TORONTO – CBC announced yesterday a new animated series Uprooted: The Plantemic, starring Andrea Bang from Kim’s Convenience, will launch on CBC Gem on Friday, Jan. 28.
The five-episode series “follows the daily challenges and triumphs of five houseplants confined with their human at home during the pandemic lockdown, as they adapt to a new way of living,” a CBC press release says.
Uprooted: The Plantemic was written and directed by Betty Xie, who “found comfort in caring for her plants and watching them flourish throughout the pandemic,” the release says. “She observed that she wasn’t alone in this activity as more people started looking to plants as a way to fill the gap left by the lack of social activity.”
“People are social animals and we innately crave social interaction. Plants can provide a profound sense of relationship, albeit an unconventional one,” said Xie, in the press release.
“My plants are in my line of vision from my desk at home and often my mind would wander during the endless Zoom calls. It started with me naming them, then eventually evolved into creating personalities and background stories for each of them,” she said.
This inspired Uprooted: The Plantemic, which features an all-Asian cast. Along with Bang, this includes Rosalina Lee (Seoul Searching), Franco Nguyen (TallBoyz) and voice actor Eric Bauza (The Ren and Stimpy Show, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and more.)
Bang voices Anna, a Pollyanna-esque pancake plant, “whose naivety is only matched by her relentless optimism,” and Lee provides the voice for Opi, “an introverted cactus who freaks out when her personal space is compromise,” says the press release.
Nguyen voices Allen (above), a green onion plant living “in a perpetual state of being dazed and confused since his memories are lost every time the human cuts his head off for consumption,” and Bauza voices Wally, a “chill, low maintenance air plant,” as well as Samson, an “industrious snake plant who finds himself struggling to “work from home” with other plants.”
The trailer for Uprooted: The Plantemic is available here.
Producers for the series include Lillian Chan, Tony Lau and Joseph Chung. Joyce Hui is the art director, animator and character designer and Aram Collier is the editor and a producer.
To help launch the series, the cast and crew are asking Canadians to use the hashtag #PlantemicPal and post selfies with their favourite houseplant on social media. More details can be found on show’s official Instagram account @UprootedShow.
“We encourage everyone to get creative – whether it’s a selfie with your best begonia, a solo photo of a fickle ficus or even a sketch of a succulent,” said Lau.
“Our hope is that ultimately, the #PlantemicPal initiative will create a sense of community and comfort by bringing together plant aficionados during a challenging time.”
Image borrowed from the trailer.
