From 9 May 2005 his character Yoke will appear on
the broadcaster's afternoon adventure franchise Miguzi.
Spears conceived, drew and entered Yoke into the network’s
Miguzi Make a Monsterpiece” contest. This was
a seven-week on-air, online and print campaign that
ran from 22 November, 2004 to 15 January, 2005.
It challenged viewers to create and submit a Miguzi-style
monster of their own. More than 100,000 entries were
received on official print entry forms placed in popular
youth magazines. Kids then voted at CartoonNetwork.com
for the winner from the top 10 finalist entries as
determined by Cartoon Network’s expert team of
animators. Following more than 570,000 online votes,
Spears’ entry emerged as the winner, securing
its permanent addition to the Miguzi cast of
characters.
In addition to Yoke soon appearing as a character
in Miguzi, Spears and his family were flown
from Sacramento to Atlanta in order to personally
meet with Miguzi's creative team and to observe the
animation process that will bring Yoke”to life.
Computer animation will be used to create a full
three-dimensional look to the character, as well as
realistic movement for the character and interaction
with the other cast members: Erin, Big Stalks, Flip,
Curly, Tre, Remo, Woofer and Tweet. Spears said, “It
was so cool to come to Atlanta and meet everyone involved
with bringing Yoke to life. I wasn’t exactly
sure how he would look but the Miguzi team
made him look just like I thought he would. This experience
has been so much more than I ever thought it would
be.”
Launched in April 2004, Mihuzi is Cartoon
Network’s daily afternoon destination for the
best action-adventure entertainment for kids 6-11.
The block is built around a fantastic undersea environment,
where kids find compelling animated action-adventure
programming along with comedic elements.
Miguzi is set on an abandoned spaceship buried
in the ocean. Each day, The Leviathan, a giant sea
monster, transports Erin, the franchise’s CG
host, to the submersed ship. Once inside the spaceship,
Erin and the sea creatures all settle in to watch
the shows, when the fun begins. Miguzi also
features live-action segments profiling entertainers,
athletes and everyday heroes ranging from comic book
artists to the country’s top street basketball
players. These lifestyle pieces further bridge the
gap between real life action-adventure and animation.
