If you’re into anime and roller derby with a diverse cast, you’ll probably want to check out a new animated series called “Wheels & Roses.”
Orange Blossom Studios, an online-based, independent animation studio created by queer Cantonese-Jamaican founder Pearl Low, recently released the pilot episode for the series.
The studio believes that creating animation has no borders:
We want to work with artists no matter where they’re from!
The studio strives to center diverse magical and cultural stories: “This means centering not only our audience but the people behind each production to showcase our authentic lived experiences and cultural backgrounds.”
Folks on the team have worked for major animation studios including A24, Sony Animation, Cartoon Network, Powerhouse Animation, Studio MAPPA and Yokohama Animation Lab.
Low (they/them) has worked as a director, story artist and writer in animation for over 10 years. They also work in publishing as a writer and illustrator.
Low is the director and creator of “Wheels & Roses,” and has directed at Sanrio and Studio Smokescreen. They have storyboarded on projects such as Sony Pictures Animation’s “Hair Love,” Cartoon Network’s “Craig of the Creek,” A24’s “#1 Happy Family USA” and Netflix’s “Canvas.”
Their work has earned them an Oscar for Best Animated Short film for “Hair Love,” an NAACP Award for Outstanding Short Film for their work on Canvas, an NAACP Image Award nomination for their episode “A League of Maya’s Own” in “Craig of the Creek” and an Annie Award nomination for Best Writing TV/Media for their episode “Whose Dimension is it Anyway?” (“Craig of the Creek”).
In publishing, Low has worked for Scholastic adapting two volumes of the series “The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids” into graphic novels. They have also worked for OwlKids magazine and Great Books Foundation creating educational and engaging illustrative materials for children in grades 2 to 5.
Creating community through storytelling is at the heart of why Low tells the types of stories they do: “Celebrating the authenticity of our personhoods and lived experiences is how we connect with one another.”
Low believes there’s no better way than using the limitless medium that is storytelling to achieve this.
In an interview with Crunchyroll, Low says:
“I fundamentally believe that art plays a huge part in reflecting our own humanity back at us. That can’t happen if we don’t highlight and center different perspectives from different people. We as a collective are not a monolith. We don’t all have the same experiences and that’s the point! We should have space to share our specific lived experiences and how we uniquely move through the world. It’s only through creating space for the diversity of our stories that we’ll come to better understand one another.
“WHEELS & ROSES is my way of trying to create space for QTBIPOC to shine! Because I want to tell a story that’s rooted in authenticity, I of course have to have people behind the scenes be from a diverse range of backgrounds. Diversity behind the production matters just as much as the diverse characters we see on screen. You can’t fake authenticity. The audience can tell.”
Check out the short pilot episode below.
