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You've likely seen them — dangling off of backpacks, secured to keys, and hanging from anywhere that needs a touch of Catholic whimsy. But the makers of Tiny Saints, the small, oh-so-adorable keychain figures of Catholic saints, hope that you will soon see them on the small screen, too.
The Tiny Saints Show, an animated series drawn in the same style as the keychain figures, hopes to become a reality. On September 22, Tiny Saints launched a month-long crowdfunding campaign to raise money to make The Tiny Saints Show, "an animated series like no other."
While there have been plenty of television shows showcasing the lives of the saints on earth, The Tiny Saints Show has something different in mind: Their program will show how the saints play an active role in the lives of people today who pray for their intercession.
"What we want to do that's different than anybody else is show the active intercession of the saints," Matt Meeks, partner and CEO at Catholic Ventures, told Aleteia. Catholic Ventures is Tiny Saints' parent company.
"The life of a saint doesn't end at their death; like, the life of a saint really just begins with their entrance in heaven. The saints are here for us, now," he said.
The show will follow a family, who will ask the saints to intercede for them in heaven. In the show, prayers offered up will go to the "Intercession Station," which is modeled like a mailroom. At the "Intercession Station," the saints will go to work to help their friends on earth.
Devising a depiction of heaven that is both theologically accurate and understandable for children, said Meeks, was the hardest part of the show creation process.
"The Lord speaks in analogies," said Meeks, noting that heaven is compared to a wedding feast in the Bible. In The Tiny Saints Show, heaven is a mail room. While a mail room is not a perfect representation of heaven, "the deeper truths are present," said Meeks.
The show, while aimed at children, will be enjoyable for the entire family, said Meeks. (He also promised there will be some tongue-in-cheek "Catholic inside baseball" references for eagle-eyed viewers.)
"We believe children are really smart," he said. "They just don't have the words or the framework for their intelligence to fully work, and so part of what we're really trying to do is provide the framework of our faith in an understandable way to help families that are dealing with these real things -- connect them with the saints, so that it inspires them to pray and take real action."
St. Carlo's exciting first day as a canonized saint
St. Carlo Acutis, one of the newest canonized saints, is featured at the start of the first episode. The teaser trailer depicts an overwhelmed, but excited, Acutis at his "first day" on the job receiving container after container of prayer requests.
On the show, the saints will not speak when they interact with people on earth, said Meeks. Like the keychains they are modeled after, the saints on the show will not have mouths.
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"The saints will pop from heaven onto earth and do things around the family, but the family won't know they're there," said Meeks. "They're in the background, fixing everything, and helping the family."
With this format, Meeks hopes that children will gain a better understanding of how the saints in heaven may not audibly speak to humans, "but you can trust that they're around you and helping you with the prayer you've entrusted them with."
"An easy yes"
The first concept of The Tiny Saints Show began on Instagram. A little more than a year ago, Tiny Saints began experimenting with Instagram reels featuring saints drawn in the style of the Tiny Saints keychains. These shorts did "very well," and then the idea for a full-blown show began to take shape, said Meeks.
Meeks, who has a background in the entertainment industry, has "always loved the storytelling aspect of things" and working on television shows. When he began work in the Catholic sphere, he assumed that part of his life was over.
Then, after hiring a creative director with a background in animation, Meeks suggested that he make short animations for Instagram, "to just kind of keep him happy."
These reels added "depth" to the world of Tiny Saints, and people began to ask for more and more content.
“We've known for a long time that Tiny Saints would make a great TV show. When we were approached to partner on this endeavor, it was an easy yes,” explained Gary Gasse, co-founder and executive creative director of Coronation Media, a Catholic media company.
Gasse continued, “Nobody is telling the stories of the saints as we intend to. Get ready for laughter, tears, and a lot of family conversations about the real heroes who have our backs in Heaven.”
