Pixar veteran Sanjay Patel, writer and director of the Oscar- and Annie Award-nominated animated short Sanjay’s Super Team (2015), has launched an adorable, cheerful animated preschool series, Ghee Happy. Inspired by the Hindu pantheon, 20 x 11′ episodes will roll out from November 6 leading up to the Diwali holiday (November 12) on YouTube.
The 3D CG series playfully reimagines Hindu deities as little kids discovering their powers through their daily adventures in a divine daycare called Ghee Happy. Each episode follows Kali, Saraswati, Krishna, and Ganesha as they encounter and learn about the rest of the Hindu pantheon. Together they celebrate traditions like kite fighting and rakhi, as well as learning the real meaning of Diwali, the festival of lights.
Along with the animated series debut, Patel also has three new children’s books, released on October 24 by Chronicle Books. Fans of his previous title Ganesha’s Sweet Tooth (2015) can pick up the follow-up picture book Ganesha’s Great Race, in which Ganesha and his brother Kartikeya compete over a magical mango and race around the world (co-authored by Emily Haynes). To build on the Ghee Happy animated series, two new board books titled Ghee Happy Goddesses and Ghee Happy Gods are also on sale, introducing young kids to the core deities of the Hindu pantheon.
Patel is known for his work on numerous Pixar films such as Monsters Inc., Ratatouille, Cars, Toy Story 2, The Incredibles and Incredibles 2. He directed the Pixar-produced animated short Sanjay’s Super Team, inspired by his own childhood, which was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards and for Best Animated Short Subject at the 43rd Annie Awards.
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