“Skelly” Animated Web Series Creator Kayla M. Davis Talks Mental Health, Skeletons And Idris Elba

Courtesy of Kayla M. Davis

Sarah Kazner is your average 20 something black woman working at the Quill Design Agency. Even though she is super talented at what she does, the job - and life itself for that matter - is starting to get the best of her. With heavy workloads burning her out, deadlines that never seem to stop coming in and insecurities starting to tower over the strong female she is, Ms. Kazner’s life suddenly takes a turn for the more bizarre when a debonair skeleton named Skelly B. Bones is discovered to be living in her closet. Not only that, but there seems to be an entire dive bar on the other side as well - loaded with unique patrons that may - in their own way - help this fledgling graphic designer find her life again. Mixing humor with humility and mental health awareness with macabre-based comicality, Skelly creator Kayla M. Davis just recently sat down with The Movie Nerds to talk about how this seven episode miniseries is all about coming to terms with yourself - even when you may not all be there just yet.

Salvatore Cento: Towards the beginning of last year, you had an interview with Bold Journey magazine where you said that mental illness was sometimes swept under the rug for kids of color when you were younger. On the other hand, Sarah’s story is a full on journey into mental health awareness. Years later, with Skelly in mind - what do you wish you could say to all of those who were once disregarded?

Kayla M. Davis: I want them to know that it’s ok to not be ok. You’re not crazy and I think that you should definitely seek help if you need help, you know? Don’t let family members or anybody just say - oh, you know it’s all pish posh. Go and seek help. Talk to somebody. Always have someone in your corner. I’m always in anybody’s corner. But definitely - it’s ok to not feel ok.

Cento: Skelly definitely expands on the saying “skeletons in your closet” - by revealing a hidden dive bar with complex patrons and situations that parallel emotional struggles. Can you explain the creative process behind building an entire world off of one phrase?

Davis: laughs Well, it actually started as a joke at work. It was constantly me joking about having skeletons in my closet and then it was like what if I actually did have a skeleton in my closet? What would he be doing in my closet? It just kind of morphed from all of that with a lot of world-building. I was thinking to myself - it’s a bar, you can’t just have one person go to a bar - it’s got to have patrons, ya know? At that point, there was a lot of building out the patrons and who I wanted to be in there and who would represent some of the struggles in the life of a burnt out graphic designer.

Cento: Can you explain some of those patrons that we are going to see in the show?

Davis: Yes, we have the old man who is Frederick Douglas. We have Joan of Arc who we call feisty Ms. J. We have Head Girl who is Anne Boleyn and we have - ooh let me think - Jack The Ripper. We call him Sad Jack. There’s also Bonnie and Clyde. I know when people hear Jack The Ripper, they’re like - oh my god, he was a serial killer! Jack The Ripper is presented in a different way. All of these characters are presented in a different way than you would know them from history.

Cento: Did Skelly B. Bones come from that initial skeletons-in-your-closet phrase as well? Were there any inspirations behind his visual design?

Davis: No, actually I just knew that I wanted a skeleton to talk and I knew I wanted him to kind of sound like Irdis Elba. From there, it was like we needed to build a sexy skeleton man and I say that because a lot of people were coming to me and were like he’s sexy and I was like - he’s just bones, what?! I definitely knew that I wanted him to wear a bowtie, he needed to look bartender-esque, definitely with the suspenders and everything.

I don’t know if you’ve seen that bad skit by the BBC about Idris Elba where the guy walks around and he’s like I’m Idris Elba and he's like I can cure cancer, I can make a coffee, I’m a DJ and all that stuff - it’s all very funny. That is who I had in mind when making Skelly.

Cento: Being the showrunner for a breakthrough production like Skelly with such a fresh main character and a perspective we honestly rarely get to see, what are some of the toughest obstacles you’ve had to face while trying to get Sarah Kazner, Skelly B. Bones and others in front of potential viewers?

Davis: Money laughs. That’s the biggest one. It’s always money and I think everybody will always say money. It’s money and - not comparing yourself to other indie animations or animators out there.

Comparison is the thief of joy, right? I think anybody with any grain of salt has compared themselves to somebody and you might not even be on the same level. I’m definitely not on the same level as some indies but I still compare myself to them.

It was getting myself out of my own head to stop comparing myself to other people because my journey is going to be totally different than those people. Everything I do is going to be different so why would I think that I’m going to fit in the same mold as them?

But it’s definitely money, comparison and just keeping your passion - not burning yourself out. That involves taking care of yourself - mentally, physically and taking time to take a break.

Cento: What you’re saying is so true. I find myself in those pitfalls all the time.

Davis: It’s hard. Then you’re like, oh man - why am I doing this to myself?

Cento: One of the more striking statements that you made in your initial email to me was that “ black women in animation are still rarely given space to be vulnerable, complex and fully human. Sarah is not a sidekick or a trope - she is the heart of the story.” I imagine that there is a lot to be said through Sarah that hasn’t been said elsewhere. What are you looking to convey to audiences through her character?

Davis: I want people who have not seen themselves to see themselves in Sarah. She is a non-disposable black character. Growing up, I saw a lot of the characters of color in any show either be killed off or be the sidekick or something like that. I definitely wanted to bring her to the forefront to let people know that there are people out there just like you who look like you. You are probably having the same story that she might be having or something in her life is touching you the same way.

We had Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur - which was very popular - and then it got cancelled. You’re like well, why did that get cancelled? We then have weird shows on Adult Swim that continuously keep getting renewed.

Cento: Moon Girl was an amazing show. Couldn't agree more.

Davis: I know! It was great. I loved it. You only did two seasons? Why? You could have done so much more. But they were like let’s cancel her. She’s not resonating or we can’t sell toys or we can’t market it to kids. If it doesn’t sell toys, we can’t do it. Right?

Sometimes, it goes beyond the toys. For someone like Skelly, yeah - we might have a plush or a figure - but it’s definitely more than just the toys.

Cento: What is your opinion on The Proud Family by the way?Davis: I love The Proud Family and I love that they brought it back . . . especially since they renewed it in this day and age where they can actually talk about things. For example, they have a good episode on Autism. It’s another disease that Penny Proud’s father, Oscar Proud, wants to sweep under the rug. He says that his son is not autistic and that there’s nothing wrong with him.

I really love what they touch on in Louder and Prouder. They touch on the brown paper bag experiment, for instance where you have to be lighter than a brown paper bag to be a beautiful black woman. They touch on all of these things and I love that it’s back because it’s so empowering. We’re getting new viewers to watch that, they’re learning these lessons that they didn’t even want to touch on when we were growing up. They just wanted a funny show.

Cento: In the pitch deck for Skelly, you reference three shows in regard to the tone: Death Parade, Final Space and Madoka Magica. Can you explain more in depth how these series helped to shape the show?

Davis: Madoka Magica is an anime that takes the magical trope and turns it on its head. Being a magical girl is not the greatest thing in the world. They are always taught that they have to be happy and smiling but there are different levels of despair and depression that they go through too. When these levels get too high, they abstract into witches - who the magical girls are supposed to be fighting. When they’re fighting these witches, they’re possibly fighting their friends.

Olan Rogers’ Final Space is my go-to show that I would watch every day if I could. The main character, Gary - he’s in a prison - in space. The show basically goes through Gary’s life. He gets a ragtag group of characters and they have to save the world from Final Space. It starts off really funny and it gets really dark. Then it got cancelled! Olan didn’t even get to finish it! He is putting out a book right now to finish it up. That was the only way they said he could finish it up.

Bojack Horseman was a big factor in that. If you haven’t seen it, I say go watch it. That show makes you face uncomfortable things in a funny way - but you’ll still come out of it feeling a bit uncomfortable.

I want the same thing with Skelly. I talked to my therapist and she said you have to confront these things and you have to set boundaries - but you have to get through the uncomfortableness to feel better. I want people to be faced with certain things that happen in Skelly, reflect on it and then be like oh man I remember this time in my life where I felt like that. I definitely want people to possibly see themselves in Sarah, Skelly and all the patrons who are there.

Cento: That is certainly a great form of therapy - building a whole world and facing your own fears and trauma through it.

Davis: Yep, yep. I have a huge fear of death. All of this really started as a huge experiment on how I could face death and how I could make it ok for me. It’s still not ok for me but I’m getting better. My dad says you have to, everyone’s going to die so you have to get used to the concept. I was like Daaad! laughs

As for Death Parade, that’s an anime that takes place in a bar between life and death where the patrons are basically stripped down to who they really are on the inside. The show involves a lot of unresolved feelings and the characters have to deal with that. Skelly also has a bar but this one exists in a sort of separate reality where repression fades away and truth comes to the surface. In this case, death is more so the ongoing weight of unresolved trauma and how you have to deal with that before it's too late.

Cento: I was surprised to learn that Armond Infinity - the animation studio collaborating with you to help bring Skelly to life - is based in Kochi, India. How was this international partnership born?

Davis: For a whole year, we worked on the first episode together and they did their job. I also had some in-house animators and graphic designers over here that helped me through the process. I was grateful for all of the parties that I collaborated with for the pilot and first episode.

Cento: For my final question, I want to look to the future. Besides the pilot, are any more episodes coming down the pipe line soon? And besides Youtube, which streaming platforms would you love to see Skelly on? Are you talking with any currently?

Davis: So, I have seven episodes written and ready to go. We just need to create them which involves getting more money of course. I had always planned for Skelly to be seven. Episode seven is a big number. I tell everybody - when I say something, listen to me. Seven is a breadcrumb number. Just think about Sarah, everything you know about her and the number seven. All will come together at the end.

There’s seven episodes I want to get done. We’re in talks to starting episode two. Unfortunately, I lost my job so I have to find another job to make money to pay people. I’m hoping we can continue on because I want people to hear this story. It’s really a story that’s been brewing in me for a long time.

Cento: Those are the best kind of stories. The ones that have been brewing for a long time.

Davis: Yes! I want people to hear it. It’s just that animation costs a lot and takes a long time to make.

Cento: Are you talking with any platforms yet?

Davis: As far as platforms? No, just YouTube and Newgrounds. In my mind, I had this idea that I would make my own indie platforming streaming channel because you can do that on Roku fairly easily. I wanted to get all indie animations to come together on that platform - but once again, money laughs. I had to pivot a little bit from that. Any other platform that wants to stream Skelly - let me know, hit me up, I’m here! laughs

Cento: Alright! Ms. Davis, thank you very much. I love the premise of the show and I hope that Skelly succeeds!

Davis: Thank you so much for having me! I really do appreciate it. Please keep watching and hopefully you get others to watch too.

As mentioned during the interview, the pilot for Skelly (as well as many other videos related to the series) can be watched on Kayla M. Davis’ YouTube channel @SkellyBBones. More information regarding the series can be found through the official press kit. If you wish to donate towards the production of the Skelly, that can also be found on GoFundMe or Patreon.