Six years ago, Buffalo native Joseph Giardina arrived in Los Angeles to begin his career in professional animation. His journey began when he was hired as a production assistant on The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, which opened him up to several other opportunities. His work in animation has led him to become part of several huge projects, including The Curious George Movie, the show Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends, The Powerpuff Girls 10th anniversary episode, and even a cartoon titled “Beer 101: A History of Beer.”
Not only does Giardina assist in the production of big name animations, however. He also has co-created and directed a short film for Cartoon Network titled “The Awesome Chronicles of Manny and Khan.” This cartoon has been posted on the Cartoon Network website and is continuously gaining fan support on the Internet.
“The Awesome Chronicles of Manny and Khan is about two best friends that live in a tree, with one goal in life, and that is to be aaaaawesommmme,” Giardina said. “It’s a simple cartoon, a cartoony cartoon, a cartoon for cartoon lovers.” The main characters are Manny–a half man, half platypus who is “big, furry, and optimistic,” and his counterpart, Khan, who is a little man dressed like a leprechaun who is constantly “grumpstrated” (grumpy and frustrated at the same time). “Ultimately, these two goofballs are just little kids trapped in adults’ bodies and each one is dumber than the other,” Giardina said.
The idea for the cartoon arose in 2007 when Giardina was working at Cartoon Network. During their routine walks home from work, he and co-worker Josh Lieberman let their imaginations conspire. Soon, a cartoon idea was born. “Bigfoot and The Gnome,” as it was initially titled, was pitched to Cartoon Network with the hope that they would bring it in as part of their short film project called “The Cartoonstitute.” This project was designed to create 39 seven-minute, creator-driven short films. After renaming the main characters Manny and Khan, Cartoon Network agreed to take on the short and production began in August 2008.
The creation process, though challenging at times, was “like a dream” for Giardina and Lieberman. “Despite the intense schedule and overwhelming amount of man hours I put into it, at no point did it feel like work,” he said. They mainly took a traditional approach, using paper, pencils, and paint. Eventually, some of their work was translated into digital format. Thankfully, they had a hardworking team of artists on board to help them bring their idea to life.
At this point, the greatest challenge that Giardina and Lieberman are facing is promoting the cartoon short so that it can reach its full potential as a regular, full-season cartoon series. “Due to the declining global economic state at the time, the Cartoonstitute program was cut and only 14 of the original 39 shorts were made,” Giardina said. “Since then, two of them have been picked up for a full season.” The remaining projects have been put on the Cartoon Network website, leaving it up to the creators to promote their own work.
There is hope, however, for Manny and Khan. They have started to gain an online following and one fan even started a fan page for the cartoon on Facebook in hopes of encouraging Cartoon Network to take the show on as a regular series. Last week, the short was getting about 300 views a day on Youtube and hit 17,000 views total. This method of online promotion, when it sparks a substantial response, has worked in the past for other shorts and hopefully will do the same for Manny and Khan.
While the ultimate goal for Giardina and Lieberman is to get Manny and Khan on television, they are also exploring other paths. “For now, we are talking with the fine people at Cartoon Network about alternative ways of continuing Manny and Khan’s story, Giardina said. “We are thinking a comic strip or book could be a fun way to go. At this point, nothing is set in stone just yet.”
Those interested in viewing The
Awesome Chronicles of Manny and Khan can find it on Youtube or the Cartoon
Network website. Facebook also has
a Manny and Khan Fan Page for anyone who would like to help promote the
short. Giardina and Lieberman each
have their own sites where one can view their other projects.