Q&A: Dave Capdevielle and Ashley Nichols Discuss Their Animated Horror Comedy Pilot FAR-FETCHED, Now on Kickstarter!

Monstrous mayhem abounds for the rock band Sesamoid in the horror comedy pilot Far-Fetched. An eye-catching collaboration from writer Dave Capdevielle and animator Ashley Nichols, Far-Fetched is now on Kickstarter, and we caught up with Dave and Ashley to discuss their exciting new project in our latest Q&A feature!

You can read our full Q&A below, and to learn more about Far-Fetched, visit:

• https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/burrowedalive/far-fetched-the-animated-pilot-that-wouldnt-die?ref=bm05pgKickstarter!

Thank you for taking the time to answer questions for us, Dave and Ashley, and congratulations on your Kickstarter campaign for the Far-Fetched animated pilot, which will follow the adventures of the misfit musicians in the band Sesamoid! How did you initially come up with the idea for this show?

Ashley: I created the characters when I was 12 years old actually! They started out as Danny Phantom OCs, haha, but over the last 20 years they’ve evolved A LOT, to say the least.

Dave: Thanks so much for having us! So, Far-Fetched originally started as a more “slice of life” comedy starring Rue and Kira, two characters that Ashley had come up with much earlier in her life. After we joined forces to make the original proof of concept “Night Of The Cute Feast” in 2021, we decided we wanted to expand on the series and began developing the whole world of Veilport. We just kept dumping our brains out until we ended up with a horror comedy series about a girl dealing with a quarter life-crisis made real through her own mental creation and a band of misfits trying to survive in their hometown where monsters crawl around and science is trying to take over everything. It’s pretty much all the stuff we love put into a giant blender.

Far-Fetched features some truly unique characters, including best friends Rue and Quinn, as well as Rue’s sparkle-creature Kira and the other Sesamoid musicians Piper, Warren, and Griff. What can viewers expect to see when these characters come to life and rock out in the animated pilot?

Ashley: We’ve really done everything we can to capture what it was like to be a weird queer goth nerd in the mid-late 2000s. They whole gang has a chaotic and sometimes sweet found family dynamic. Even if they’re constantly getting each other into paranormal peril.

Dave: I’m really excited for everyone to see the dynamic of the group and how they play off each other as friends and bandmates. Rue’s anxious nature definitely clashes with that of the ego-driven drummer Quinn, who has appointed himself leader of Sesamoid. Rue is our catalyst to meeting this misfit group as well, with Piper being the cosplay-witch gremlin guitarist, Warren the dad-brained mechanical tinkering bassist, and Griff the gold-hearted trash rat lead singer.

I love the visual style of the Far-Fetched proof-of-concept video. Do you have any favorite animated shows, movies, video games, or comic books that inspired the look and feel of Far-Fetched?

Ashley: I’ve taken huge inspiration style wise from Danny Phantom over the years with lots of very blatant anime influence. Gravity Falls, Scott Pilgrim the Anime, Bee and Puppycat, The Owl House, Scooby-Doo, and lots of old horror media have all played a big part in helping inspire the look of the show.

Dave: Absolutely! I’m a huge horror and comedy nerd, and Far-Fetched is definitely inspired by certain pieces of media that we both adore. For me, some of the various things that went into the feel of the show are Gravity Falls, Ghostbusters, Resident Evil, Scooby-Doo, Ash VS Evil Dead, Scott Pilgrim, John Carpenter’s The Thing, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, and Killer Klowns From Outer Space.

From the prepping stages to the final touches, how much time does it typically take to write and animate an episode of a cartoon series?

Ashley: If you’re anything like us, the writing process never ends. Sure a script can take any time from an afternoon to a week to really get right, but as we work on things we’re constantly finding things to add and make the script really pop. Be it dialogue improvisations from our voice actors, suggested changes from our board artists, or realizing months into production we could handle a certain scene way better. It never ends unless you force yourself to haha

Dave: It can completely vary based on the length of said episode, but writing is a much faster process than the actual animation part of creating a series. The script for a single episode could be written anywhere between a couple weeks and a month, while the storyboards, animation, clean-up and compositing for said episode can take several months to complete!

For the Far-Fetched Kickstarter campaign, you’ve teamed up with Iron Circus’ Spike Trotman, who helped with the successful crowdfunding launch of Tracy Butler’s Lackadaisy cartoon, which you both worked on. What has it been like to team up with Spike to help bring Far-Fetched to life?

Ashley: It’s been wild! Being part of the Lackadaisy team as well, it was so unreal to watch their campaigns take off so I knew there was nobody better to work with. Spike’s offered us a ton of insight and helped us avoid some really stupid newbie blunders.

Dave: It was such a relief being able to have the guidance of someone like Spike who has done this rodeo so many other times. There were so many nuances and specifics that we had no idea needed to be implemented to form a campaign like this, and they helped spell it out so clearly. Especially after seeing how well put together the Kickstarter for Lackadaisy was, we’re very thankful for all of Spike’s help on our own project!

What types of goodies will there be for supporters of the Far-Fetched Kickstarter campaign?

Ashley: We’ll have stickers, computer & phone backgrounds, behind the scenes content, but most importantly THE BOOK. It’s going to be full of development art spanning over 20 years all the way from my original sketches when I was 12, all the way through the end of the pilot. It will also include every comic we’ve released so far!

Dave: We’ve included lots of juicy perks for folks to sink their teeth into, including original animatic downloads, complete with bloopers from the voice actors, exclusive MP3 downloads of all the Sesamoid songs, special character sticker packs and much more! We really wanted to give our backers a bunch of things to sink their teeth into from the production of our pilot.

If the animated pilot of Far-Fetched is successful, what could viewers look forward to in a potential full series of the show?

Ashley: Unless god tries to stop us himself, absolutely yes. We have big big plans for where we want our group of freaks to go and we cannot wait to show everyone.

Dave: If we were lucky enough to be able to make Far-Fetched in its entirety, then we hope to be able to bring a full narrative story about Rue and Kira’s mental connection, the trials of Sesamoid trying to both make it and survive as a band, exploring the dark secrets of Veilport, and having our characters be brought into a growing war between science and the supernatural. Lots of monsters, music, and mayhem!

Ultimately, what do you hope viewers take away from the Far-Fetched pilot?

Ashley: No matter how many ravenous monsters try to eviscerate you, never give up.

Dave: The pilot is about the band trying to shoot their first music video at an abandoned summer camp, only for them to deal with a full on monster attack that they must try to escape from with their lives and usable footage. Hopefully, it’s a really fun ride that folks will enjoy that lets them fall in love with the members of Sesamoid and get a feel for the horror comedy tone of Far-Fetched that we’re going for.

What advice would you give to writers and artists who are just getting started?

Ashley: If you’re a creative who’s reading this, you’re probably already making stuff. GOOD. AMAZING!!! You’re already 90% of the way there!!! Keep making stuff. Make from the heart, be cringe, create stuff for YOU and you alone. If other people end up enjoying it, sweet! And they will because people love displays of pure passion. Keep making.

Dave: Just start making whatever pops into your head! Whether it’s jotting down random ideas and jokes or outlining a story you’ve come up with or sketching out characters, the only way to get started is to start! The only person that can stop you from creating is you, and everyone starts small with the only direction to go being up.

In addition to Far-Fetched, do you both have any other projects coming up that you can tease for our readers?

Ashley: CHECK OUT LACKADAISY!!! Season 1 is looking incredible so far. It has booze and cats and crime. What more can you ask for.

Dave: I’ve been a writer for the upcoming first season of the Lackadaisy animated series, which I really think is going to be incredible from everything the team has made from it so far. So definitely check that out and watch the pilot and shorts on YouTube if you haven’t yet. I’m also doing voice acting for a few really cool projects, which I’ll announce when they come out on my Bluesky (@cadaverdave.com).

Thank you both for your time!

Dave: Thanks again for chatting with us!

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Press Release: (April 7, 2025) Writer Dave Capdevielle and animator Ashley Nichols are teaming up to create FAR-FETCHED, an all-new animated pilot about Sesamoid, a fictional band of misfit musicians who are primed to skyrocket to untold fame and fortune. All Sesamoid needs to break through is to manifest their big break — and one pitch perfect music video. There’s just one problem: Before they can even get started, monsters and mayhem break loose to destroy the band. FAR-FETCHED is now on Kickstarter from Capdevielle and Nichols, with Iron Circus’ Spike Trotman consulting on a campaign jam-packed with special rewards, including a book full of comics and developmental art, early access to the screening and Q&A, music by the cartoon fictional band Sesamoid, exclusive signed prints, custom sketches, and much more.

“Ashley and I became friends during the production of Hazbin Hotel and knew we had a lot of shared creative interests,” said Capdevielle. “She had ideas for some of the characters for what would become FAR-FETCHED since 6th grade, and always wanted to do something with them. So one day, she approached me about writing an animated short starring the two main characters, Rue and her dog Kira, that became the show’s proof of concept.”

FAR-FETCHED is about Rue, a walking quarter-life crisis and proud new owner of a mistakenly unleashed DeviantArt sparkle-creature named Kira. Her life in shambles, childhood friend and hubris incarnate Quinn drags her into his band Sesamoid, with fellow members Piper, Warren and Griff. As new friends, the gang embark on a rocky road to relevance in an ancient ice cream truck, but soon learn their hometown of Veilport is far more than meets the eye, becoming unwilling participants in a battle between science and the supernatural.

“We've already successfully produced a 2-minute proof of concept short animation and plan on funding the full pilot episode on our own, so that we may create a show that isn't limited by the expectations of some business suit named Frank,” said Nichols. “If we don't screw this up and people actually like it, then we plan on funding an entire series, in order to fully bring to life the story we want to tell. Sure, this is a little uncertain and risky, but it's a lot better than working with Frank. Screw you, Frank!”

“After Iron Circus’ crowdfunding campaign to make a cartoon of Tracy Butler’s webtoon Lackadaisy became a blockbuster success, we were inundated with offers to collaborate on campaigns,” said Trotman. “And I turned all those projects down, because I need to be passionate about the campaigns I work on, even if I am just working as a consultant. And I love the world that Dave and Ashley have created! Besides, they’re both veterans of Lackadaisy, so they’re practically family.” Capdevielle currently works as a writer on Lackadaisy and previously worked on the Hazbin Hotel pilot. Nichols worked as an animator and clean-up artist for Animaniacs, Lackadaisy and the Hazbin Hotel pilot.

"I have firsthand knowledge of (and gratitude for) all of the considerable skills and creativity both Ashley and Dave have contributed to Lackadaisy, so there's no question in my mind that they can pull off completing this spectacular inaugural episode for Far-Fetched,” said Lackadaisy creator Tracy Butler. “It's just a matter of allotting them the budget to do it. To that end, I wholly recommend hopping aboard for the ice cream truck ride. This project — born out of passion for the artform and love for the characters, and packed with all the skelly boys, werewolves, and cryptids the heart desires — is going to be something special.”

The cast of voice actors includes Nola Klop as Rue Cervello, Jasmine Luevanos as Kira, J. Michael Tatum as Quinn Huckley, Dani Chambers as Piper Stubbs, Jonah Scott as Warren Webber, Michael Zekis as Drain Creed, and Lauren Landa as Dr. Blair Presken. The campaign features a slew of rewards for backers, including a book featuring original comics, developmental art, character art, design philosophies and more; a computer and phone background package; access to an early online screening of the completed pilot alongside creators, cast & crew, plus a Q&A; a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the short including bloopers and outtakes; a Sesamoid MP3 package featuring every single song from the show’s in-universe band, including instrumental versions; a sticker pack; a digital sheet music pack; exclusive signed prints; custom sketches; comic cameos; and more.

“These guys have Frankensteined together Scooby Doo, Danny Phantom, Josie and the Pussycats, and post-Y2K internet culture into this colorful, chaotic aesthete I can’t get enough of,” said Lackadaisy director Fable Siegel. “It’s like Warheads for the soul. I’ve been championing this project since its early inception, encouraging the blood, sweat, and other hazardous fluids Ashley and Dave pumped into their supernatural brain spawn. This baby is nearly done cooking. They just need that extra oomph from the public to hop the final hurdle.”

To support the campaign for FAR-FETCHED, visit Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/burrowedalive/far-fetched-the-animated-pilot-that-wouldnt-die?ref=bm05pg

For updates, follow FAR-FETCHED on Patreon, X, Tumblr, Instagram, TikTok, Bluesky and on their website.

About the creators

Ashley Nichols is an animator, voice actor, and the creator of Far-Fetched. She has worked on multiple popular animations such as Lackadaisy, Animaniacs, Hazbin Hotel (Pilot Episode), Ollie & Scoops, and is currently the voice of Zooble in The Amazing Digital Circus and Lacy in Lackadaisy. She also hosts the popular YouTube podcast / stream HuniCast.

Dave Capdevielle is a writer, director, voice actor, musician & co-creator of Far-Fetched. He is currently a writer for Lackadaisy and has written for popular animations such as Starter Squad and Hazbin Hotel (Pilot Episode). He voices the characters Dimitri in Billie Bust Up, Virgil in Lackadaisy, Hoonis Boogie in Ghost Of The Year (Gooseworx) & Tim in Gamecade. He also streams on Twitch under the name Cadaver Dave.