You flop onto your couch after a long day and flip on your TV. Sabrina the Teenage Witch is on. It goes off. You flip the channel and boom there's the Twilight saga. The stars sure are smiling on you tonight.
That nostalgia is what Disney animator Breana Navickas captures in her animation, The Three Tomes while adding her own creativity to the supernatural genre.
She's worked on iconic IP such as the King of the Hill Revival, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, Jessica's Big Little World, & Minnie's Bowtunes, but, after hours, she's been putting pen to pad for her own independent project.
What is The Three Tomes?
The Three Tomes features Black Girl Magic in full motion embodied by Tammy the Teenage Witch. She accidentally gains magical powers and is now waffling with the woes of the heart, tugged back and forth by two vampire boys deeply in love with her.
Oh, and she has to capture 13 spirits she accidentally released from a tome when she was filming a horror film with her friend.
Breana Navickas & her character, Tammy. 📸 Breana Navickas
Tammy is a geek (like me – and probably you if you're reading this) but that doesn't disqualify her from love. In this story, you won't find any Ugly Betty, Princess Diaries, lose-the-glasses, straighten-the-hair "glow-ups."
"I'm not a fan of that trope at all," Navickas said. "When I was younger, I had a lot of insecurities with thinking that people would want to be with me, especially being in a predominantly white institution, in a mostly white high school.
And I kind of wanted to [show] with Tammy [that] she doesn't have to change herself to be desired by these two boys. She is awkward, she's nerdy, she's silly, she loves anime and vampire schlock. And it's okay."
Instead of giving her a makeover so the quarterback will notice her, The Three Tomes focuses on developing Tammy internally.
"She doesn't have to change herself, but she does deal with the fear of change," Navickas said. "That's a theme within the story that I am trying to show subtly with the pilot. Her fear of change comes from the status quo around her changing and she wants everything to be the same."
Navickas intends to complete the story in three books (seasons), echoing the sentiment of the title.
How to support The Three Tomes?
The Three Tomes successfully raised funds for Episode 2 on Kickstarter, gathering over $35,000 – but late pledges are still open. You can support the project here.
Watch Disney Animator Breana Navickas' interview
Want to learn more about Breana Navickas, The Three Tomes, and her animation career? Watch the interview on Charmed Geek's YouTube.
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