LOS ANGELES - Emmy Award-winning animator and creator JJ Villard (Instagram: @JJVILLARD) is the creative mind behind the new animated series of shorts Scaredy Cat. Now streaming on the Warner Bros. TV YouTube channel,
Scaredy Cat is a spooky comedy for kids and families about a timid half-cat, half-Vietnamese boy, who is scared of everything. The seven-minute episodes also feature his fearless best friend, Ghost Girl, who helps him face his fears. Together, Scaredy Cat and Ghost Girl take on monsters, mysteries and magical secrets hidden beneath their hometown of Santa Barbara.
Villard has spent over two decades in animation, with credits that include contributions to Shrek 5, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and numerous DreamWorks and television productions. He is also the Emmy Award-winning creator of Adult Swim's
King Star King and
JJ Villard's Fairy Tales.
According to Villard, the shorts were inspired by his own childhood. Scaredy Cat celebrates friendship, being different and finding the courage to face one's fears. Growing up Vietnamese, Villard often felt like an outsider. He wanted to create something personal that would remind kids that it's okay to be scared and that being different is something to embrace.
The shorts are produced by Cartoon Network Studios and the animation is created digitally, though compositing and treatments give it the feel of traditional, hand-drawn cel animation.