LogLine: When a Coquí Frog faces natural disasters in the Puerto Rican Rainforest El Yunque, he must find creative ways to remain buoyant against adversity.
Concept: The Resilient Coqui is a rich cultural experience created for children ages 4-6 that teaches social-emotional learning, character development and showcases indigenous and ecological facts of the Puerto Rican Archipelago. Set in El Yunque Rainforest, it follows Papu, a young coquí frog, who happily lives in a home made of leaves.
Meet Papu: A naive, happy-go-lucky frog who finds his bravery through his family and community. Papu loves going on adventures in El Yunque, and would spend all day exploring if it wasn’t for dinner being ready at home. In our short-film, Papu wants nothing more than to eat his mother’s delicious Mofongo. But every time he’s about to take a bite, disaster strikes! When his home becomes damaged, he learns to not lose hope and most importantly, to remain resilient.
Characters: The Coquí Frog is a sacred symbol of Puerto Rican Identity. Its name, (an oonomatopoeia) comes from the frogs signature "Ko-Kee" call. This heartwarming tale celebrates Puerto Rican culture, and our lively, boisterous characters authentically personify Puerto Rican families and embody the spirit of the island.
Similar properties:
The Resilient Coqui is similar to properties like Bluey (ABC Kids.) Alma’s Way (PBS), Dora The Explorer (Nickelodeon), Ni-Hao Kai-Lan (Nick Jr.) Rosie’s Rules (PBS),
Meet Writer and Director: Chevez Sanchez
Chevez Jedai Sanchez is a Puerto Rican filmmaker and animation studio owner from Brooklyn, NY. In 2019 Chevez established Cleos Studios LLC as an animation production house for New York Artists focused on making original content and children’s media. A sole proprietor, Chevez bootstrapped his own company with bigger and bigger freelance jobs and gradually hired his artistic community. Starting with directing small commercials, he’s built up to show running an animated children's series for Johns Hopkins. In his career he's animated characters like Mickey Mouse for Disney Digital and Sonic the Hedghog for Sea3on.
Chevez’s production team is naturally composed of people of color, many of whom share his Puerto Rican background. The studio’s next original picture “The Resilient Coquí” is currently in production and is set to premiere at the Los Angeles International Latino Film Festival in Summer of 2026.
Chevez is apart of the LFI Spark Animation Fellowship read the variety article here.
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