CRYSTAL SKILLMAN
BLAST OFF... with the cosmic critters!
Captain Tina the tweeny tortoise leads her crew of eccentric bunch of critters on the Spaceship P.A.W.S as they have galactic adventures all the while trying to find their way back to earth.
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A YA Animated Musical Series, created by Crystal Skillman and Bobby Cronin.
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Song Excerpt
SERIES OVERVIEW
A misfit crew of various animal escapees from NASA’s testing program are flung through a wormhole to the other side of the universe. Tina has to keep her crew of literal guinea pigs (and mice, frogs, raccoons, and pigs!) focused on the right stuff to survive the dangers of uncharted space.
Constantly challenged by her bestie Alan, a neurotic rhesus monkey, her mentor Ham the Chimp, and her own tween angst, Tina works each week to get her friends back to earth. Each episode our crew finds themselves on strange new worlds. Our critters are also being pursued by a fearful alien race… that is obsessed with destroying the Cosmic Critters. Because they’re nasty!
Cosmic Critters features a soundtrack of original songs which capture the high energy and big dreams of our critters and the alien friends (and foes!) they encounter on a thousand fantastical worlds!
WHY US
As a writing team (Mary and Max the musical , Rain and Zoe Save the World), we are both animal lovers and activists. Composer Bobby Cronin has worked as a veterinarian assistant, and writer Crystal Skillman has helped assist animal rescue groups. With Cosmic Critters we began to explore writing a musical animated show that asks what kind of animal aliens might be out there waiting for us? Can humans appreciate animalkind in a new way? How can we explore this new frontier but also find a solution for saving our own planet? And what can happen when our earth critters meet up with some extraordinary extraterrestrials?
The Critters Crew
TINA
(Female, tween, tortoise) is an eternal optimist driven by a sense of adventure. A whiz at creating clever inventions that often saves her friends. As captain, in her obsession in keeping her crew home safe, Tina can be “hard-shelled” and plow ahead without checking in with her crew.
ALAN
(Male, teens, monkey) is Tina’s best friend and first officer. Alan is one neurotic and pessimistic lemur. He admires Tina’s bravery and forces himself to join in on her courageous adventures to keep her safe. Alan always looks before he leaps but is incredibly loyal. Tina relies on Alan more than anyone else and Alan knows this and tries his absolute best to never let her down.
HAM
(Male, Middle-Aged Chimp, Queer) Tina’s mentor with a zen-like guru personality, often Ham’s advice is not as useful as it seems. Ham has only known being kept in a cage his whole life so his wisdom is purely theoretical and not borne from any practical experience. He never plans anything out in advance and is always “living in the moment”. Totally chill in the face of danger, Ham’s bizarre philosophy helps Tina see the deeper truth of situations or other critters intensions that helps her make tough decisions as Captain. In front of the crew, Alan makes it clear he finds Ham absolutely annoying, but often seeks his advice privately.
The Fruit Loops
(Gender Fluid, twenty nine days old [and never a day older since they went into space!], fruit flies) Giggly flighty fruit flies, they operate as the entertainment of the ship as a pop singing group, and also have a keen ear for communicating sonically (like dolphins) on the same frequency of the new lifeforms they encounter.
Lois
(Female, one year old, spider) The ballsy, fast-paced spider who operates as the newsroom of the lab. She loves a good gossip “Cheers and Jeers” column, and loves her name in all the papers!
Ginny the Guinea
Ginny the Guinea (Female, late twenties in human years) The Mid-Western mom of a ton of Guiana baby pigs. She becomes the school teacher on the ship, head of the Critters Junior Explorers troupe, and LOVES putting on intergalactic space musicals. Who doesn’t love “Cats” in space?!
Peppy Pig
(Male, ten in pig years), a vegan who becomes Chef of the ship. Refined with an expertise in Pig-Latin, Peppy is able to speak and pick up on other Critters’ languages very easily. Unfortunately in terms of translating them correctly, Peppy’s “golden tongue” gets tongue-tied in ways that end up creating more confusion. Oopsyay!
Roger Raccoon
(Male, teens) can take anything apart and loves to boost that he can fix stuff, but gets distracted easily. Half Scotty from Star Trek of the group and half frat boy, he keeps adding onto the ship useless, “fun” items like a ping pong room or space hammocks.
Jewel
(Female, one year, Guinea Pig) our Junior Explorer and an overzealous Gen-Z-er, Jewel stows away on secret missions! As bold as she is, she’s also shy, and rarely speaks. She’s a real introvert/extrovert.
“Coach” Commander Bullfrog
(Male, elder) A stern “Patton” type, but has a big heart. Always trying so hard to get his crew to “leap” into shape but they are after all … rats. He becomes Chief of Operations, but unfortunately he has a froggy way of jumping to conclusions.
Lab Rats
(Gender Fluid, all ages) who only speak in short one word sentences and race in their wheels. The rats loyally follow Coach Commander Bullfrog as the repair crew of the ship, using their long tails as wrenches and screwdrivers for repairs.
Mack the Mouse
Mack the Mouse (Male, middle aged in mice years) Total hutzpah, old school Italian, born in Brooklyn. Leader of the animal’s version of Mission Control in Houston.
Cosmic Critters:
Extraterrestrial Animal Aliens
Xui
(Age unknown) a gray Kola-like creature, has the power of mixing science with the mystical power of what he’s learned from studying intergalactic critters across galaxies making him a renowned warrior. He can see into the future, and shares that Tina’s journey to meet the ancients can only happen if she chooses the correct space path. Xui is also a trickster. Is he helping Tina, or hindering her? One of the three leaders of the International League of Cosmic Critters.
Dot
(Age unknown) is a white, small, ephemeral floating arctic fox-like creature. She can see into the past, and shares that Tina’s mother and father, who Tina never knew, have visited the Ancients in the past. Warm and motherly, Dot teaches Tina how to use the resources of the planets. One of the three leaders of the International League of Cosmic Critters.
Treemous
(Age unknown) is a dark blue huge sloth-like entity. He is mighty but silent, and only speaks when he has something to say. He can unearth the power of the present. In charge of the hall of records. Stern and serious, he helps Tina and her crew know intimate details of the species they will meet. One of the three leaders of the International League of Cosmic Critters.
Twees
little bird like creatures that seem to populate most planets. They pop up everywhere! They are forever on the hunt for space worms.
The Ancients
a rumored group of space tortoises who began communicating with earth. Tina believes this is the larger family she is meant to make contact with.
Cercia
(Female, twelve - the same age as Tina) is the leader of the Purlons. Whatever planet she has visited, the inhabitants seem to have disappeared. A violent force, a Purlon’s appearance is strikingly beautiful and elegant. They have a purple tiger-like quality to them with a back of sharp, throwable quills (that can be quite deadly!). Cercia feels pressured to live up to her family’s name, and her mother’s villainous plans.
Humans: Eternally Annoying and Clueless!