San Francisco-based Luminous Blue is developing a new CG-animated series inspired by Slim Goodbody (pictured left), a costumed character created by kids author and actor John Burstein in 1975 to teach kids about health and biology.

Sporting a flesh-toned unitard depicting all of the human body’s organs in anatomically correct detail, Slim made his TV debut in 1976 as a guest on Captain Kangaroo, where he continued to make regular appearances until the early ’80s. He also starred in his own PBS series, Inside Story, which ran for two years on the US public broadcaster from 1980 to 1981.

Burstein still performs live on stage in the US, and in 2020, he made a video to teach kids about COVID-19 and how to properly wash their hands. His back catalogue of videos and specials is currently available on Discovery Education, and he has received awards from Parent’s Choice and the World Health Organization for his work over the last 40 years. 

Targeting four- to eight-year-olds, Luminous Blue’s Slim Goodbody Animated Series (working title) will put an action-adventure spin on what was originally a purely educational content play. It revolves around Robody (pictured right) the robot and a group of kid explorers who navigate the human body and learn how it functions (exploring how food travels through the digestive system, for example, or the way blood flows). The 52 x 11-minute series will mix CG, 2D and stop-motion animation, and the studio behind it is working to secure financing from broadcasters and distributors.

Luminous Blue is a relatively new animation company that was established in 2020 by industry veterans Norman Praught (Lucasfilm, DreamWorks, Sony), Randy Gaul (Lucasfilm, DreamWorks, Legendary) and John Edwards (Warner Bros. Television). They brokered this series deal with Claudia Scott-Hansen and Rob Bencal’s franchise management company Cookbook Media, which manages the Slim Goodbody brand.

Coming out of the experience of living through the pandemic, which has left an indelible stamp on Gen Alpha worldwide, kids are hyper-aware of and focused on issues to do with health. In data from last year, about a third (29%) of 12- to 15-year-olds in the US describe themselves as health-conscious, according to research firm GWI. And during the pandemic in 2021, The Insights Family found that kids were 51% more concerned about their health than they were in 2020. 

This widespread interest in health makes it the perfect time to reinvent Slim Goodbody, according to Scott-Hansen. “One of the reasons we wanted to work on this brand was that, coming out of the pandemic, kids were talking and hearing about body and mental health more than ever before, yet there seems to be a lack of fundamental knowledge about how their own bodies and minds actually work, and also about the direct effects their actions have on their health.”

While Slim is still entertaining kids in the US today, and while he remains popular among nostalgic parents, Luminous has decided to move away from the character being a central focal point in order to make a more modern and globally appealing series, says Praught. 

“We are reframing the body and health in today’s context with an emphasis on inclusivity and the ways in which all of our bodies are at once similar and also unique and special,” says Praught. “As our understanding of the body has progressed since the 1970s and 1980s, so will our show’s content. We’re inspired by Slim’s health curiosity and wonder, but the show will be very different from anything you’ve seen from the Slim brand to date.”