Video: Animated Children’s Series Produced By Northeast Mississippi Ministry With National Reach

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – It was a packed house at Tupelo’s Malco Theater for the premiere of “Ryan Defrates: Secret Agent.”

The animated children’s series is the brainchild of brother and sister duo Jeremy and Kendra White. Kendra works for American Family Studios, which is part of American Family Association.

“You have Ryan Defrates, he is a spy, and he thinks he knows everything, he is super cool, he has a lot to learn, he gets partnered with his mom, Deb, and she is a coupon cutting, purse swirling, fierce mom who is wise and loving,” Kendra said.

There are also villains, such as Granny, who creates an exploding hot sauce, and Cackle the Clown, who has a cupcake launcher.

Each episode creates a theme targeting kids and families, with a biblical message.

“A lot of people say we have an agenda, and we do have an agenda, we want to bring truth to your families a positive and encouraging message,” Kendra said.

This is the first animated project for American Family Studios. AFS has partnered with Texas based “Cat In the Mill” Studios, for animation and development of the 13 part series. Robert Fernandez and his studio brought the series from the storyboard stage to the finished product.

“It’s like a Saturday morning cartoon style, so what we had to do is develop characters. Once we got the script, it was like , what do characters look like, what are they going to wear, what are their expressions and give the characters life and a soul,” Fernandez said.

As director of American Family Studios, Jeff Chamblee oversees all projects. He says “Ryan Defrates” Secret Agent is part of the ministry’s mission.

“For years, American Family Association has been active in cleaning up media, taking bad material, and bad media off, working with advertisers to do that. This is one of the times we’re reaching forward and offering something wholesome for families, great moral values and a strong Christian worldview,” Chamblee said.

So far, three episodes of Ryan Defrates Secret Agent are complete. The series is available on DVD and several networks are interested in carrying it.

Work on the remaining ten episodes is underway. For more information, go to www.ryansecretagent.com