Today, we are speaking with Ellen Weisberg and Ken Yoffe about their touching animated short, Justin and the Werloobees. The film is based on their popular book, Fruit of the Vine, and wrestles with themes of bullying, friendship and belonging. It’s a joy to watch both for the wonderful animation style and and heartwarming story. Thank you for speaking with us today.
UniversalCinema Magazine (UM): First of all, what was the inspiration for the story behind the film and the book?
Ellen had a dream one night that was a bit unusual in that it was a cartoon-like or animated. She dreamt about bananas turning to banana cream pie, and grapes turning into grape juice, and milk turning into yogurt. When she woke up the next day, she remembered the dream and thought it was so bizarre it was worth trying to work into a story. She always wanted to try to write a fantasy story, since she was well aware of its popularity these days, and her very surreal dream gave her the excuse to finally do this.
(UM): Where did you come up with the name, Werloobee?
Ellen came up with the name, and frankly has absolutely no idea where it came from.
(UM): There seem to be some similarities between Justin and the Werloobees and the story of the Garden of Eden in the Bible: there’s a part of the island with lots of food, a creature who’s been exiled from the garden and a clever talking snake. Was the story of Eden one of the inspirations?
Ellen is an avid listener of Christian radio, and it’s possible that the writing of the story was subconsciously influenced by this. However, she didn’t consciously write a story with biblical overtones. Even the phrase, “Fruit of the Vine,” which is the title of the book that inspired Justin and the Werloobee, refers simply to the grapes that were initially antagonistically thrown at Justin that later were used as part of Justin’s wish to help another suffering soul. This phrase, though, is in fact commonly associated with the New Testament. It wasn’t until after Justin and the Werloobee was written that some of the inadvertent religious associations became apparent, and seem to fit well with the story’s aim to promote Judeo-Christian values and principles.
(UM): Justin doesn’t seem to have any friends and he doesn’t go to his teachers or parents or siblings (if he has any) to talk about his problems. Was this meant to show how alone a victim of bullying can be?
Yes. Many children unfortunately tend to go it alone when dealing with bullying situations, avoiding talking with parents or teachers out of embarrassment or shame, or fear of making the situation worse. Studies have shown that a child with a strong social support network is less likely to suffer the long-term consequences of bullying. With this in mind, our story attempts to highlight the importance of children standing up for- and befriending- other children.
(UM): I noticed that on his bookshelf, Justin has books called, “Water Finance” and “Greatest of all Time” and something by Grigg. Is there some significance to these?
These books were selected by John Vo, of Lonely Lane Productions, for the purpose of the animation. In Fruit of the Vine, we described Justin as having books on academic subjects like entomology, to emphasize he was studious and somewhat of a loner.
(UM): The animation is really wonderful. Could you tell us how it came about?
We received a royalty check for discovery of a leukemia drug (this is through Ellen’s research). We used a portion of this money to fund the 3D animation, which was a $50,000 production. We compiled a list of around 10 serious candidates for film production, and out of these candidates we chose John Vo of Lonely Lane Productions based on his willingness to do a 3D production and also his provision of a screenplay based on our published book. John outsourced the different aspects of the animation and chose music, voiceover talent, etc. The voice of the snake, however, was Corey Thornton, who we had met through a personal associate. Corey is involved in empowering children and using music and videos. We are also using some of our own music that we produced with a friend for some versions of the film.
(UM): Irvino seems to solve his problem by sharing his new abundance with his former bullies, while Justin finds someone who will defend him against bullies. Could you talk about these different solutions to the problem of bullying?
Our film endorses the concept of bystander intervention in bullying situations. Justin helps Irvino, and later in the film, Irvino helps Justin. Both acts underscore the importance of friendship and altruism, Irvino shared his newfound wealth with the other Werloobees to show kindness and generosity, two virtues that our story tries to bring across.
(UM): What advice would you give to parents whose kids are the victims of bullying?
We would suggest to parents to try to urge their children to not isolate, but rather to try to make friends and to communicate openly with their parents, guardians and teachers. Participation in clubs and activities the child enjoys would also be a way to help the child engage with other children as well as raise their confidence and self-esteem by doing things that they love.