The campaign is to help finance the 10 minute film. The $13,000 planned budget will cover the entire production, with more than half going to crew members (including voices, animators, and music.), and roughly 20% going to supplies such as paper, paint, filmstock, and more. The budget will also cover post-production and distribution (including film festivals and DVD production).

The primary goal with the film is to act as a pilot a series centering around Koko and her world. Several stories, many of which are already drawn as comics, are planned for future episodes. If picked up, the series would then be made available through festivals, DVD and Blu Ray, online streaming, and hopefully even television as well.

CHARLES BRUBAKER (Director/Writer/Animator)

Born and raised in Japan, Brubaker now lives in Tennessee. Brubaker graduated from University of Tennessee at Martin in 2012 with a BFA in Graphic Design. He currently writes for Cartoon Research.

Brubaker has drawn comic strips and editorial cartoons for newspapers since 2005, and was a finalist for a John Locher Memorial Award in 2009. In 2012 he created his first comic book "A Witch Named Katrina", sort of a precursor of "Koko the Blue". He got his first taste in animation when he did a scene for Bill Plympton's "Guard Dog Global Jam" in 2010. In 2012 he produced his first short film, "Fishing", which was screened in Boston. 

His portfolio and blog are online here.

ZOE PIEL (Animator)

Zoe Piel is an illustrator, cartoonist and animator from Boston, Massachusetts. Her work has appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency; Truthout; the Daily Free Press; Citizen Culture; Law & Order: Artistic Intent; the Los Angeles International Underground Film Festival; and the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts at Brandeis University.

She is creator of “The Adventures of Painless Parker,” a comic strip inspired by the outrageous true story of America’s most eccentric dentist.

She blogs at zoepiel.com.

AARON LONG (Animator)

Aaron Long was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Animation has been his passion for as long as he can remember, primarily influenced by 1930s and '40s theatrical cartoons as well as Japanese anime. Graduating from Max the Mutt Animation School, Aaron has made a name of himself creating "Fester Fish", "Space Goose", and other cartoons, shown in festivals as well as on the web. Aaron currently work in Los Angeles.

His website.

EMILY KOCH (Voices)

Emily Koch is a voice actress without a permanent base! Although she was raised in the Washington, DC area, she currently lives in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Emily is a student at Virginia Tech, where she majors in geography and international studies, but her true passion is providing voices for numerous characters in animations, games, and commercials. As a result, she has taken acting classes at her university in addition to her required courses. This year, she will be studying in Marburg, Germany as part of a student exchange program.

Her most notable roles include Rainbow Dash in the animation Double Rainboom, Cirrus in Snowdrop, and Helen Baskett in the series Kassandra: Goddess of Awesome.

KYLE A CARROZZA (Voices)

Kyle is a cartoonist, musician, and voice-over artist working in Burbank. He created a cartoon short MooBeard the Cow Pirate for Nickelodeon in 2008. This has led to working on cartoons such as Fanboy and Chum Chum, Bravest Warriors, and Fish Hooks. Currently he's working on the second SpongeBob SquarePants movie.

Kyle also creates a webcomic Frog Raccoon Strawberry with John Berry.

A drawing of Koko and Jodo by Kyle A. Carrozza.

KEVIN BLUHM (Music)

Kevin grew up in a musical family, learning to play a wide variety of instruments from a very young age. He graduated summa cum laude from the prestigious Berklee College of Music with a degree in film scoring. After college, he moved to Los Angeles, where he composed and edited music for many award-winning films and television programs, most notably the #1-rated cable show, Pawn Stars on The History Channel, A&E’s Dog the Bounty Hunter, Say Yes to the Dress on TLC, the Emmy-winning My Lai documentary on PBS, Sundance Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize winner, Being Elmo, Tribeca Film Festival’s Best Documentary Feature winner, Racing Dreams, and ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary, Once Brothers.

Kevin currently lives in Chicago, where he continues to write and edit music for his clients in Los Angeles, New York, and around the world.

We have a bunch of perks to choose from, which includes original art, comic books, and access to production blog. Lots of great things to choose from!

"[Brubaker] has a professional looking style for a relatively new cartoonist, and he has a lot of imagination he’s brought to his tales."

- Mark Kausler, animator and director of Some Other Cat

"If the Wizard of Id had a great granddaughter, she just might be Koko the Blue, Charles Brubaker's wittily charming comic book witch. Koko stands cheerfully at the intersection of classic humor manga, vintage kid's comics and sly, contemporary humor."

- Will Finn, Disney animator

"Koko The Blue is a charming new character with much humor and heart. Charles Brubaker magically combines elements found in long ago Howard Post Harvey Comics with the gag manga of Fujio Akatsuka. It's works to create a new universe of fantasy and fun - and is ripe for an animated adaptation. I whole-heartedly support this effort!"

- Jerry Beck, animation historian and founder of Cartoon Research