Children's book by Cape Breton cartoonist adapted into new Apple TV+ series

A Cape Breton cartoonist's book about a fearless princess and her farting pony has been adapted into a new Apple TV+ animated series that premieres next month. 

Pinecone and Pony is based on Kate Beaton's book The Princess and the Pony, published in 2015.

"The show has a fearless female lead who gets into trouble and who isn't perfect, which was something that we wanted to tell," Beaton told CBC Radio's Mainstreet from her home in Mabou, N.S., on Monday. 

"We were designing her bedroom and I was like, 'We should put some seventh place trophies up on that shelf because that's reality.' Most of us were not getting first place all the time."

As executive producer, Beaton had a lot of say in the series, but she admits there was one thing the creative team had to reign in for TV: just one fart joke per episode.

"It has to be related to the plot and it has to be character driven and everything, and it became a fun thing to try and add to each episode because you get your one shot to put that in," she laughed. 

Beaton made a name for herself in the comic world, creating webcomics under the name "Hark! A Vagrant!" Her print collections Hark! A Vagrant, and Step Aside Pops spent several months on the New York Times graphic novel bestseller list.

Pinecone and Pony's journey began back in 2017 when Toronto-based First Generation Films acquired the rights to option Beaton's book. 

Dreamworks then got on board and Beaton pitched the idea in L.A. to different streaming services. Apple TV+ picked it up and it went into full production in 2020. The series is set to premiere on April 8.

First foray into TV

It was Beaton's first foray into TV and she said she was able to be involved in many aspects of production, from design work to writing, script editing and casting.

"They've always been really, really respectful of my input," she said. 

"I was working with a lot of people who were much more experienced than I was, so to have that kind of deference was really special."

Pinecone and Princess is an eight-episode comedy about a young girl who lives in a warrior kingdom and dreams of being the greatest warrior. 

Her best friend, a flatulent pony, helps her out along the way. 

"One of the features of the pony that made it not exactly a warrior horse was that it was kind of gassy, and that always made the kids laugh," Beaton said. "I mean, you can't mess with the classics. It's the fart jokes, and the kids love it — and we love it!"

Beaton said the pony doesn't seem to belong in a kingdom of warriors, "but the message in the show is often things are not what they seem, and they're made for each other." 

The power of a good story

As a child of the '90s, Beaton grew up watching Ghostbusters and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

"But I wanted a book, first of all, that just had a princess who had a different story to tell than the princesses that I grew up with, except for maybe The Paper Bag Princess, who is pretty gutsy," she said. 

She remembers what it was like to read a book like The Paper Bag Princess when she was young, and fall in love with the character because she saw a bit of herself. 

Those childhood experiences, whether they come from a book, movie or TV show, never really leave you, Beaton said. 

Even with so many animated shows out there, Beaton hopes Pinecone and Princess can similarly inspire and empower young viewers. 

"If you don't make a show that's fun, the kids are just going to not watch it," she said. "And so we wanted to make a really funny, good show. 

"And to think that it might be someone's favourite, it's just a real honour because you remember those shows for the rest of your life."