Gangly Sister was founded by Rebecca Rachmany, CEO and Miriam Lottner, COO, two entrepreneurs who have been in business together for several years. To help their friends they created Purple and Nine stars two girls who just want to help their friends. They try quirky, cutting-edge solutions to fix things around the house, keep themselves awake in class, help friends overseas, and babysit Purple’s twin brothers. Technology is an integral part of our lives, say the founders, and the technologies shown in the series are a diverse range of technologies that either already exist or are under development.
“Technology isn’t just about writing code. Even hard-core programmers will tell you that it’s about solving problems and creating new products,” Rachmany says. “The same goes for medical research, engineering, or chemistry. At a fairly early age, kids care about the earth. They want to stop the ice cap from melting, cure diseases, and create personal hygiene products that don’t require animal testing. All of those changes will come about through technology. If we can show kids that in an engaging way, we can inspire girls to pursue these professions.”
Integral in the series are the themes of solving problems through innovation and persistence, rather than violence.
None of the episodes include evil villains, and all of the episodes involve the main characters attempting various technologies before arriving at a solution. Instead of teaching our children to get the right answer, the Gangly Sister team feels we need to teach them to try many solutions, even though most of them will fail.
Purple and Nine are unusual characters, not just because of their names. While they enjoy robotics and geeky apps, Purple loves skateboarding and music, while Nine is involved in social justice and loves animals. The characters don’t fall into any stereotypical category, allowing girls to see that self-expression can take many forms.
Gangly Sister’s founders themselves are multifaceted. Rachmany and Lottner are high-tech sales and marketing executives. Ofer Rubin, responsible for the animation, is an animator and founder of a technology company. The scriptwriter of the first book, Michael G. Church, is a Lutheran Pastor. The team is boosted by Dale Metham, a seasoned comic book and webcomic writer and artist. The combination of so many different talents is what gives the company such a fresh and unique perspective.
Rebecca Rachmany & Miriam Lottner“What’s inspiring about this project is that it’s totally clean humor, and that it reflects the complexities of the world we live in, but in a way children can understand. In Purple and Nine, there is no bad guy out to destroy the world. There is no need for violence to solve the problems,” says Church. “We have enough problems in the world to create engaging plots, and enough technology to make the search for solutions hysterically funny, which, for kids, is the most important element in a cartoon.”
The series is of particular interest to families who want clean entertainment that is comical and interesting. Every issue features at least a dozen different inventions.
Website: http://www.ganglysister.com
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