Twelve Forever
Twelve Forever is an American animated web series created by Julia Vickerman, a former writer and storyboard artist known for her work on Clarence and The Powerpuff Girls. Twelve Forever premiered in the United States on Netflix on July 29, 2019.[1][2]
| Twelve Forever | |
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| Genre | |
| Created by | Julia Vickerman |
| Directed by |
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| Voices of |
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| Theme music composer | Adam Deibert Jarond Gibbs |
| Opening theme | "Twelve Forever" |
| Composers |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 25 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Editors |
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| Running time |
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| Production companies | Puny Entertainment
(Season 1) The Cartel |
| Distributor | Netflix |
| Release | |
| Original network | Netflix |
| Picture format | 1080p (16:9 HDTV) |
| Original release | July 29, 2019 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The original pilot was produced for Cartoon Network, by Cartoon Network Studios, and was originally released on their website on May 18, 2015. In December 2017, it was announced that Netflix had acquired the rights to Twelve Forever for a full series, with production duties being handled by The Cartel and Puny Entertainment.[3][4] Shadi Petosky began working on the show sometime before July 2017, when she hoped for more episodes of Danger & Eggs.[5]
One of the executive producers of the series, Petosky, described Reggie as a queer character "coming to terms with her sexuality".[6][7] The series also features a number of other LGBTQ characters: Mack and Beefhouse,[8] a couple in the fantasy world of Endless Island, and Galaxander, who previously had a boyfriend.[9] Ultimately, the series ended after its first season with no further plans to continue it, as noted by Petosky in a tweet.[10] As such, GLAAD recognized the series as one of those shows released in 2019 with LGBTQ representation.[11]
Premise
The series centers on Reggie Abbott (Kelsy Abbott), an imaginative 12-year-old whose desire to remain a child is so powerful she can enter another world in which she never has to grow up: an island called Endless where her childhood toys and drawings are real. She is joined by her friends Todd (Antony Del Rio) and Esther Hopkins (Jaylen Barron), who visit this amazing world to live out their superhero fantasies and escape the responsibilities of impending adulthood. Life and reality often catch up with them in Endless as the preteens start dealing with growing pains and conflicts develop between them. The negativity the friends experience while dealing with their new complicated problems feed their enemy, the nefarious Butt Witch (Matt Berry), who seeks to destroy Endless.
Voice cast
- Kelsy Abbott as Reggie, Wade, Kathy, Flaps, Flowery Woman, Billy Canyon, Tammy, Dr. Tenders, Swimple Jan, Plates, Mike, Omelet, Winged Moyse
- Antony Del Rio as Todd, Chairold, Garrett, Sherbert
- Jaylen Barron as Esther, Pretty Please, Tater Tot, Gorbis, Darla, Tori
- Matt Berry as The Butt Witch
- Steve Agee as Big Deal, Mack, Beefhouse, Galaxander, Hunk, Monster Brown Roger
- Wade Randolph as Borbo, Dr. Champion, Mr. Christopherson, Label Maker Monster, Lump, Uncle Paul, AJ, Bobby
- Laura Zak as Mrs. Krandle, Tanopy, Explorer Sally, Pancake, Rooty, Lorbis, Queen Limerick
- Bridget Everett as Judy
- Spencer Rothbell as Colin, Swimple Dan, Tasty Troy, Pitui-Terry, Squad Bro, Rance, Big Ol' Gordon, Jacques Board, Shaun
- Nick Sumida as Bags of Marbles, Beth, Chewing Gum Stanley, Garrett, Señor Corduroy
- Brandon Wardell as Dustin
- Daniel Amerman as Aaron
- Sam Brown as Manny, Schmaaron
- Noel Fielding as Guy Pleasant
- Kate Freund as Donna
- John Eric Bentley as Mr. Kapusinski
- Ron Funches as Manguin
- Brittany Ashley as Kendra, Leslie
- Amy Sedaris as Sadmantha
- Maximus Riegel as Ogden
- Stephanie Beatriz as Conelly
- Chris Fleming as Mr. Fleming
- Ashley Boettcher as Gwen
- Curt Neill as Rodney
- Paul Williams as Captain Elmer
- Reese Hartwig as Shane (Pilot only)
- Jorge Diaz as Tristan (Pilot only)
Production
LGBTQ representation
Twelve Forever had a number of LGBTQ characters. This included Galaxander, a gay inhabitant of Endless Island,[12] and a gay couple, Mack Beefhouse, in the same fantasy world.[8] More prominently was Reggie Abbott, the protagonist. She has a crush on Conelly, a 13-year-old schoolmate with whom she shares the same taste in imagining and creating stories, as shown in the two-part episode "Locked Out Forever". Due to the show's abrupt ending, Shadi Petosky, one of the executive producers, stated they won't be able to further explore that aspect of the character/relationship.[13] Elsewhere, Petosky described Reggie as a queer character "coming to terms with her sexuality".[6]
Episodes
Cartoon Network pilot (2015)
| Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Twelve Forever" | Nick Cross (art) & Robert Alvarez (timing) | Julia Vickerman | Julia Vickerman & Victor Courtright (additional) | May 18, 2015 |
Season 1 (2019)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original release date | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Birthday Forever" | John Mathot | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Kelsy Abbott | Phylicia Fuentes & Nick Sumida | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Reggie's imagination unlocks a wild and wonderful world where she can be herself – and escape the pressures of growing up. | |||||||||||
| 2 | "The Butt Witch Forever" | Annisa Adjani | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Spencer Rothbell | Erica Jones & Meghan Tryon | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Trying to avoid learning about puberty, Reggie accidentally unleashes the Butt Witch on their world. | |||||||||||
| 3 | "Esther Forever" | John Mathot | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Laura Zak | Mike Bertino & Ron Stanage | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Esther, the new girl at school, tries to join Reggie and Todd's crew. | |||||||||||
| 4 | "Guy Pleasant Forever" | Annisa Adjani | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Tony Infante & Richard Lee | Ashlyn Anstee & Nicolette Wood | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| When his big brother moves away for college, Todd tries to create a new brother. | |||||||||||
| 5 | "Endless Forever" | John Mathot | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Kelsy Abbott | Phylicia Fuentes & Nick Sumida | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Todd and Esther try to investigate Endless' mysteries. | |||||||||||
| 6 | "Dustin Forever" | Annisa Adjani | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Spencer Rothbell | Erica Jones & Meghan Tryon | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Reggie tries to reconnect with her brother in filming their series "Space Draculas." | |||||||||||
| 7 | "Mack and Beefhouse Forever" | John Mathot & Nick Sumida | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Kelsy Abbott | Mike Bertino & Ron Stanage | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| The Butt Witch tries to create friction between Mack and Beefhouse. | |||||||||||
| 8 | "The Mall Forever" | Annisa Adjani | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Laura Zak | Ashlyn Anstee & Nicolette Wood | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Reggie's mom takes her and Esther to the mall to buy something nice. | |||||||||||
| 9 | "School Forever" | John Mathot & Nick Sumida | Story by : Spencer Rothbell Teleplay by : Tony Infante | Phylicia Fuentes & Nick Sumida | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| After an annoying day at school, the kids try teaching lessons in Endless. | |||||||||||
| 10 | "Secrets Forever" | Annisa Adjani | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Laura Zak | Erica Jones & Meghan Tryon | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| The gang discovers a grocery store on Endless. | |||||||||||
| 11 | "Manguin Forever" | Nick Sumida | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Spencer Rothbell | Mike Bertino & Ron Stanage | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Reggie hires a penguin assistant to help with her garden. | |||||||||||
| 12 | "Fancy Forever" | Annisa Adjani | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Kelsy Abbott | Ashlyn Anstee & Nicolette Wood | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Reggie attempts to become the best-dressed person on Endless. | |||||||||||
| 13 | "The Locals Forever" | John Mathot & Nick Sumida | Kelsy Abbott | Phylicia Fuentes & Nick Sumida | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| The gang spies on the residents of Endless. | |||||||||||
| 14 | "Reggie's Dad Forever" | Annisa Adjani | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Laura Zak | Erica Jones & Meghan Tryon | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Reggie finds a box of her dad's stuff and releases a sad spirit in Endless. | |||||||||||
| 15 | "Babysitting Forever" | Nick Sumida | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Spencer Rothbell | Diana Lafyatis & Ron Stanage | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Reggie tries babysitting and ends up taking the kid to Endless with her. | |||||||||||
| 16 | "Not Twelve Forever" | Annisa Adjani | Kelsy Abbott | Ashlyn Anstee & Nicolette Wood | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Big Deal tries to impress the Butt Witch. | |||||||||||
| 17 18 | "Locked Out Forever" (Part 1–2) | Nick Sumida | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Laura Zak | Phylicia Fuentes & Sydney Sharp | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Annisa Adjani | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Laura Zak | Erica Jones & Meghan Tryon | July 29, 2019 | ||||||||
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Part 1: Reggie develops a crush on Conelly, an eighth grade girl. Part 2: Reggie tries to figure out how to get back into Endless. | |||||||||||
| 19 | "Brown Roger Forever" | Nick Sumida | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Spencer Rothbell | Katie Mitroff & Ron Stanage | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| The Butt Witch starts to influence Brown Roger. | |||||||||||
| 20 | "Spring Break Forever" | Annisa Adjani | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Kelsy Abbott | Raj Brueggemann & Nicolette Wood | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Reggie's stuck in the hospital during Spring Break. | |||||||||||
| 21 | "Dance Forever" | Nick Sumida | Spencer Rothbell | Phylicia Fuentes & Sydney Sharp | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Todd meets a new girl named Gwen and the gang goes to a school dance. | |||||||||||
| 22 | "Audition Forever" | Annisa Adjani | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Laura Zak | Erica Jones & Meghan Tryon | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Todd tries out for a band, but they choose Esther instead. | |||||||||||
| 23 | "A Stranger Forever" | Nick Sumida | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Kelsy Abbott | Katie Mitroff & Kyle Neswald | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Captain Elmer arrives on Endless, but Todd and Esther are suspicious of him. | |||||||||||
| 24 | "Todd Forever" | Annisa Adjani | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Spencer Rothbell | Raj Brueggemann & Jay Hasrajani | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| Reggie plans a huge 13th birthday surprise for Todd. | |||||||||||
| 25 | "Together Forever" | Nick Sumida & Ed Tadem | Story by : Julia Vickerman Teleplay by : Laura Zak | Grace Liu, Dan Stone & Sydney Sharp | July 29, 2019 | ||||||
| The Butt Witch tries to manipulate the gang while they're fighting. | |||||||||||
Reception
There have been a variety of reviews. Lacey Womack of ScreenRant praised the series[14] while others praised the "great pedigree" of those working on the show.[15] While some described the show as having a "sense of its Midwest, small town setting as the backdrop of conformist pressure" and compared it to Gravity Falls,[16] and praised its LGBTQ representation, putting it alongside shows such as Steven Universe, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, The Dragon Prince, and OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes.[17] At the same time, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction contributor Steven Pearce gave a short positive review of the show, arguing that the show juggles dark and light, the real world and the imagined world, with Endless acting out "metaphorical versions of Reggie's real-world problems."[18] Pearce also argued that the series is good and inventive, bringing in surrealism, "pre-teen angst, humour and twelve year-olds using flame-throwers." In January 2020, GLAAD nominated the show for its Outstanding Kids & Family Programming award, along with a host of other shows.[19]
Controversy, cancellation, and possibility of a second season
In September 2019, a Tumblr post from 2010 by Julia Vickerman, the show's creator and executive producer, was revealed which seemed to talk about self-described pedophilia involving a 14-year-old boy, putting the show in jeopardy.[20][21] The same month, Shadi Petosky announced that the show had been cancelled in a now-deleted tweet, but did not mention the controversy around Vickerman.[10] While Petosky was described as the executive producer on the show in a July 2019 AP article on LGBTQ representation in animation,[6] she stated in September 2019 that she had no connection with the show since the show's first season had premiered on Netflix earlier that year.[22] The following year, in two articles published in April and May 2020, Lacey Womack of Screen Rant stated the show was "on an indefinite hiatus,"[23] with uncertain plans for the future.[14] Since then, Petosky has appreciated those who praised her work on the show and said that she was doing live-action comedy and dramedy in the future.[lower-alpha 1]
Notes
- See this tweet exchange on December 11, 2019 and this tweet exchange from August 2019.
References
- Baron, Reuben (April 2, 2019). "20 Netflix Originals Coming 2019 We Can't Wait For (And 10 That Look Awful)". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- Flook, Ray (December 7, 2017). "Twelve Forever: Netflix Nabs Julia Vickerman Animated Series for 2019". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- Flores, Terry (December 1, 2017). "Netflix Picks Up New Animated Series 'Twelve Forever' for 2019". Variety. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- Milligan, Mercedes (December 3, 2017). "Netflix Orders 'Twelve Forever' Series from 'Powerpuff,' 'Clarence' Vet". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- Petosky, Shadi (July 30, 2017). "Shadi Petosky of Danger & Eggs". Office Magazine (Online). Interviewed by Sasha Leon. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
- Italie, Leanne (July 31, 2019). "Bandwagon builds for LGBTQ diversity on children's TV". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 11, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
- Sayle, Hannah (June 20, 2018). "How queer-friendly cartoon 'Danger & Eggs' shook up kids' TV". City Pages. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- Romano, Nick (September 6, 2019). "How The Bravest Knight is turning the tide for LGBTQ kids programming". EW. Archived from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- Twelve Forever [@NetflixTwelve] (August 6, 2019). "That awkward moment when you come across a picture of your ex... #Galaxander - An immediate fan favorite. #twelveforever #netflix" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020 – via Twitter.
- Petosky, Shadi [@shadipetosky] (September 18, 2019). "Our Netflix show Twelve Forever has a canon queer pre-teen main character. I am bummed we don't have future seasons to explore it, but we did it, and it's possible" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 18, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019 – via Twitter.
- Romano, Nick (November 7, 2019). "LGBTQ representation on TV hits all time high, GLAAD report card finds". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- Twelve Forever [@NetflixTwelve] (August 6, 2019). "That awkward moment when you come across a picture of your ex... #Galaxander - An immediate fan favorite. #twelveforever #netflix" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020 – via Twitter.
- Petosky, Shadi [@shadipetosky] (September 18, 2019). "Our Netflix show Twelve Forever has a canon queer pre-teen main character. I am bummed we don't have future seasons to explore it, but we did it, and it's possible" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 18, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019 – via Twitter.
- Womack, Lacey (April 8, 2020). "10 Animated Series That All Ages Can Appreciate". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- Ho, Rodney (May 13, 2020). "14 new streaming shows for younger kids". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- Johnson, Kevin (January 10, 2020). "Gravity Falls fans may find a lot to like in Disney's The Owl House". The A.V. Club. G/O Media. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- Rudolph, Dina (March 4, 2020). "Needing more than a moment: LGBTQ representation in children's media". Windy City Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- Pearce, Steven (March 9, 2020). "Twelve Forever". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- Ramos, Dino-Ray (January 8, 2020). "GLAAD Media Awards Nominations: Netflix Leads Pack That Includes HBO, Disney+ And Apple TV+ – Full List". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- Cetrulo, Nicolette (September 24, 2019). "Julia Vickerman's Pedophilia Allegation Reveals A Double Standard For Male And Female Predators". The Odyssey. Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- Trejo, Shaun (September 3, 2019). "Creator of Netflix Kids Show Wrote Blog about Stalking and Lusting Over 14-Year-Old Boy". Big League Politics. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- Shadi Petosky [@shadipetosky] (August 31, 2019). "I have heard this rumor. I get that it is coming from a sweet place but I don't have any connection to the show since we delivered Season 1 in the spring. Prior to that — 100s of rad folks made it good!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on September 1, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2020 – via Twitter.
- Womack, Lacey (May 3, 2020). "10 Shows To Watch If You Miss Steven Universe". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
