Northern Tails captures global online audience with Yukon-made production

(Image credit: Kelly Milner)

The cast of critters on Northern Tails can be described as serious and seriously silly about nature. The web series is filled with fun and furry puppet characters who immerse kids in the exhilarating world of wildlife in the boreal forest, one of the largest ecosystems on the planet.

“It tries to expose people to what are the things they didn’t know they didn’t even know about the boreal forest, because it’s a place that people don’t think about.” Said Kelly Milner, producer of Shot in the Dark Productions and Little Brown Bird Entertainment.

A mashup of education and entertainment, the storyline grips the imagination of its young audiences, and even the adults who are often watching alongside them. A little nostalgic for some, Northern Tails was inspired by beloved classics like The Muppets and Hinterland Who’s Who. Lead character Scout Perry, an arctic ground squirrel, leads her own team of film makers through a thrilling adventure, where they encounter other animals and the ecosystem around them.

Milner crafted the show with her late father Bob Hayes, a field biologist in Yukon territory. His ideas helped draft the characters, all based on the biological characteristics of each species, with a touch of pop culture to make them relatable. Deemed a wildlife mockumentary, they wanted to create a puppet show to help explain science and biology in a fun and entertaining way.

“Really to get people to understand the relationship that we all have between the animals that live in the boreal forest. and the boreal forest and the rest of the world.”

Hayes passed away before Milner was able to start production, but his daughter teamed up with a cast of creatives to help bring his ideas to life.

“I think Bob would have loved this production; he was a very smart and silly man,” Milner, told CTV National News from her studio in Whitehorse. “It’s kind of nice to have a little legacy piece to share with the world, that was his idea.”

Sticking close to home

The entire production was written and produced in Yukon territory, something that leaves Milner beaming with pride.

When she first started pitching the idea, Milner was told it could work, but it would probably have to be done in a bigger city like Toronto or Calgary. She pushed back, not only because people in her community have a clear understanding of the environment, but because she also wanted to focus on working with northern talent.

“For me, it was just so important that this story was also about building up the skill set and using skill set in the Yukon community,” said Milner.

A story about the north needed to be told from the north, the team felt.

“Keeping this a Yukon production, building our Yukon team and making sure we were telling this story, I think, from a real northern lens; that shows, I think, (that) a different perspective of how people relate to wildlife was really really important.”

Milner brought other professionals to Whitehorse to train her team, alongside local talent.

“A dream come true; I’ve always had to leave the territory to do my puppeteering.” Said Moira Sauer, a writer and lead puppeteer on Northern Tails.

“To have such an massive project, with such a huge scope, in a field of everything that interests me and I love, it fills my heart. Truly a dream come true to walk to work and spend eight hours holding my hand over my head,” Sauer added, with a laugh.

The response to the show has been positive, Milner says, adding to the appreciation she has for her team and their ability to collaborate on the piece in Yukon.

She admits they learned a lot along the way, and says it’s exciting to have a product coming from the Yukon with quality that has people “surprised.”

“For a small, independent production, trying to scream out into the noise of what’s online, it feels pretty great to see that our stories really resonate, and the comments we’ve been getting from people from around the world — not just from the north — I think are really encouraging," said Milner.

Back to basics

At a time when AI and digital animation is consuming our entertainment forums, Northen Tails brings it back to the basics, with a more simple format of hand puppets.

“I think the thing about these puppets is that you just cannot fake how they’re just not real. You can see their seams, their arm rods,” Milner points out.

All part of the joy and storytelling for the people behind the puppets, they say.

“There’s something so magical about puppets; they have a life of their own. You put them on, and you are not in control anymore, I will tell you that,” said Sauer, who typically works on stage, and who plays Scout in the web series.

“You’re puppeteering above your head all the time, so everything is flipped around, and you’re reading the script at the same time; it’s exceedingly challenging,” she said.

“It was an incredible experience; utterly magical, hilarious, but also incredibly grueling. We shot this in a truncated amount of time, and the physical work on puppeteering is very, very challenging.”

Climate awareness

The thought behind the series was to help people “meet the neighbours” in our ever-changing world.

“We all share this planet, we all share this forest and we’re just trying to find ways to get people to understand a little bit better, the relationships that we all have,” said Milner.

The health of the boreal forest has a worldwide impact, something her father saw first-hand, living and working as a field biologist in Yukon. Sharing that knowledge with viewers around the globe is important to the team, who are witnessing the change first-hand, as well.

“The boreal forest is changing. The north is one of the first places that’s seeing the impacts of climate change, so understanding who lives here, and what is changing for all of us, is just a way for everybody to have a little bit more understanding,” Milner said.

Changing temperatures and extreme weather are having a major impact on animals, from how they interact with humans and other animals, to their very existence. Something kids in the north often experience personally, Northern Tails hopes to share that knowledge to engage and motivate audiences.

This is where education meets imagination, a critical theme to this show and shows like it, to build a collective interest in helping protect the planet.

“(How) we gain a better understanding of each other, and what’s important, and what it’s like to live in different places, (is) becoming more and more important,” said Milner.

“I think that, also, creating empathy through these stories. We present these animal characters with a lot of human qualities, and that was on purpose, because we want people to empathize — to be able to relate to them."

Northern Tails – Little Brown Bird Entertainment received community funding grants to produce this project, including from the ‘Bell Fund’ that supports independent Canadian productions. CTV News is a division of Bell Media, which is part of BCE Inc.