Wo Fat Clan
Copyright Feb 1, 2009, Liz Michael and Mary Flash Productions, All Rights Reserved

Wo Fat Clan is a proposal for an animated television series (cartoon), based primarily among the central characters of a farm and the town and county which surround it. The setting for the series is rural Arizona, set in the modern day Confederate States of America, which in the timeline of the series, won the Civil War. The animals of the series, though usually drawn realistically, are anthropomorphized: they speak English and other languages and engage in activities such as shooting firearms, driving, and playing sports. In short, Wo Fat Clan is set in an alternate reality using "counterfactual history" where birds talk and the Confederacy won the Civil War.

The central theme of the series is that geese in particular, and animals in general, are essentially "Little G's", or little gangsters, and are always arguing, fighting, killing each other, and getting into trouble. The series, though set in the country, presents a definite young urban flavor. Wo Fat, the alpha goose, speaks in a "caucasian urban youth" accent and carries several gangster personality traits. (I will avoid the "W" word.) Liz, the "mother" of the three sons, is constantly having to expend money getting them out of trouble and having to hire lawyers for them. The show is generally set in a "dark comedy" format, much like the series M*A*S*H, or a "comedic drama" format, depending on the episode, and is primarily designed for 30 minute episodes. The show is set for an adult audience, and usually carries themes found in adult prime time shows and not cartoons. A common theme in Wo Fat Clan is that characters do die, just as in real life. Another common theme of Wo Fat Clan is the use of satire and parody to mock other artistic works.

The term "Wo Fat Clan" refers generally to the animals of the estate called "Tara", and Wo Fat is a White Chinese goose. Wo Fat has two brothers, Chairman Mao and Sneezy, who are the three legally adopted sons of the owner of Tara, Liz Michael, who is also the mayor of Goose County, Arizona. Tara is, of course, named for the estate in Gone With The Wind. The Tara Estate's address is 1861 Jefferson Davis Highway, Goose Crossing, Arizona at the intersection of Jefferson Davis Highway and Arizona Route 666. Characters interact with animals from other farms, animals and people in town, and wild animals. One of the neighboring farms, the "Red Devil Ranch" is owned by Lucifer, a white Ameraucana rooster, whose owner left it to him in her will. Lucifer is a prominent entrepreneur in Goose County and is said to hold strong influence over Goose County business and politics.

In the series, the Confederates won the Civil War, and in settlement with the Union, the Confederacy was sold and ceded all former United States territory south of the 37th parallel in exchange for the Confederacy giving up claims over Missouri, Kentucky and Maryland: that territory included the southern half of California. (Santa Cruz and Madera became part of the Confederacy, while Gilroy was in the United States.) Additionally, Utah became part of the Confederacy when the United States refused to admit it as a state because of Mormon polygamy. The President of the Confederate States is Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was eligible to become president because of the Twentieth Amendment to the Confederate Constitution, often called the "Reagan Amendment", since it was initiated in 1980 to do away with the natural born citizenship requirement to enable the Republicans to elect Ronald Reagan President of the Confederacy.

The depiction of the modern Confederacy is neither an idyllic panacaea as portrayed by some Neo-Confederates, nor a hellhole as imagined in certain movies such as CSA:Confederate States of America. It is much like today's modern South. Quirks of the modern day Confederacy include the literal non-existence of gun control, and guns are literally sold "on the street" as openly as newspapers are today. The Confederacy has received international "condemnation" for allegedly being the "arms dealer of the world". The Confederacy is also a tax haven which has Switzerland styled banking privacy laws. This has continually enraged other countries such as the United States, which has in vain tried to uncover income held by United States citizens in Confederate banks. On the other hand, no slavery exists, a strong civil rights movement eliminated virtually all segregation and discrimination against minorities, and even gay rights have been advanced due to the Supreme Court and judicial appointments of Confederate President Al Gore (elected 1987, served 1988-1994). Under Al Gore, great progress was made in environmental matters in the Confederacy, and Texas effectively birthed the "Internet".

Characters by species and breed

Geese

Wo Fat (White Chinese)
Chairman Mao (aka Meng Mao) (White Chinese)
Sneezy (aka Snodgrass Zachary Michael) (White Chinese)
Summer (White Chinese)
Manon (Canada)
Patrick (Canada)
Daniel Lopez (Toulouse)
Job (Toulouse)
McGarrett (mixed breed)
Kunta Kinte (African)
Ricardo (African)
Sammie (African)
Goldie (Toulouse)
Rasputin (White Chinese)
Anastasia (Sebastopol)

Chickens

Mammie (Black Australorp)
Lucifer (White Ameraucana)
Vladimir (Golden Laced Wyandotte)
Georgia (Peach colored Easter Egger)
Sonora (Easter Egger)
The Disciple (Ameraucana)
Smokey (aka the Cigarette Smoking Chicken) (Black Andalusian)
Barnabus (Blue Andalusian)
Quentin (Black Andalusian)
Juan Pablo (White Crested White Polish)
Benedict (Black Australorp)
Napoleon LaMillefleur (Mille Fleur Belgian D'uccle)
Nikita LaMillefleur (Mille Fleur Belgian D'uccle)
Guy LaMillefleur (Mille Fleur Belgian D'uccle)
Chicken George (Fayoumi)
Chainsaw (Black Sex Link)

Turkeys

Uncle Tom (Black Spanish)
Little Red Riding Hood (Bourbon Red)
Lavender (Lavender)
Tommy Jeff (Royal Palm)

Peacocks

Fathead (aka Frederick Arrington Thurgood) (India Blue)
Rhett (India Blue)
Fargo (India Blue)
Bonnie Blue (India Blue)
Ashley (India Blue)
Melanie (India Blue)
Beauregard (India Blue)

Ducks

Mother Duck (Crested Indian Runner)
Radar
Roseanne (Crested Indian Runner)

Sheep

Mary Flash

Horses

Robert Secretariat (Thoroughbred)

Goats

Azazel

Donkeys

Vince

Kangaroos

Sulley

Human Beings

Liz Michael (called by her Chinese name Meng Lizhen by Chairman Mao)
Arnold Schwarzenegger (President of the Confederate States)

Proposed episode ideas (link to be provided)

The "Real Wo Fat Clan"

Many of the characters of Wo Fat Clan are based on real animals which have resided at Liz Michael's farm. Wo Fat, the character, for example, is named after the goose at Liz's farm, not the character from Hawaii Five-O.

Other explanation links (links to be provided)

Explanations of alternate history in Wo Fat Clan (link to be provided)

Modern Presidents of the Confederate States
Party affiliations: (D) Democrat, (R) Republican, (P) Confederate Peoples' Party

Huey Pierce Long (P) (elected 1939, served 1940-1946) (Long survives the 1935 assassination in the timeline.)
Strom Thurmond (P) (elected 1945, served 1946-1952)
Dwight David Eisenhower (R) (elected 1951, served 1952-1958)
Lyndon Baines Johnson (D) (elected 1957, served 1958-1963, assassinated in Boston, November 22, 1963)
Estes Kefauver (D) (served the unexpired term, 1963-1964)
Barry Goldwater (R) (elected 1963, served 1964-1970)
Richard Nixon (R) (elected 1969, served 1970-1976)
Jimmy Carter (D) (elected 1975, served 1976-1982)
Ronald Reagan (R) (elected 1981, served 1982-1988)
Al Gore (D) (elected 1987, served 1988-1994)
Ross Perot (P) (elected 1993, served 1994-2000)
John McCain (R) (elected 1999, served 2000-2006)
Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) (current)

Offhand comments about past presidents of the Confederacy are continually woven into Wo Fat Clan, so it is important to keep a running idea of who has really been president of the Confederacy.

Status

Currently we are seeking out a chief animator, a production company, writers, musicians, and voice actors. If you are interested in any of these, please e-mail Liz Michael, Executive Producer, at liz@wofatclan.com . Although we have prospective actors for certain roles, and prospective title and internal themes in mind, we are not at liberty to discuss them publicly at this time. The series would likely have a target network and audience of The Cartoon Network prime time or the Fox Sunday prime time cartoon lineup, or something very similar to it. We also anticipate merchandising opportunities of the characters of Wo Fat Clan.