City of Ghosts premiering this Friday March 5th on Netflix. It’s unlike anything on television or streaming services right now: an animated docu-style series about a group of kids looking for ghosts around Los Angeles. They interview some interesting people who provide unique perspectives about the city and their passions.

This “appropriate for the whole family” series comes from Emmy winner Elizabeth Ito (Adventure Time). And her husband, Kevin Dart, is the head of Chromosphere, the studio behind the show’s innovative animation. Ito is quite passionate about City of Ghosts and hopes audiences embrace the documentary style, charming child leads and senses of warmth and wonder. (This interview was edited for length.)

Jackson Murphy: I love the entire vibe and feel of this series. How did the concept first enter your mind?

Elizabeth Ito: The concept of the show came from me living in Los Angeles my entire life… and getting a certain amount of irritation when people say, “I hate L.A.!” or something like that. It seems like that’s a lot to hate. (laughs) Regardless of that, I just wanted to let people know what I love about it here.

I’ve seen a lot of neighborhoods changing. Just like everywhere, there’s a lot of gentrification happening throughout the city. Just thinking it’d be nice to find a way to preserve all of the stories and talk about all the layers that are underneath what either used to be there or what’s still there now before it gets whitewashed over. You want people to know how much stuff there is here.

And also related to ghosts, I think part of it is: when I was a kid, I saw a ghost (when I was, like, six years old). It’s really fascinating to me how a lot of people’s kids tend to see things like that. So I wanted to have a show that was about these really funny kids that are into ghosts in an almost non-creepy way, which is what I think is usually the funniest. When kids are telling older people about ghosts that they’ve seen. It’s usually in this very matter of fact way that isn’t [scary]. I wanted to put all of those things together into a show.

JM: Yeah. You combine a lot. You say you saw a ghost at six. Have you always been one of those people who says, “Yes, I do believe in ghosts.” Or did this show open you up more to the fact of, “Yeah, maybe ghosts really do exist?”

EI: (laughs) I think I’ve believed in ghosts since then and for most of my life.

JM: And you allow the opportunity for more kids to think that ghosts do exist because of the positive themes that you bring through the show.

EI: Yeah, I hope so. And I think part of it too is this combination of: I saw a ghost and my parents didn’t not believe me. In a way, it was so important that they didn’t treat what I was saying as if I didn’t know what I was talking about or I didn’t know anything. So giving kids this strength of: sometimes you are smart and sometimes you are perceptive and sometimes there are things as a kid you might notice that are different than me as an adult. It’s important to recognize that for kids. We can believe them and we can hear them.

JM: I started out in the industry very young and when I would talk to adults, I would want them to trust and believe what I was saying when it came to movies, entertainment, shows. So that makes sense here. In one of the episodes, Zelda has a very nice line, “A library is a castle for books.” What have libraries meant to you throughout your life?

EI: Oh, man. So much. I’ve thought about that a lot during this particular time too. It was like a castle for books and I really, really liked reading when I was a kid. I still like reading, but you have a lot of other things to do when you’re an adult, so you don’t get as much time to do it. Especially in L.A., we had a local library near our house that we would go to. And the Central Library, which is the one that we featured in the show in that first episode… first of all there’s so much history for that particular branch of the library in L.A. because at some point when I was little, there was a big fire there. Some of it burned down and they had to replace it, so that was a big deal.

EI: And at the Central Library, there were so many events to go to. I went to see Ray Bradbury speak there once. My dad was a huge Ray Bradbury fan. And a couple of other political cartoonists. I went to see Jules Feiffer and Paul Conrad talk. And it’s a place you could go to be if you needed a place to read or study or research or just to be at a place where you don’t have to be buying anything. It can be really powerful for kids.

JM: You’re right because the kids on the show… appreciate and respect it. I love that they go under the desk and the parents go off to the side. And what you’re able to do with this show is give kids the opportunity to learn lessons about kindness and opening up to people and being grateful and appreciative in very grounded ways. How do you feel about being able to do that on a show that also, technologically, is very innovative?

EI: I feel really good about getting to do that. I’m glad to hear you say that. I’ve never really thought of it that way, but that’s a really nice way to put it. My kids are still pretty little but I know that I’ve always been looking for… since my son was a really little kid, I was always looking for stuff for him to watch that had that. The closest thing that I think about a lot is… Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. I tried to turn that on thinking, “Oh maybe this is something he could look at.” He did like it but initially, it was still a little bit not what I was expecting. It was pretty loud and bright compared to Mister Rogers’ [Neighborhood]. So we actually gravitated towards more of the old Mister Rogers to show him because [Daniel Tiger] was too overwhelming… a lot of the colors. Even the way the stories are, it’s a little bit different than the original Mister Rogers.

We were always searching for really grounded things to show him and things where he wasn’t gonna get overwhelmed. So hopefully that means that’s what [City of Ghosts] is for kids who are like that and parents who are like that – who are looking for something that’s calming.

JM: It is unique, different, sweet and fun. And I think families are really going to enjoy this.

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Jackson Murphy

Jackson Murphy is a movie critic and entertainment columnist. He is the creator of the website Lights-Camera-Jackson.com, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio.

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