Poway High grad has cartoon pilot on Amazon

A Poway High School graduate and animator has a new cartoon pilot that is available for viewing on Amazon.

The pilot, for “Toasty Tales, will be available to watch until July 17. It is a children’s program.

Animator Caroline Foley, who graduated in 1999, said she and her creative partner, Tom Borowski, have been working on “Toasty Tales” for about four years.

Though you might not be aware of it, you might have seen some of Foley’s previous work. She’s worked on the popular animated series “Bojack Horseman,” “Rick and Morty” and several others.

If enough people watch and write in about “Toasty Tales,” it’s possible that Amazon could pick it up for a full series, said Foley. Viewers can help by watching, rating the show, commenting and filling out an Amazon survey about the show, said Foley.

“Toasty Tales,” which is aimed for the 6 to 11 age range, is about three marshmallows named Waffle, Burger and Pants who live in Move-Along National Park and who are best friends and go on adventures. They share their campground with Glenn, a grumpy park ranger.

Foley, in addition to helping create the show, worked on the transition sequences, was the lead character designer, head storyboard artist and is an executive producer for the show.

“I have no idea how we came up with (the characters) being marshmallows,” said Foley. “But they were always named Waffle, Burger and Pants - Pants because he always wears pants on his head.”

In addition to working on “Toasty Tales,” Foley is a lead animator for “Rick and Morty,” a popular show in Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming block. “Rick and Morty” is currently in pre-production for its next season. “I’ll come on in a couple of months (to begin animation),” said Foley. “I’m currently directing a short for MTV with Tom (Borowski).”

Foley said she’s always been interested in animation and loved the Disney classics growing up. Her love for animation really took off in high school, when she had the opportunity to take an animation class with Claudia Johnson. “When I saw the class was being offered, I took it,” she said.

She attended CalArts and graduated in 2007. The first major studio she worked with made the stop-motion animation show “Robot Chicken.” “I enjoyed it, but my focus in school was in 2D art,” said Foley.

She also worked on the “Bojack Horseman” pilot, another animated series, before working as an animator and as lead animator for “Rick and Morty.” She has also worked as an animator for HBO’s “Animals.”

Foley said that if “Toasty Tales” gets picked up, she will be “very busy” making new episodes for it. “It will probably take a year or two (to make the episodes),” she said.

“Toasty Tales” is free to watch online at tinyurl.com/z4rxjtz (or by searching “Toasty Tales” on Amazon.com).