Nico Animation

Hey again, everyone! Thank you all so much for your input regarding the last post, on here, Twitter, BlueSky and Instagram! I'm taking everything into consideration and will keep you all posted on where things go from here. Viva Ollie & Scoops! Please remember that it's only a financial hiatus we've been taking, and the show has not ended. Not by a long shot! 😁

(below is the original message, for context. View in full on any of my social media accounts)

2 days ago | [YT] | 181

Nico Animation

Hey everyone, Nico Colaleo here. Y’know, I bet a lot of you are wondering: “Hey, Ollie & Scoops got up to 10 episodes and then just… stopped. What gives?” Well, in a VERY short nutshell, the animation industry crashed and burned over the past few years, and I (along with many MANY others) don’t exactly have career stability these days like I did through the bulk of my career, from 2010-2023. Due to this, I haven’t been able to afford to keep making more Ollie & Scoops episodes. Does this mean Ollie & Scoops is over and dead? NO. Never!! Ollie & Scoops will DEFINITELY be back, eventually, I just don't know exactly when. It's really hard to give any answer when I'm (STILL) not working… (I just hit 2 YEARS without studio work…) This industry crash has affected not just me but EVERYONE within it. At the same time however, independent animation is flourishing, having really taken things by storm over the past few years. Indie creators have learned that the name of the game is to be scrappy and do whatever you gotta do to MAKE YOUR CARTOONS and GET THEM OUT THERE into the world. So lately I've been thinking of a couple different routes I could take to keep Ollie & Scoops alive, despite not having access to career work and production funds at this time, so I’ve decided to create this post to ask and gauge how you the fans think and feel about all this.

One direction I could go is to continue the series by just doing animatic episodes, like my friend Emily Brundige has been doing with her new project “Strawberry Vampire”. Animatic episodes (meaning full storyboards, voice records, sound effects and music, just no animation/color) are very much affordable for me. It would mean Ollie & Scoops still has content of SOME kind coming out, and is still staying active in the minds of fans and the indie animation zeitgeist. Another route I could take is using Kickstarter to crowd-fund a new episode or two and see how things go from there. Things left off at Ollie & Scoops Episode 10, but Episodes 11 and 12 have been fully written, storyboarded, and voice recorded for years. Episode 11 guest stars Paul Rugg, creator and voice of Freakazoid!, and Animaniacs writer and voice of the hilarious Mr. Director. Then, Episode 12 guest stars Kevin Conroy, the iconic voice of Batman in animated form since the early 1990s, who sadly passed away in 2022. We recorded together for O&S Episode 12 back in early 2020 right before the pandemic hit, and it makes me so sad that these record files for Kevin’s final voice acting role are on my hard drive just sitting there, not being shared with the world because I can’t afford to make the episode. It feels wrong to not be able to complete this Ollie & Scoops episode and release it, posthumously, in love and memory of Kevin.

I’ve never attempted a Kickstarter before, and I don’t exactly feel great about e-begging in the first place, but maybe this is a route that can be taken to at least get the next episode or two of Ollie & Scoops fully produced and released for everyone’s enjoyment. Crowd-funding is always a risk, and animatic-only episodes mean no finished animation, but at this point I'm feeling like either of these would be better than just not making any Ollie & Scoops at all. After a couple years since the most recent, Episode 10, I worry about Ollie & Scoops being forgotten and left in the dust while the rest of indie animation keeps kicking ass, continuing to beat the big dog animation studios at their own game. But Ollie & Scoops can't go back to the way things were, in full animated production, until whenever I get industry work again and make enough to self-fund new episodes again. So until then I ask you, the fans: Which of these options, for now, sounds the most appealing to you? Animatic episodes? Trying a Kickstarter? Or maybe you have your own suggestions or ideas for how you’d like to see Ollie & Scoops continue?

I’m just using this post to gauge what you all think. Please keep following me on Twitter, BlueSky, and Instagram (@NicoColaleo on all three), and here on YouTube, as I’ll always keep everyone posted on Ollie & Scoops as soon as there's anything to say. Thanks to ALL OF YOU for sticking with me and the show for all this time! It feels good to be this candid and transparent with you all. I wish it was under better circumstances, but again, the ol’ Hollywood machine has been rough on everybody for a good while now. But it won’t be this way forever. I just know the pendulum has to swing the other way eventually.

4 weeks ago | [YT] | 221

Nico Animation

Honored to be a guest on ‪@TheLooneyTunesCritic‬'s commentary track for one of Chuck Jones' best, "Beanstalk Bunny"! The first of a few commentaries we recorded, so stay tooned to Trevor's channel for more Looney goodness!

2 months ago | [YT] | 6

Nico Animation

Hey everyone! I'm still staying afloat with art commissions and teaching online classes, so if you're interested in either just contact me via Twitter or Instagram DMs! I'm "@NicoColaleo" on both. Check out both images here for details. Thank you!

Skip the Carousel

1 2

11 months ago | [YT] | 176

Nico Animation

For Indie Animation Day 2024 I made a little Ollie & Scoops sizzle reel! Thank you all for your patience as I work at being able to afford producing more O&S episodes again. I've also been pitching O&S to studios around LA this year - So wish me luck for funding and studio pitch success in the future! For now, this hiatus is temporary. There will be more episodes in time. Ollie & Scoops will *always* return!

2 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 71

Nico Animation

Hey gang, I'm in the latest episode of @PostModArtPod and I even drew the episode's cover art! If you wanna hear me talk about Ollie & Scoops, my past and current other projects, the Emmys, and tons more, check out Post Modern Art Podcast below!

2 years ago | [YT] | 56

Nico Animation

Happy holidays everyone! Merry Christmas everyone! I forgot to mention a couple weeks ago when my first video essay for this channel debuted, but if you haven't yet, check out my newest video "How to Write MEAN Characters"! I have a ton of other ideas for video essays, plus they work as good material to go in between the wait for new Ollie & Scoops episodes! So stay tuned... and let's all have a great 2024!

2 years ago | [YT] | 62

Nico Animation

If for some reason you've ever wanted to see a 20-minute documentary about me and my career, today is your lucky day. Get the whole scoop on me Nico Colaleo, Ollie & Scoops, and lots that came before it (even my Tucson AZ public access TV show?!) Even my extremely recent Emmy Award Nomination is announced! Thanks so much for producing this doc ‪@Dovendraw‬!

2 years ago | [YT] | 84

Nico Animation

Hey everyone! If you haven't yet, check out the newest Ollie & Scoops cartoon short, the first of O&S QUICKIES!

2 years ago | [YT] | 102