Deaf-created children’s series Mixmups with disabled lead characters to premiere on Channel 5’s Milkshake TOMORROW

A brand new deaf-created children’s series Mixmups will premiere on Channel 5’s Milkshake! tomorrow and Sunday. Mixmups is a brand new animation for three to five-year olds featuring disabled lead characters.

The series, which will have 52 episodes – each ten minutes long – is inspired by all children’s love of “mixing” things together as a way of playing, exploring and discovering and aims to encourage individuality, imagination, friendship, and flexible thinking.

The series was created by deaf writer Rebecca Atkinson, who is also the founder of the viral #ToyLikeMe campaign – which called for more diversity in children’s industries, and was developed and produced by Manchester-based Mackinnon & Saunders (Pinocchio, Moon & Me), a team who all have lived experience of disability.

You can also read this article written by Atkinson about the series which was published today in the Guardian.

Mixmups centres around three friends, the Mixmups: neat and tidy Pockets, creative and inventive Giggle and boisterous and physical Spin, along with their lovable assistance pets, Roller Guinea and Yapette the guide dog, who all live in a wheelchair-accessible Helter-Skelter house in Mixington Valley.

Each episode sees the friends use their wooden spoon and magical mixing box to ‘Mix up the Magic’ of play and imagination and transport themselves on a host of comical adventures. Through their young, imaginative minds, they embrace a variety of ways to play, entertain each other and embark upon day-to-day problem-solving challenges with the help of the trunky-beaked Lucky Loover Bird.

Mixmups Creator, Rebecca Atkinson said: “In Mixmups I wanted to create a universally appealing show which would burst from screens like a seaside candy store of creativity, bright, tangible, sweet and funny, capturing the magic of play and the ability of pre-schoolers to disappear into their own imaginations, but with unprecedented attention to the lived experience of disabled children and families.”

Louise Bucknole, General Manager, Kids and Family, U.K. & Ireland, Paramount said: “We are so proud to have commissioned the wonderful Mixmups for Milkshake!. It’s a beautiful animation packed full of imagination and, what’s more, it’s a show accessible to every child. It’s been an incredible journey working alongside Rebecca and the team to bring this series to life and we’re so excited to introduce it to our Milkshake! audience.”

The series uses 2D and 3D animation and was directed by Andy Burns, written by Debbie MacDonald and Rebecca Atkinson and produced by Chris Bowden with consultation from play and educational expert, Karen Newell.

Mixmups was developed and produced with support from the UK Government funded Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF), which is managed by the BFI and in collaboration with Raydar Media.

Catch Mixmups every Saturday and Sunday from 4th November at 8.15am on Channel 5’s Milkshake! and streaming on My5.