Cape Town – On Saturday 23 May Disney Junior (DStv 309) will premiere a brand new animated series Miles from Tomorrowland.
This series incorporates unique space and science facts into the storylines that chart the outer space missions of young adventurer Miles Callisto and his family as they help connect the galaxy on behalf of the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.
It follows the explorations of Miles and his family - mom and ship captain, Phoebe; mechanical engineer dad, Leo; tech-savvy big sister, Loretta; and best friend pet robo-ostrich, Merc.
The series stars amazing talent as voice artists - Olivia Munn ( Sloan Sabbath from The Newsroom), Phoebe Callisto, Cullen McCarthy (Mr. Peabody & Sherman) as Miles Callisto, Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) as Leo Callisto, Fiona Bishop (Disney Junior's Sofia the First) as Loretta Callisto, and Dee Bradley Baker (Disney's Phineas and Ferb) as Merc.
Here are 10 things to know about the new series:
Space secret #1…
Some of the alien planets aren’t from our solar system!
Miles From Tomorrowland features a mega mixture of real and imaginary planets! “In one episode, we’ll travel to Mars,” explains the show’s creator, Sascha Paladino. “In another episode, we’ll head to a planet that we’ve completely made-up for the show. It’s always fun to come up with ideas for new planets. They can be as crazy and bizarre as we want them to be!”
Space secret #2…
NASA scientists help create the show!
To help create Miles From Tomorrowland, the creative team worked with consultants from NASA. What’s NASA? It’s a part of the US government that deals with science, technology and space. “We’ve been very lucky,” reveals Sascha. “We visited NASA labs and we’ve talked with NASA scientists. It’s been amazing!”
Space secret #3…
Miles is named after a famous musician
The animated action follows the intergalactic adventures of a 7-year-old called Miles Callisto. “He’s always been called Miles in our story,” admits Sascha. “I’ve always loved the musician Miles Davis, which is the inspiration behind his name in the show. Plus, the name is a play on words because Miles is miles away in space!”
Space secret #4…
This show wasn’t always called Miles from Tomorrow
In the very beginning, the show had a different name altogether. “Originally, we called the animated series Miles Away,” reveals Sascha. “But then we decided to call it Miles From Tomorrowland. It’s the perfect fit!”
Space Secret #5…
There are tons of space-related names!
Pay close attention to the names of the characters in the show. Why? Because some of them have hidden space meanings! “Leo is a constellation in space and it’s also the name of Miles’ dad,” explains Sascha. “There’s a robot ostrich called Merc, which is short for Mercury. Plus, Miles’ surname is Callisto, which is a moon of Jupiter.”
Space Secret #6…
The show is packed with groovy gadgets and gizmos
A spectacular space show like Miles From Tomorrowland wouldn’t be complete without tons of stellar gadgets and gizmos. “It’s really fun to think up the gadgets in the show,” admits Sascha. “Miles has a Blastboard, which is an outer-space skateboard. Back on Earth, I imagine Miles would’ve been a skater dude – but in space he travels around on his Blastboard, which hovers. It’s very cool.”
Space secret #7…
More than 440 people work on Miles from Tomorrowland
It takes a lot of people to create the animated action of Miles From Tomorrow. There are animators, writers, producers, voice artists – and tons more people involved. “We have a team of 40 people in the States,” reveals Sascha. “And we have a team of 400 people overseas, too!”
Space secret #8…
Get ready for oodles of crazy Tomorrowland catch phrases
Keep your ears open for tons of cool ‘n’ crazy catchphrases in the show! “We’ve made up some fun space words for Miles From Tomorrow,” admits Sascha. “Listen up for words like sunsational, blastastic and stellarific. The characters also say things like, ‘Back in a nano-second.’ And, ‘Mum is going to go supernova.’ The scripts are very funny and out-of-this-world!”
Space secret #9…
It took 18 months to create the first episode
There are 30 episodes in the first series of Miles From Tomorrowland – and it takes a long time to create the space-themed show. “We started work on the first episode in June 2013,” reveals Sascha. “We finished that episode 18 months later!”
Space secret#10…
A trip to the zoon inspired an alien show
Tons and tons of research goes into a show like Miles From Tomorrowland. To come up with the look of the intergalactic aliens, the show’s creative team looked at dinosaurs and crazy sci-fi movies. A trip to the zoo inspired the show’s bird alien. Tweet tweet!
Watch the trailer:
Tune in to Miles from Tomorrowland on Saturday, 23 May at 09:55 Disney Junior (DStv Channel 309).