Animation

“A FEW GOOD MILES” is an Animated Situational Comedy centering on a tight knit yet flawed family. The dad (JIM MILES) is a writer for a television show. He is eager for what life throws his way. The television show within the show that JIM writes is represented by occasional LIVE ACTION segments (in an animated world, their animation is live action ... a twist on the UNCANNY VALLEY). The mom (BETH MILES) is a sweet, loving, outstanding cook, and possesses a ridiculously strong competitive streak. She is patient to a point. Elderson, (JOSH MILES) is a fifth grader and a natural athlete. He is a solid B student. He is a bit of a deep thinker with a tendency to be lost in those thoughts. Younger son, (BENJAMIN MILES) is a third grader with serious trust issues. He is his own man and will never work solely to impress. He is who he is. It is not that he does not respect authority ... it is that he does not respect the individual who may or may not be in authority. Those few that have earned his respect, he goes to the mat for. (He would never use contractions.)
The series is located in the town and county of Calhoun, USA. The town, county, and Elementary school are all named after Vice President John C. Calhoun, considered to be one of the most important US Senators in history. One of only two Vice Presidents that served under two different presidents. Just a little historical fun for the digger of facts.
Every scene has a title that IS SHOWN on the bottom fourth. These titles are an important part of the style of this series. Also, the opening credits will reveal a different Screen Saver unique to each episode. This is an animated show about a writer and these elements are important facets ... they all reflect the “writer”. There are a few other visual cues that will become apparent.
The neighbors are JEFF PENNINGTON, a taciturn good ol’ boy that owns an auto mechanic shop, and LESLEE FROST-PENNINGTON, who owns a Real Estate company and is concerned with perception and image ... she hyphenates to include her maiden name which is a prominent family from the area. Their two daughters are NICOLE (fourth grade) who is a gifted athlete ... and pretty much anything else she tries, she succeeds. As the best friend of both MILES boys, she is arguably the fifth main character in the series. Then there’s MOLLY ... as a preschooler, she is the youngest family member of the two main families. She is without a doubt one of the most creative and watchable characters in animation. Most every time she is on the screen, she is actively working to accomplish a physical task with found objects ... that normal children would never consider. An incredibly brilliant engineer in the making.