Inspirational duo create new cartoon for kids

Titled Ey Up Duck, the cartoon – created by Burnley-born Joanne Hughes and Nelson-born Jay Stansfield – aims to offer a new kind of content for the younger generation growing up with YouTube, promising both educational aspects and entertainment without compromising on quality.

“I’ve often myself, as a parent, sat my children down in front of cartoons so I can get on with making tea or washing up,” said Jay, a Creative Computing Specialist at Marsden Community Primary School. “The thing I’ve noticed about a lot of modern day children’s programming is it doesn’t contain a whole lot of educational content.

“They don’t teach children how to look after themselves or give them any life skills,” he added.

For Jay, who grew up in the 80s when cartoon music “stuck in your head like nothing else,” the soundtrack to the cartoons are crucial, with his childhood cartoons having influenced his songwriting and producing career significantly.

“We felt that we could create something that children would love and learn from, which is where we came up with the idea for Ey Up Duck,” said Jay, whose daughter Maisy also sang on some of the songs.

“Content and catchy music are paramount to a successful cartoon and with Ey Up Duck I feel we have reached a nice balance in a short space of time.”

Simple, colourful, and catchy, the cartoon – which launched on Friday, December 22nd on their YouTube channel – aims to address everyday problems for children in a unique way, with the early feedback from target viewers very positive indeed.

“We trialed the cartoons on a small number of children aged two-to-nine and found that they really enjoyed them,” said Joanne, an ICT Technician at Cherry Fold Community Primary. “[It] spurred us on to make more and release them before the Christmas holidays.

“We’ve both worked really hard on this and want it to reach as many children across the UK as possible by encouraging new subscribers to our KidToonzUK channel,” Joanne added.

Head to the KidToonzUK YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvhJ8k649-jXOrxuExlHZIQ.