SPOTLIGHT: Disney’s Healthy Living Interstitials – “The Adventures of Papachu and Dr. Kapatoo”

SPOTLIGHT: Disney’s Healthy Living Interstitials – “The Adventures of Papachu and Dr. Kapatoo”

November 7th, 2016

Jerry Beck

Check these out! Disney Channels Worldwide has introduced a series of cool short-form programming, way below-the-radar, to inspire, inform and motivate kids on nutritious food choices and encourage physical activities. They are part of Disney’s company-wide Healthy Living Commitment, an initiative designed to help make healthy living simple and fun. Showcasing the work of notable animation talent including James Curran and David Calcano, the range of new interstitials have begun to rotate daily on Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior.

Aimed at kids age 6-14, Disney Channel’s short-form animated series, The Adventures of Papchu and Dr. Kapatoo, created and directed by David Calcano (of Fantoons Animation Studio), illustrates how a balanced and nutritious eating plan is important for all-around health.

James Curran of SlimJim Studios, noted for his quirky illustration-based animation, created several Healthy Living interstitials starring popular Disney XD characters from Star Wars Rebels, Star vs. The Forces of Evil, Future-Worm! and Gravity Falls, among others.

Via the animated GIF, Curran’s series, “Improve Your Selfie,” cleverly gets across messages about exercise and healthy eating. Produced by Partizan, here’s one of them:

P.S. On a related-but-unrelated note – David Calcano’s Fantoons is also doing some cool stuff revolving around the rock band RUSH. First this animated short that they recently did about RUSH’s drummer Neil Peart – which was shown recently at theatrical screenings of Rush: Time Stand Still:

And if you really like RUSH – Fantoons created (via kickstarter) for a comedic art book dedicated to Rush Toons, everything from parody cereal boxes to original comic strips about the band (Mike Kazaleh is did many of the drawings) – check it out: HERE.

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Jerry Beck

Writer, cartoon producer and author of more than 15 books on animation history. A former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney; currently on the faculty at both CalArts in Valencia and Woodbury University in Burbank, California.