Otter Space

More About Otter Space

Here is how the Otter Space team describes the show: Two mismatched sea otters in search of new paw buddies must save earth from an alien civilization, which has outlawed all forms of playing. The length of each episode is about 10 to 15 minutes. It’s a short series with 10 episodes and hopes for a second season. 

FPG Free Podcast Guide

Before we learn more about the vibe of the show, we are going to take a quick break to talk about my free guide to Find podcast you will love.  I hope you’re excited about Otter Space, but if you’re not sure if it’s a good fit for you or your kids, I have a guide that can help you find a podcast you will love. The guide has nine different types of podcasts like history, parenting, and Health and Wellness, and under each type of podcast, there are links to three different shows that is 27 different podcasts for you to choose from.  If you try a couple and you don’t like any of them, I put my email at the bottom of the guides. You can email me and I will personally help you find a podcast you will love. Now we get to hear from some of the Otter Space team as they describe the journey this podcast has been on from animated film screenplay to podcast.

Introduction to Andrew, Ben and Renee

We’ll go alphabetically.  I’m Andrew Levine. I’m a writer and a producer on this. I’m Ben Stahl. I’m a writer, producer, and the director of the podcast. Hi, I’m Renee Dorian. I’m a producer and I am the lead voice cord.

How Otter Space Got Started

You know, Andy and I are feature screenwriters and we’ve been writing feature screenplays for the kids and family space primarily, and the teen space for the last couple years.  And we had a project that is the project that you’re listening to as a podcast now called Otter Space, which was a, you know, it was a finalist and a couple screenplay competitions and we were encouraged to explore. Producing it as a podcast, as a way of one, getting the material out there to kids.

And because animation is a really long, it takes a really long time to produce, it could take three or four years. And, you know, this was a project we were super excited about. We had great talent and we were also in a pandemic, so we couldn’t you know, connect with a lot of people. So this was one of these projects that kind of came out of, well, we have this great script. We wanna get it in front of kids and get it into kids’ ears. And it sort of made it, it seemed like a good thing to, to convert into an episodic podcast. Hence, we have a 10 episode serialized narrative podcast with, you know, top talent from that we could get during the pandemic from, from Hollywood actors, Lance Barber Samba, shoot.  Renee Dorian, who’s here with us. And, and Carlos. As well as many others that are, that are voices in this podcast, but it was a time when we started recording this last year, we were still locked down quite a bit in LA so, you know, where all these creatives wanna just do stuff, you know? So we found a way to get together to, to take this, this script that we had into an episodic format.

So we, we didn’t really want to, we, we really approach this as if we were making an animation, we. The top talent. We wanted sound effects. We wanted an original score, and we wanted this thing really well mixed. Because in some sense kids are even more discerning, you know, because they’re used to hearing things well produced.  I’m a child of the 1980s, you know, so things were a little bit more junky when they’re on VHS videos. Then, you know, I think we, you know, we went about it to make it sound something that sounded fully like a full sonic soundscape.

So from the sound effects, I mean it, the bulk of the project takes place in outer space, you know, and, and with spaceships and exciting you know, montage, kind of fun music sequences. And it’s really about these two characters are two, we’ll get into this a little bit, but our two otters exploring like a whole new world. And so for us, we wanted the, you know, the sound to be that for a kid listener, for them to be able to listen to something and imagine in a sense, even more than it’s there. The music really helps too, I think. Bring like that full scope while the kids are listening.

What to Expect From Otter Space

So, like thematically, this is all about play cuz otters as we know, are very playful, adorable, but also very playful. So we really explore the theme of play and I think maybe there’s a lot of parents out there who are familiar with the sort of a social emotional learning that that’s going on in education today with growth mindset versus a fixed mindset and the idea of structured play versus unstructured play. So our two main characters embody that one’s all about structured play. And then the other character who Renee plays is all about unstructured play, and they’re both valid. You know, one of them wants to sit down and read the instructions before they get started.

The other one wants to just jump in and we’ll figure it out. . , they’re both valid ways to play, and they’re both great. And they’re both essential, and they should be part of every kid’s. But when you have two who play differently, how do they learn to play together? And that’s really what this is about, is be having this open mind a growth mindset and being able to welcome others into playing, even if it doesn’t exactly match the way you want to play.

So definitely that helps kids to learn like relationship skills as well. Almost like thousand percent seeing other people or other otters, I guess figure, figure it out for themselves. The puns just write themselves. No, and it’s honestly, it’s, I mean, play, we play so that, you know, we pretend so that when it comes to the real world, we’re ready for it.

The Vibe of Otter Space

Oh gosh. I mean, it’s adventurous. It’s spunky and fun, thrilling. I think. There’s a lot of moving parts to it. Like I can’t just like use one word I feel like Sure. To describe it, but I think it’s, you know, how we say otters are playful.  I think that’s what this embodies. It’s, it’s playful and anyone can listen to and find something that resonates and something that they think is also hilarious. You don’t have to be just a kid listening to it. I have a lot of friends right now that are like, oh, you know, I’m listening it to with my son and oh my God, it’s so funny.

You know, and I  that excites me just to know that like, it’s not just the kid listening, it’s the adult too. So that’s what I think is really exciting is that everyone can get something out of. 

So like, it’s got some, you know, sound, you know, jokes that play off of sound design jokes that play off the characters and, and you really feel like the story’s moving forward. And so the, yeah, the vibe is that kind of. Animated, but imaginative vibe. Should we say Pixar? Pixar. I can say Pixar. Dare to dream

Renee’s Favorite Character

Oh my gosh. Well, is it weird if I say myself? I can’t say that. Right? That’s like, so pop you, you absolutely can  you didn’t write it, you’re just the voice. Right? That is very true. I mean, I just, this character was so much fun to play.  You know, like when you read a script, you’re like, oh, I wanna be that person, you know, like, oh, I wanna be that Otter. That’s exactly reading it. I wanted to be cordy. So to say my character that she is definitely my favorite, but I love so much Carlos’ character.  Soo Which, when I was reading it originally, when we were, when like we just started, you guys sent the script. It, I remember texting you and being like to Ben, Andy, like, is it pronounced Soba or soo? Right. Remember I was, Because I had this idea, I was like, oh, I know. So like this voice, like I already cure it before it’s even cast.

So that that character’s also my favorite. That’s very long winded answer. Sorry about that.

Ben’s Favorite Character & Episode

I’ll do both quick. I mean, I love Bo and Goel as well, or there are two aliens that we meet that are kind of the polar opposites of Kip and Cordy who are two otters that get launched out to outer space.

And I just love that Andy and I were able to cast people that we had worked with in different aspects of our, of the business. Rick Adams, who’s got a nice British accent, which, you know, we just loved for our kind of by the book Nerdy Alien. It just worked great and he’s so typecast. And then Dave, Dave Wilder, who plays Goel was, you know, someone who, Andy and I have done a lot of volunteer work with the Young Storytellers Foundation, so it was great to be able to. See Dave who’d done so many characters for us on stage, be able to play a role in this. And he just knocks out of the park.

He’s the, you know, lovable, big, goofy, huge alien. You know, that’s scary. But he has a heart of gold and so I love his voice. So good. So we love him. And I think that ties into, I think episode four might be like, One of my favorite episodes because we get to see our four main characters interact and play and teach and learn how to play, and that has, you know, drastic consequences for the rest of the story.

Andrew’s Favorite Episode & Character

I too like episode four, but I like all of them actually. My favorite character gosh, I love ’em all, but I, you know, you love all your children. How can you choose your favorite? But how, come on. What’s, who’s your favorite? I’m, I’m gonna say Kip, I’m gonna go against you. Cordy. Kip was, is more aligned with who I am, I think. And I think that comes out in the writing. I’m very much you know, I like to read the rules before we play a game, for sure. When we’re sitting down to Monopoly, I’m like, okay. We’re not gonna argue about this 20 minutes from now. This is how it works. You know, that’s how I, that’s how I operate. So I definitely see a lot of myself in Kip.

He was voiced by another amazing actor, Casey Adler. And Casey’s done a lot of work with us as well through the Young Storytellers Foundation, and, He’s just a, just an uber talent. So we we’re really happy with to get him, you know, and, and him and Renee played off each other very well, so fabulous.

Otter Space & Little Ears 

Well, I think Renee and Andy both have little ears in their household, so Sure do. Yes, they’re, it’s a hundred percent kid friendly. Kid friendly, family friendly, parent friendly.  Pet friendly. Anyone can listen to it. I have two little ones and I think one of my favorite moments, Is whenever I get done with a project, especially, I do some like horror stuff, so I can’t show my kids all the things that I do. And being able to show them or have them listen to the podcast for this when my daughter laughs out loud.

Those are my favorite moments. Or if I hear my son giggling Daisy five, Ollies two, two, and Ollie may not get everything yet, but he already, he hears the characters and because they’re so, you know, bold. He still cracks up. He might not understand the scene, but he is still laughing, and I, I love those moments with my kids, so yes, anyone can listen.

My girls are seven and 10, and so, you know, it’s second and fifth grade. And they love it, you know, and it’s more than just cuz their daddy wrote it, you know? And so, and their friends are listening to it at school. They’re doing all my, like, grassroot marketing in their elementary school.  Oh yeah. It’s easy too. Oh, I love that. But, and so it’s resonating with kids of all ages, you know, and the parents are telling me that they, they love listening to it too. So. That was definitely part of our our plan.