Local family’s series on YouTube

Cody Gorham was rummaging through a box of his mom Michelle’s childhood keepsakes when he came across some children’s stories she wrote. One in particular stood out, that she had written while in Grade 2.

As an artist with his own business (Rockpile Studio), he decided to illustrate it and sent it off to publishers.

Alas, there was no interest. Which is where the story found a new life.

“The person I am, I kind of saw it as a challenge,” he said. “I figured I’d make a TV show and base it around the book.

“She’s just been saving them for a long time and I felt like, well, you’ve put so much work into them over the years, let’s try and do something with it. Get it out there and share it with the world.”

Together with his mom and sister,

Amber, he started making an animated series based on the stories over the summer called “Gooses Corner.” It debuts on YouTube, Saturday at 10 a.m.

The series will put a colourful spin on old nursery rhymes, starring a cast of woodland critters animated by Gorham. His sister, a sound designer and songwriter living in London, provided the music. All three family members voiced the characters.

For Gorham, seeing his mother’s face light up at the finished product made it worthwhile. “She’s blown away. When she watched the animation fully together and she saw her book come to life, she said there were no words. To hear that was really heartwarming.”

Creating the show entirely inhouse, Gorham is going straight to YouTube rather than shopping it to the networks. After all, it was through YouTube that the South Korean song and video for “Baby Shark” became an incessant worldwide hit in 2016 with more than nine billion views.

“It seems to be the real hot spot,” he said. “It’s blowing up as one of the number 1 streaming services. Especially — unfortunately — during the pandemic, a lot of people have just been watching shows on YouTube.

“I just thought this was the perfect opportunity to take the chance and put our stories out there. And give kids of the future something to watch.”

He said the series is also a showcase for his sister’s music, which is prevalent throughout.

“She’s very shy, so I wanted to branch her out, let her expand and show her voice to the world. I was really happy to give her this opportunity.”

When (my mother) watched the animation fully together and she saw her book come to life, she said there were no words. To hear that was really heartwarming.

CODY GORHAM