Hello Ollie & Scoops fans, creator Nico Colaleo here! Y'know, I bet a lot of you are wondering: "Hey, Ollie & Scoops got up to 10 episodes and then just... stopped. What gives?" Well, due to the animation industry crashing and burning over the past few years, I (along with many MANY others) don't exactly have career stability these days like I did through the bulk of my cartoon career, from 2010-2024. I haven't been able to afford to keep making more Ollie & Scoops episodes since Episode 10 came out a couple summers ago. But I will NEVER let Ollie & Scoops die! While the industry crash has affected not just me but EVERYONE within it, independent animation however is currently flourishing and taking the entertainment zeitgeist by storm. Indie creators have learned that the name of the game is to be scrappy and do whatever you gotta do to MAKE YOUR CARTOONS and GET THEM OUT INTO THE WORLD. So, I present this GoFundMe campaign!
So over the past few weeks after asking for thoughts from you, the fans, I've decided to continue the series for now with some animatic episodes, like my friend Emily Brundige has been doing with her new project "Strawberry Vampire". Animatic episodes mean a completely watchable episode with full storyboards, voice records, sound effects and music - just no animation. And that is very much affordable for me. I feel it's at least better than just not making any Ollie & Scoops at all, as that will result in the show losing popularity and getting left in the dust while the rest of indie animation keeps kicking ass and continuing to beat the big dog animation studios at their own game.
Animatics of Ollie & Scoops Episodes 11 and 12 is what we can start off with! We'll see how they go, and continue this way for now until larger budgets can be obtained again and these new animatic episodes can be fully animated in the future. I'm asking for $3,000 to $5,000 in donations here to get storyboards and voice acting for both Episodes 11 and 12 completed, and BAM, both animatic episodes will be set!
To stir up some excitement, one of Episode 11's guest stars is Paul Rugg: creator and voice of Freakazoid!, Animaniacs writer, and voice of the hilarious Jerry Lewis-esque "Mr. Director". Then, one of Episode 12's guest stars is Kevin Conroy, the iconic voice of Batman in "The Animated Series" and in animated form since the early 1990s, who sadly passed away in 2022. Kevin and I recorded for Ollie & Scoops Episode 12 back in early 2020 right before the pandemic hit, and it makes me so sad that these record files for Kevin's final voice acting role are on my hard drive just sitting there, not being shared with the world because I can't afford to make the episode. It feels wrong to not be able to complete this Ollie & Scoops episode and release it, posthumously, in love and memory of Kevin.
If I reach the full goal of $5,000 then Episodes 11 and 12 will be worked on all summer and released around Fall and Winter 2026, with more episodes following afterwards! Thanks very much for your donation, consideration, and sharing this... And long live Ollie & Scoops!
Your pal, Nico