Veteran Indian American Pixar director and animator Sanjay Patel is behind Netflix’s latest animated series, “Ghee Happy.” But this is not a run-of-the-mill show.
The preschool series from the Academy Award-nominated Patel is a playful reimagining of the Hindu deities as little kids discovering their powers in a deity daycare called Ghee Happy!
Patel is best known for his work on numerous Pixar films, such as “Monsters Inc.,” “Ratatouille,” “Toy Story 2” and “The Incredibles 1 and 2.” He directed the short animated film, “Sanjay’s Super Team,” inspired by his own childhood, which was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 88th Academy Awards, and for Best Animated Short Subject at the 43rd Annie Awards.
In an earlier interview, Patel told India-West that learning about Hindu mythology helped him better understand his parents.
“In my house when we sneeze, we say Sita Ram,” Patel explained to India-West. “I had no idea what that meant. Now I know there are two very sacred characters from ‘Ramayana.’ I never knew what my father’s name Gopal meant; now I know it’s another name for Krishna… The stories unlocked different parts of my parents, and ultimately led me to appreciate and respect them.”
“As I started reading, I was, like, these are timeless characters, there is timeless wisdom here, and this is archetypal stuff, and I was so inspired by it,” added Patel. (Read the interview here: https://bit.ly/2p4INf3)
“For the past 25 years, I’ve been working in kids and family entertainment without having kids of my own. Having finally become a parent, I’m so excited and lucky to be able to create a preschool series that introduces the great pantheon of Hindu Deities, not just into a beautiful and colorful series that is truly entertaining and original to my kiddos, but to families around the world,” Patel said in a statement.
“Ghee Happy” joins a robust slate of Netflix original animated series from all over the world, including Rajiv Chilaka’s global phenomenon, “Mighty Little Bheem.” (Read earlier India-West story here: https://bit.ly/2p4IUY1)
No launch date has been announced as yet.
“Sanjay’s art is vibrant, magical, and – above all else – incredibly happy! He has introduced his culture to his own kids through this show and now – thanks to the power of Netflix – kids and families everywhere will get to share in these inspiring and accessible stories,” said Dominique Bazay, director of kids and family at Netflix.