When I was a kid I only had 2 channels to select from – on a black n white TV. Not because it was nostalgic but because technology was still young as well. These days there is so much to watch that the hardest part is choosing one. If you’re a young child then it’s important to watch programs formatted for children’s needs and abilities. If you want to eliminate commercials, pop onto children safe Youtube and feast your eyes on the best new children friendly fun show – Mission Bonita. The online series is created with 6 – 9 yr. old age groups in mind and the kids will love the star of the show, the magical 17-year-old Miss Bonita. The adventure starts when she receives messages in her magical box from kids around the world who need help solving their problem. It launches in mid August to an international audience free of charge.
The show features recurring sketches from characters, Momo the Game Show Guy and Mood Reporter, Helping Hotline with Lisa and French bull dog Bello. There are pranks, jokes and infomercials with the evil King and puppy Prince, popular reaction videos with teens Jessie and Philip, Meme the Mystique’s ancient wisdom and strange techniques that actually work if you try! There are also unexpected guests, and much more!
Lisa Lallouz is the beloved author and creator of the “Miss Bonita and Friends” children’s series. This magical series is devoted to empowering children by creating opportunities and tools to help them overcome challenges they may be facing. Lisa is currently producing the web series, Mission Bonita, the live shows for Miss Bonita and Friends, and the Share Your Story, Save a Life campaign. I had the opportunity to speak with Lisa recently from her home in Toronto, where she lives with her husband and kids.
“I had watched a few short episodes of Miss Bonita and Friends that you currently have on Youtube. Will Mission Bonita be similar to those episodes?”
“What you see on there, are small clips of the characters performing their role but the actual web-series will be launched in August. The format will be sketch-comedy – it’s Youtube and (laughing) my daughter, who’s in film ‘could explain it much better. It’s been modified for Youtube but we try to present it in a traditional TV format. They’re 10 – 15 minutes long and each episode falls into the next. We’re releasing four episodes at a time with each episode dealing with different themes – usually its mental health challenges, wellbeing, etc. The characters on the show are funny and comical, which helps to create a world that a child can get excited about and wants to be part of.”
“When did you first conceive the idea for this show?”
“One of my first jobs working as an educator in early childhood was at a daycare. The children were between 4 and 5 yrs. old but what was most interesting – the kids would talk about everything. I think we’re much more open now but back then we never told parents what kids were saying. We would hear everything from ‘I feel sick because daddy has bad breathe to mommy and daddy had a fight and mommy fell down the stairs.’ This was at a time when adults didn’t open up to other adults and if you heard kids saying something alarming, your only option was to report it to the authorities or a social worker. Without a background or training, I would make up characters and stories during story time based on some of the things kids were talking about. The kids loved it and were much more available emotionally and were much more understanding than I was aware of. The kids were really reacting to it – they started opening up and it began to feel like group therapy (laughing). After that I had decided to become a social worker and wanted to focus on everything related to group therapy. I had put the idea for the storytelling on the backburner. It wasn’t until I went through an unexpected marriage breakup that I had revisited it. I began journaling and used some of the characters that I’d created in those earlier days and utilized them for my own healing. I’m a big believer in community and that ‘it takes a village’, even in small amounts, little doses of kindness and a helping hand – for me personally, it saved me and my children. It’s much more financially viable than the current system we have in place, that (in my opinion) isn’t working.”
“Once you had the idea for the show/program, who did you reach out to first?”
“When I launched the Miss Bonita book series, my daughter who was an actress at the time would act out the Miss Bonita character. Her father is Spanish and we’re creating the show in a very diverse way for the children. My daughter has studied in TV and film and knew that kids needed more, so I told her ‘it’s your baby’ and that she can create something amazing with it. She wrote most of the scripts, acted and directed the entire first season – it’s got a faster, cooler fun vibe to it and is less therapeutic (laughing).”
“How did you determine which subjects/topics to discuss on the show?”
“We have everything under the sun – from anger, divorce, grief, disappointment, self-esteem, being a new immigrant and anything else that a child might not be experiencing. We wanted to incorporate the singing, the learning and the characters into the show and my daughter makes it a lot of fun with her creativity and energy – this is an audience of 6 – 9 yrs. They absolutely love the magic and the adventure of it and the desire to explore these topics is certainly there.”
“Considering that you are addressing some delicate issues at times, do you and your daughter write the episodes together?”
“I have assisted her but for the most part, she’s very informed and in tune with many social issues and is very sensitive to them. On one of our episodes we address the fear virus because a boy had written in and was scared for his family. Another episode deals with self esteem, rejection and disappointment that Miss Bonita addresses.”
“How did you find the other characters on the show?”
“They were all characters previously from the book series.”
“How did you go about financing the show?”
“Mostly from book sales as well as an investor that sponsored us. We are open to sponsorship from companies that are in alignment with what we’re doing in exchange for credits/recognition, so we hope it goes well – if the government likes the program, maybe they will contribute as well.”
“How many episodes will there be and how often will a new one be launched?”
“We’re launching in August and there’s going to be approx. 40 min’s. of content divided into 4 episodes. We do want to keep turning them out as long as we can continue to fund it. Once we start working on more episodes, everyone can expect to see another 7 episodes with 60-90 more minutes of content. We can definitely put out more content sooner if we made it 100% Youtube style – we really want to see what the kids reaction is to it.”
“Was it difficult to have all the characters commit to a full season of the show?”
“They are all so committed and for everyone of them, this is a passion project. They’re working with a skeleton crew, low budget and they would all be willing to stay on.”
Lisa also mentions that her daughter is always turning 17 yrs. old on the show and although she acts the part well, she doesn’t know how long she can keep it up and will have to retire her role as Miss Bonita at some point.
“Are you now a fulltime author, and producer of the show?”
“Yes, I am working fulltime on the project and at one point we were travelling with Miss Bonita abroad – we were in Dubai and we also went to Europe. I’ve just completed an album and a couple songs will be used on the show – promoting good values/mindfulness. I collaborated with a famous European composer and it turned out amazing, I’m very excited about it. My daughter was invited to Berlin and had met with presidents, the head of the UN and some world leaders. They’re very excited and want to collaborate with Miss Bonita and Friends. It was so well received.”
Lisa was sure to inform me that in Toronto, productions did not allow more than 3-5 people in a room at the same time, therefore each character was filmed separately and everyone had masks and were temperature checked. Everyone felt good and were all excited once they realized production was doable.
Lisa hopes to raise awareness over the alarming prevalence of youth crime, mental health issues, drug abuse, youth homelessness and the reality of minimal to non-existent resources for youth in crisis and their families. She also hopes that her efforts will shift people’s perspectives of judgment and punishment as a means of correction to views of compassion and meaningful rehabilitation through funding for resources and community pro-activism.