HeyKids, formed in 1969, was the name of the studio and company who agreed to make "Candle Cove", among other shows. However, the studio was short-lived, as a result of low funds and controversial shows. Their mascot who appears on the company logo is the second version of the Magic Crystal from their first show "Butterfly Valley".
It was started and owned by Ronald Smickon and Bobby Westmoreland.
Shows
- Butterfly Valley (1969-1973) - The studio's first show, which was animated. A pair of twins named Rose and Petunia find themselves in a land called Butterfly Valley, where they must help the Butterfly fairies and defend themselves from King Boogieman, who wishes to kidnap and marry Princess Butterfly.
- Fisherman Fred (1965-1970) - Although originally produced by a different studio known as Tellytunes, the rights to "Fisherman Fred" were eventually sold to HeyKids Studio in 1969 when Tellytunes declared bankruptcy. The show is about the adventures of a sailing fisherman, who must defend his catches from the dishonest Nathanial Nasty, who plans to steal the fish Fred catches and sell his stolen goods on the market. The show was a low-budget cartoon, and suffered from recycled plots and poor writing.
- Candle Cove (1971-1972) - A little girl named Janice adventures with pirates. The show featured mostly marionettes, but had a few live actors, such as Janice and her neighbor Nathan.
- Sunshine City (1971) - A group of puppet kids deal with real world problems and learn important morals such as "stealing is wrong", "treat others the way you'd want to be treated", and "respect authority". All of the puppet characters were of different shapes, sizes, textures and colors. One of the episodes was about a puppet named Lucas who was bullied by another puppet named Peter, because his skin was an abnormal colour and he was the only puppet on the show made of felt.
- Jumbo's Circus (1970-1972) - Circus performers and animals teach children how to count, tell time, and identify colours and shapes. numbers. The main character is a little boy named Christopher who wishes to become a lion tamer, and must work together with his pet lion Congo to impress Jumbo, the ring leader of the circus who also happens to be an elephant. The show's performers are played by actors and actresses, with the animals being played by people in costumes.
Reasons for Controversy
- Butterfly Valley - There was a brief amount of controversy when Princess Butterfly married King Boogieman to avoid marrying an evil warlock named Frank, who planned on using her power to take over the world. Many parents saw King Boogieman's success in marrying the Princess as teaching children that evil can triumph, a very undesirable children's lesson. However, the show continued, and Frank became the show's new villain as King Boogieman was portrayed as a reformed villain, who became a kind king as a result of his change in heart.
- Candle Cove - This show is highly controversial, and is one of the main reasons the studio's funds went down. The main villain, The Skin-Taker, was very frightening and dark, but was only part of what made the show so controversial. (See Controversy)
- Sunshine City - One of the main characters, Ron, was regularly bullied for having orange skin. In the most controversial episode, he is absent for the episode except for the last two minutes, where he is shown jumping in front of a train, committing suicide. The scene cuts to black, and fades in to show Ron's dismembered puppet arm lying beside the tracks, with cotton coming out of the limb. This resulted in the show's immediate cancellation.