Adam’s father, David King, said “Our family is delighted to share this exciting news with the world! We believe in the importance and power of representation of difference in the stories we tell our children. That is why we are thrilled that Adam, our beloved son and a child with additional needs, is going to be the star of this wonderful cartoon. Not only this, but his trusty friends Speedy (his wheelchair) and Bubby (his toy rabbit) will travel on all his adventures with him. Through this cartoon, we hope other children and families will benefit from the power of seeing difference represented in the wonderful stories and characters of Adam ❤ Adventure!”
“Our ethos at Kavaleer is to create innovative, ground-breaking shows that celebrate uniqueness and diversity in every child and support young hearts and minds to thrive,” added Gary Timpson, MD and executive producer for the show. “We can’t wait to share the development with the world at Cartoon Forum in a couple months’ time.”
Kavaleer has enlisted Citizen Scientist Astronaut trainee and Global Faculty Member of the International Space University, Dr. Norah Patten as the show’s chief space advisor. As an ambassador for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Norah is uniquely qualified to advise across the show’s space and environmental themes. “Space provides such a truly unique lens for understanding more about our own planet and it gives us a perspective on humanity’s place in the universe,” she said. “I am thrilled to have this opportunity to be involved on the show with Adam; a little boy with big ambitions and big dreams and an inspiration to so many.”
Show creator and Kavaleer CEO Andrew Kavanagh said “Adam stole the hearts of the nation when he appeared on the Late Late Toy Show last year. His message of following your dreams, no matter what challenges you face, inspired me to create this show. With Adam as our CAPCOM, we’re excited and thrilled to be embarking on our latest mission!”
Adam ❤ Adventure! will be the first Irish children’s program to feature a wheelchair-user as protagonist. With 150 million children living with additional needs worldwide, the show will introduce much needed on-screen representation. In Ireland, one in seven people identify as having additional needs, but there is only around 2% on-screen representation.
Irish animation studio Kavaleer Productions and The Late Late Toy Show star Adam King are teaming up to develop Adam ❤ Adventure!, a preschool adventure-comedy series set in space, but with an environmental slant. Inspired by and starring Adam, the show aims to promote his message of empathy and friendship, exemplified by his ‘Virtual Hug. Development is set to begin next April; the project has been selected as part of Cartoon Forum 2021 coming September in Toulouse, France.
Source: Kavaleer Productions
The (52×11’) 2D animation features comedy-themed quests, in which the show’s eponymous hero and his crew are on a mission to help aliens around the galaxy solve problems (usually of their own making) using his space-smarts and altruistic personality. The prime-directive for the audience is to learn about how best to protect the most important planet of all – our own – through humour and empathy for the world around us. Key to the show’s messaging will be that through empathy and understanding, we can all make the world a better place for future generations.
