by From April 4th (Monday), a new puppet show, “Fantane!” Will start broadcasting in “Okasan to Issho” (NHK E-Tele). Set on Fantane Island, an island where all races such as imaginary creatures, animals, and plants live together, this work is drawn with the theme of “potential and diversity”. The combination of a kappa, a lion, and a gourd as the main character also attracts attention. When I talked to the producer, Manami Kajiwara, I found a way to express the diversity of children in the real world through characters in a puppet show.
I express various diversity such as nationality, family environment, gender identity, etc.
The main characters of “Fantane!” Are a kappa girl, Mimomo, a lion boy, Lucita, and a genderless gourd child, Yakoro. The setting of these three people reflects the various varieties that exist in the real world.
First of all, Lucita came to Fantane from a distant island, so she may not know about the island yet, but this is based on the existence of cultural differences between children with overseas roots and the resulting cultural differences. There is. By the time he had no parents, he had lived with eight siblings helping each other, but this is also a setting that reflects the fact that there are children in various family environments.
Furthermore, since Yakoro is a plant, it has no gender. “There aren’t many episodes from the perspective of boyishness and girlishness, but even in the stories that mention such things, you can freely express your opinions with the idea of being neither a boy nor a girl. There may be children who sympathize with that. ”(Kajiwara P, same below)
Also, the boy Lucita’s dream is to be a ballet dancer. “In Japan today, some children may find it a little embarrassing to say that a boy dreams of being a ballet dancer, but he is aware that he is free to have any dream. By the way, Mimomo hasn’t decided what she wants to be, and she’s a character who says, “I want to be anything! I can be anything!”
Reasons for choosing Kappa, lion, and gourd
In “Okasan to Issho”, we have continued to send a message that respect for diversity is important, such as drawing a wide range of individuality of children in the corner animation “Kokokana” (April 1986-March 1991) for a long time. I came. However, the new challenge for “Fantane!” Is that it goes one step further into social diversity and the diversity of individual personalities.
“I think children can accept the differences with their friends more smoothly than adults, so I thought I’d reflect that in the puppet show.”
By the way, how was the original arrangement of Kappa, lion, and gourd decided?
“The production team repeatedly talked about what to make imaginary creatures, animals, and plants. Various ideas such as tengu came up for fictitious creatures, but the children were picture books. I mentioned it in such a way, and I thought it would be nice to have a familiar presence that I knew to some extent, so I chose Kappa. The setting is that the animals came from a distant island, so there is an image of Western animals, and it is popular with children—a tall lion. The gourd has a cute round shape and bears many fruits at once, so I decided to fit the image of eight brothers. Maybe the gourd is a little unfamiliar to children. It may be, but I hope that you will use this as an opportunity to look it up in a picture book. “
Respect for diversity started with the previous work “Galapicopuu.”
How to draw a puppet show that values diversity has already begun with the previous work “Galapicopuu”. Before that, the puppet show had a strong impression that a boy was the main character, but in “Galapicopuu”, the main characters are a lively rabbit girl, Chrome, a shy wolf boy, Mumu, and a robot, GalaPico. .. In addition to the existence of a robot without gender, he also sent a message saying, “Because you are a boy, you have to be strong, and because you are a girl, you have to be grateful.”
“Galapicopuu”, which has been aired since April 2016, will be a substitute for about six years, but the puppet show character does not have a precise term, and there are various patterns for replacement. That is. This time, as part of the renewal of the entire “Okasan to Issho” program at the change of Uta’s older sister, Atsuko Ono, we decided to start a new puppet show that is more in line with the times.
Draw in pastel colours the “gentle world” that is required because of the harsh times
The characters of “Fantane!” They are also impressive in the soft pastel colour scheme.
“Originally, it is said that infants prefer crisp primary colours and are easy to recognize, so I think many of the characters in the past were made with that in mind, but this time I tried to make it a light colour. I’m looking forward to this because we still don’t know what kind of reaction it will have. I want to convey the fluffy kindness from the entire screen. I tried to make the world gentle overall. “
Rewa has become the mainstream of variety shows, “gentle laughter that does not hurt people.” “Even if you’re watching a drama, not just a puppet show, I feel that fiction is required to be something that isn’t hard. After all, it’s a world where there are many difficult and difficult things in reality, such as war and corona. “With Mom” must be a program that your child can watch with peace of mind, and I think there is a need for something that makes you feel refreshed, excited, and positive after watching it. increase”
Ask a theatre professional from the perspective that “puppet theatre is a stage.”
Daigo Matsui and Tatsuki Table of Contents of the theatre company “Gojigen” are the original drafts and screenwriters of “Fantane!”. There is a new challenge in this selection.
“A puppet show is a play in one set, so I think it’s like a stage. So I’d like to ask the stage scripters and directors to perform at various theatre companies. I saw Godigen’s work, and of course, it was for adults, but I felt that it was a work that made me feel refreshed after watching it because there was a laugh that did not hurt anyone, so I said it at first. I was worried whether Mr Matsui would be interested in this work, but he was interested in the place for young children, and Mr Table also worked on the stage for children, so he was very interested. We have decided to challenge two people. “
You can stay as you are and cherish your personality.
The titles of this work, “Diversity and Possibilities” and “Fantane!”, Were born from the remarks in the table of contents at the meeting.
“The table of contents gave me the first idea that children are all seeds’, and I was shocked—small, various colours and shapes, full of possibilities. Children can do anything. I want to convey the message that I can become a child and challenge anything to my father, mother, grandpa, and children who are raising children. “
Finally, Kajiwara P asked about the message he wanted to deliver to the children most when making “Fantane!”.
“You can stay as you are and cherish your personality.” For example, if you have a book that you want to read, even if your friends ask you to do it, you should decline the book. I’m reading. Of course, it’s fun to do it together, but you should cherish the feelings you want to do, and everyone around you will undoubtedly acknowledge it. I want to
