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GOAL STATEMENT
“Keeping the Faith With Morrie”
celebrates the life and cartoon artistry of
African-American cartoonist Morrie Turner. At the summit
of the Civil Rights Movement in America circa 1965,
Turner dared to show children of different ethnic groups
working together to solve problems in his
nationally-syndicated comic strip WEE PALS; an
altruistic aim to bring this country together during
civil unrest through the medium of cartooning. With
Morrie Turner as the centerpiece of the film, we will
chronicle the untold history of minority cartoonists;
revealing their cartoon art, professional triumphs,
artistic influences, and other defining information.
Moreover, the film will outline the parallels between
racial struggles in America and ethnic images in comics.
There is universal appeal for Morrie's
story. Morrie's story will attract everyone who has a
dream to make a difference with their talent. Obviously,
African Americans will feel a special sense of pride.
Morrie's story of perseverance will inspire all
communities of colors as well as up-and-coming artists
will be encouraged to fulfill their dreams. My goal in
producing this documentary is to air it on PBS. It is
appropriate for public television because the subject
matter has never been explored and is valuable
information to a general audience. In addition, I have
an outreach plan to place the documentary in schools,
libraries, and museums.
Heaven Sent Productions has produced an
outreach program promoting Morrie Turner’s message of
personal responsibility and tolerance towards ethnic
diversity for children. The program is designed to
encourage and inspire children to become conscientious,
goal-oriented citizens. Additionally, it teaches
children that multiculturalism is a concept to embrace,
not fear. Our program will demonstrate how cultural
differences accentuate the beauty of humanity. A “Keep
the Faith Tour” with Morrie Turner and Angel Harper will
travel across the country stopping in six major cities
with actors bringing the WEE PALS characters to life.
The actors will perform life lesson sketches which
includes the importance of teamwork. The tour will visit
children’s museums, schools, and libraries.
Pending the needed capital, as a spin-off
to our documentary film project, we will produce a panel
titled “Minority Pioneers in the History of the Comics.”
The purpose of the panel has multiple objectives: (1) to
honor unsung minority cartoonists who have contributed
to the history of the comics; (2) to provide a forum for
them to share their creative experiences and career
stories; and (3) to educate the concerned public and
professional cartoonist society, thus promoting a
cultural and intellectual exchange among them.
In tandem to our film project, we are trying to secure
the syndicated return of the WEE PALS characters as a
half-hour cartoon animated television/cable program. In
1972, classic animation production team Rankin-Bass
Productions, Inc. adapted Turner’s Wee Pals comic strip
to an animated cartoon and renamed it Kid Power. This
half-hour cartoon series was a part of ABC Television
Network’s Saturday morning program line-up. In same vein
as Turner’s strip the cartoon series had an ethnically
diverse group of kids, collectively called the Rainbow
Club, working together to solve problems. A pilot to
re-introduce Turner’s WEE PALS cartoon series is in the
early developmental stage by Heaven Sent Productions
under the working title Power
Squad!
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