.
Development began in 2010. An alternate reality game titled Animism: The Sacred Sites debuted that year. The six-episode first season, Animism: The Gods' Lake, aired in 2013. A second season, Animism: Titan Falls, is in development.

Background

It began as a developing alternate reality game in summer 2010 titled Animism: The Gods' Lake to promote the upcoming TV series still in development for APTN. It had an active site by autumn 2010 where the project was retitled Animism: The Sacred Sites. The ARG finally launched 1 January 2013 a few weeks before the show.

Setting

The story begins in Grind City with environmental activists from Grind City University engaging in eco-terrorism against Grind City Futures, a local developer.

Characters

The three supernatural siblings

The elders are a group of animals who Wapiti tries to convince to help Mel.
The eldests are a group of old men who look identical to one another. They serve the Wetigo until Chad kills them.

Season 0

In 2010-2011 there was a miniseries of shorts that preceded the TV:
  1. There is a Tide 3 December 2010, 3:41 long
  2. A Torch is Passed 6 December 2010, 5:48 long
  3. Wetiko's Gambit 14 December 2010, 4:22 long
  4. A Sleeper Awakens 20 December 2010, 7:57 long
  5. Fire Cleanses 27 December 2010, 4:19 long
  6. Dead Man Walking 8 January 2011, 4:48 long

    Season 1

It is under development and was titled Animism: Titan Falls in 2014. The title resembles a preceding journal entry left by Declan Grey.

Broadcast

The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network has hosted it since 2013.

Funding

This was provided by the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund along with British Columbia Film + Media, the British Columbia Film Incentive and Canada Media Fund, as well as the above-mentioned Shaw Rocket Fund.

Official online game

This was online since 2012.
Part of it involved asking questions at a forum called Electric Antler, and getting news updates via Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

Official stories

The official Animism website's homepage features a guide to several stories from notable authors titled "The Book of the Emissaries". These canonical stories were composed during a fiction contest launched in 2012 and then some of them were endorsed as part of the lore. The java pages display an initial portion of the story with an illustration that links to the story's entirety on its own page. These tales include:
  1. "Bad Water" by Kevin J. Anderson
  2. "Dark Destiny, Bright Lady" by David Farland.
  3. "Heart of Ice" by Elizabeth Aileen Dillon whose forenames are stylized "Beth Aieleen" as an Animism scribe
  4. *Dillon's other story "Trickster Faces a Wetiko" is considered part of the Canon but is not part of the Book of Emissaries.
  5. "The First Farmer of Papua New Guinea" by David Ray
  6. *Ray's other story "The Last Words of Antonius Pius" is also considered canon but is not part of the Book of Emissaries.
  7. "The Ladder Trick" by Nick Mamatas
  8. "Rise of Man" by Sam Chandola
  9. "The Unicorn's Lament" by Cat Rambo
  10. "Last Kisses" by Steven Savile
Although their stories do not appear as canon in the Book of the Emissaries, some other notable authors have also been singled out by the franchise in relation to the series:
Less emphasized works are also featured in an anthology, some of which are designated "Canonical Works".
Theme filters divide the stories into 4 eras and 4 person types some of which were designated "winner"