Development began in 2010. An alternate reality game titled Animism: The Sacred Sites debuted that year. The six-episode first season, Animism: The Gods' Lake, aired in 2013.[1][2] A second season, Animism: Titan Falls, is in development.
Background
It began as a developing alternate reality game in summer 2010 titled Animism: The Gods' Lake to promote the upcoming TV series still in development for APTN.[3] It had an active site by autumn 2010 where the project was retitled Animism: The Sacred Sites.[4] The ARG finally launched 1 January 2013 a few weeks before the show.[5]
Setting
The story begins in Grind City with environmental activists from Grind City University[6] engaging in eco-terrorism against Grind City Futures, a local developer.
Characters
The three supernatural siblings
The Mother, dark-skinned earth goddess. Voiced by Jo Bates.
The Wetiko (aliases Weiko, Weko, Weti and Wiko in CC) who mentors Chad. Voiced by Mark Oliver.
The Trickster (also called Wisakedjak, originally named Nanabush) voiced by Jason Bryden or Jason Brydon
Humans
Melody "Mel" Ravensfall. She becomes the emissary of the Mother's brother, the Trickster. She is 17 years old,[7] and has a WordPress journal. Voiced by Jewel Staite.
Duane Nation[8] (alias Duan in CC), a brown-haired guy. Voiced by Jordan Waunch.
Erin, a freckled girl with red hair with a white streak in it whose online alias is eekachik (later EekaChik). Voiced by Nicole Fairbrother. She stays behind with Wetiko and organizes an 'Occupy the Lake' movement to prevent development, continuing what they were shown doing in the episode 1 flashback as Mel and the boys go North to find the Trickster. She asks Wetiko to make her emissary 2.0 but he says she isn't much of a warrior. She creates a site called www.occupy-the-gods-lake.com to gather supporters to save the lake.
Nico, a guy with spiky blonde hair, Mel's ex-boyfriend. Voiced by Andrew Francis.
Chad Peterson, a corporate minion of the Wetiko. After being injured he is brought back in a state of undress remade as a Cyborg and is out for revenge. He has a profile on the Grid City Futures site where he is ranked below Herbert Bonnabee and above Rebecca Sanders. Voiced by Mark Oliver.
Wendell voiced by Matthew Toner, who also voices Sports Announcer 1. He works in a guard station at Grind City Futures at the start of episode 1, where he is chatting with an online friend named Barry when Wapiti rescues Mel from Chad.
Reporter voiced by David Attar, who also voices Sports Announcers 2
waiter, fat male chef at Stevens Greasy Stain
Apocalypse Biker, a muscular bearded moustached ginger possessed by Wetiko minion. Duane nicknames him 'Tiny' before he returns with his 3 allies: a blonde guy who is immediately taken out by Mel, another blonde in sunglasses, and a guy with a spike hat and moustache
blonde and Brunette, online chatters who Erin shares video of talking animals with in episode 2. Others in episode 3 include ChiefZero who promotes Declan Grey's blog (www.DeclanGrey.Com) and Beata who promotes Duane's blog.
Driver (per CC) reveals the town of Blighto was destroyed 40 years ago at end of episode 2. Mel calls him Mr. Grey (or Mr. Gray in CC) at the start of episode 3. In the end of episode 3 Nico finds a book with his picture in it and he comments Doctor Grey while reading the inscription Declan Gray. He has gray hair and is voiced by Michael Richard Dobson. The picture shows him younger with a girl who resembles Kakisa,[9] the girl underwater that Mel met. Declan had commented earlier than he lost a woman special to him, causing Duane to get chided when he asked why he didn't just go visit her. Declan is monitored by an internet conspiracy theorist named ConspiracyTourist.
Stevens is voiced by Trevor Devall who also does Nazi Biker
Kakisa (alias Kisa in CC) is a girl Mel meets underwater in episode 3 who claims to be a former emissary like she was. She is seen in an old photo with Declan Grey, and is implied to be the special girl he lost. She is voiced by Joanna Gaskell who also does the ox Tokala.
Another Random Guy voiced by Mark Oliver who does Chad/Wetiko
Anchor Woman voiced by Jo Bates who also voices The Mother
Whiz Kid voiced by Matthew Toner, is killed by Wetiko to punish Chad killing the Eldests without permission
Chad's henchmen
Jacobite Terreur
Captain Senza Cristos
Zone, a digital entity described as a witch by Mel[10]
Ginger
Elders
The elders are a group of animals who Wapiti tries to convince to help Mel.
The eldests are a group of old men who look identical to one another. They serve the Wetigo until Chad kills them.
Eldest #1 was voiced by Jordan Waunch (who voiced Duane)
Eldest #2 was voiced by Andrew Francis (who voiced Nico)
Eldest #3 was voiced by Joanna Gaskell (who voiced Tokala)
Others
Wapiti (alias Wapii in CC), a tall muscular humanoid "crazy moose thing" who rescues the group in the first episode when they assault one of the Wetiko's minions in a corporation. Voiced by James R. Baylis. In the final episode when Chad spots Wapiti, not actually knowing his name, his bionic heads-up labels him "Moose-Man" when plotting to avenge his loss in their last encounter with a rematch using a merciless surprise attack with bare knuckles.
Wapiti's son
Tokala, a female fox. Voiced by Joanna Gaskell who also voices Owl.
Mammoth is voiced by Michael Dobson who also does Hive Mind and Declan Grey.
Giant Groundhog is voiced by Matthew Toner (who previously did Wendell and a sports announcer)
Episodes
Season 0
In 2010-2011 there was a miniseries of shorts that preceded the TV:
Tease released 2 December 2010, 15 seconds long[11]
"Welcome To The Other World" "Welcome to the Other"
7 January 2013 (2013-01-07)
17 January 2016 Originally thought to be scheduled to debut January 9[19] or 16[20]
Wapiti rescues Mel from Chad after her group attacks the corporation he works for. Wapiti reveals she is the new emissary for Trickster, just as he is for Mother and Chad is for Wetiko. Mel mentions her friends and Wapiti brings them.
2
"The Hero's Journey… With Friends"
14 January 2013 (2013-01-14)
24 January 2016
Mel is accompanied by the boys to a ghost ton while Erin stays behind with Wapiti to protect the Lake from the corporation.
3
"Under The Lake" "Under the Lake"
21 January 2013 (2013-01-21)
31 January 2016
The trio heads north, Mel discovers the previous emissary for the Trickster under the lake.
4
"A Wander Moment"
28 January 2013 (2013-01-28)
7 February 2016
Duane is put in a trance by Wetiko when he answers his cellphone. Erin gets in a hacking war with a boy Chad hires to hijack her site. Nico makes out with Zone. Tokala is stopped by the Mother when she tries to attack Erin. Junior is disturbed as Chad "levels up" by killing and eating the geezers of the corporation board, as they won't get with the times and appreciate the impact the Internet has on shaping young minds. In the wild a giant groundhog and mammoth are encountered.
5
"The Gathering Comes"
4 February 2013 (2013-02-04)
14 February 2016
6
"The Battle of Gods' Lake"
11 February 2013 (2013-02-11)
21 February 2016
Season 2
It is under development[21] and was titled Animism: Titan Falls in 2014.[22] The title resembles a preceding journal entry left by Declan Grey.[23]
Part of it involved asking questions at a forum called Electric Antler, and getting news updates via Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
Official stories
The official Animism website's homepage features a guide to several stories from notable authors titled "The Book of the Emissaries". These canonical stories were composed during a fiction contest launched in 2012[25] and then some of them were endorsed as part of the lore. The java pages display an initial portion of the story with an illustration that links to the story's entirety on its own page. These tales include:
Although their stories do not appear as canon in the Book of the Emissaries, some other notable authors have also been singled out by the franchise in relation to the series:
Stephen Kotowych as an Animism scribe[43] in relation to his story "Of His Wondrous Guile Sing, O Muse"[44] which is part of the Canon
Less emphasized works (not part of the Book of Emissaries) are also featured in an anthology, some of which are designated "Canonical Works".[45]
Theme filters divide the stories into 4 eras and 4 person types[46] some of which were designated "winner"
I. First Contact
II. Early Civilization
III. Heroes & Heroines
IV. End of Days
V. Famous Explorers
VI. Legendary Warriors
VII. Natural Disasters
VIII. Great Thinkers
Awards
3 October 2013 the show won a spot as one of the finalists in the 13–17 category for the Shaw Rocket Fund's special RocketPrize, but then lost to The Phantoms.[7]
See also
Delta State (TV series) a similar Canadian show dealing with 20-somethings encountering paranormal powers in the modern world
^"Projects". zeros2heroes.com. Now in development for its second ground-breaking season, Animism tells the story of Melody Ravensfall, a teenaged girl who discovers that she is the heir to mysterious ancestral powers that must be harnessed if the world is to be set aright. Audience members can follow her interlinked adventures across a matrix of media properties or as simple stand-alone epics.
^"Animism Fan Fiction Contest". YouTube. 5 April 2012. If your story get picked by voters you not only become an official part of the TV Show's Canon -- you get published alongside the likes of Cat Rambo, Steve Savile, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Nick Mamatas and David Farland.
^Anderson, Kevin J. "Bad Water". Archived from the original on 26 February 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
