Ask most Northern Beaches households with kids under five which two television shows get the lion’s share of screen time at home, Kangaroo Beach and Ginger and the Vegesaurs are sure to feature prominently.
Kangaroo Beach is about as Aussie as can be, tracing the journey of a kangaroo, platypus, koala, and wombat on their path to becoming surf life savers. While Ginger and the Vegesaurs may not have the prominent Aussie accents from the beach, but the fun and adventure of veggie shaped dinosaurs tackling day to day vegesaur challenges is just as compelling.
Both shows creation can be traced to Manly, and to the Cheeky Little Media production company. Founded by David Webster and Patrick Egerton in 2013, Cheeky Little Media is celebrating ten years of doing precisely what they set out to do. “We make cheeky content for little kids”, says David. “And the comedy through-line in the shows is so important, it’s what grabs the kids’ attention.”
Patrick adds, “Under the bonnet of the shows, we have some strong social capital. You can’t preach to kids, but in Kangaroo Beach, there’s a rescue in every episode, helping teach kids about surf safety. While in Ginger and the Vegesaurs, it’s not explicit in any way but we are endearing kids towards fruit and vegetables.”
This combination of comedy and social capital has seen Cheeky Little Media achieve great success locally and abroad, appealing to parents who value their kids absorbing important lessons without even knowing it, and appealing to kids who can’t help but laugh when seeing kangaroos on jet skis or an inquisitive Tricarrotops roam free with Pea-Rexes only to evade ever-present danger from Bananaraptors and Broccolisaurauses.
Creating kids tv is a seriously challenging business endeavour. “As producers of kids’ TV, we have to be very entrepreneurial,” explains David. “For the shows to be financially viable, we need to reach international audiences.” To achieve this, Cheeky Little Media has forged excellent relations globally, and there’s no doubt watching Kangaroo Beach in French, Russian or Mandarin would be exquisite.
“We like to create fantastic kids’ entertainment that can then build a brand too”, says Patrick. This approach has proven especially effective with Kangaroo Beach where not only is Surf Life Saving Australia an investor in the show, Cheeky Little Media has also partnered with Zoggs to produce an array of swim and surf safety goods which champion the show and Zoggs and surf safety alike.
Now, before every Tawny reader gets ready to pitch their brilliant story ideas to David and Patrick, the most important ingredients to remember are, as Patrick says, “Who’s the audience? What’s the story? How is this funny? Why is animation the best way to tell this story?”
While you get to work on those pitches, congratulations to David, Patrick, and Cheeky Little Media for a decade of producing cheeky Aussie gold. Parents thank you perhaps even more than the kids.