Joe Mailander of The Okee Dokee Brothers on creating PBS KIDS' Brambletown, making music, and myths

Take a trip 'In the Bramble' and discover a new place called Brambletown! In partnership with PBS KIDS, the multi-Grammy winners The Okee Dokee Brothers have lent their talents to create music for Brambletown, a 35-minute stop motion film for families to enjoy!

The album of the same name was released back in January 2023, marking the Minnesota-natives' latest release. Their work is known for catering towards a younger audience, in which they make traditional folk and bluegrass-style songs with the use of instruments such as the banjo, trombone, harmonica, cello, pedal steel paired with always-inspiring lyricism. Songs on the album include the aforementioned 'In The Bramble', 'Child of Nature', and 'Critter Jitter Brew'.

Brambletown tells the story of Fox and Badger: two lifelong friends who return to their childhood home of Brambletown. As the two grow apart and experience major disruption to their forest community, the two characters have to band together and learn that even in the darkest moments, they have the power to heal. The stop motion elements were animated using a hand-made, construction paper cut-out technique by Eric Power (The Storyteller, Path of Blood).

The film is rife with positive messaging including environmental concerns, plant and animal wisdom, and growing a community. The Parent Watch wanted to learn more so we sat down with Joe Mailander, one-half of The Okee Dokee Brothers and gathered even more info on those themes, how the musicians developed the film, and what makes Brambletown the place to be. If you're itching to learn more just like us, read on to find the interview down below!

I’m excited to talk about Brambletown! The Okee Dokee brothers [are] no strangers to entertainment. You've toured and released music, but you're stepping into this visual medium of film. When did the development process start and how did this come to be? 

Joe: Well, we decided to write an album that was more character-based. We wanted to write about critters in the woods and a community that's going through a hard time. We wanted the album to be a reflection of the struggles that the world is going through, but we knew that climate change, political division and cultural divisions are hard subjects to tackle with kids. When we make up a community in the woods with some critters that are going through these issues, we can look at scenarios in a safe way to start conversations about difficult subjects. So, we knew that we wanted to use characters as a device to get into these topics.

I saw the announcement video on Instagram. I could feel the excitement through the screen of how proud you were to have this come out. I'm also a fan of stop motion. So when I saw this was going to be a stop motion film, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I love this.’ What was your reaction to seeing the scenes before everything was pieced together?

Joe: It's a magical medium where you can't believe that these little pieces of paper are coming to life. A theme throughout the album is this idea of animism, that there's life in all things - in the trees, in the breeze, in the streams. There's life in this paper that comes from trees. When we add the magic of storytelling and music, these characters pop off the page and the story comes to life. I'm a big fan of old myths. These myths, these stories, you think maybe they're old or no longer relevant, but they have a magical way of reaching into different dimensions. Your inner landscape has all these characters in it, too, bringing to life the issues in your world. Those little pieces of paper hold that power to communicate deep stories that affect our lives. It was mind-blowing to see it for the first time, and we're just so proud of the artistry of what Eric Power, the animator, was able to do.

I can definitely feel that, especially I love that you went so in-depth about myths and everything and how it relates back to the message. Speaking of which, this is on PBS KIDS, but parents and caregivers will be watching with their kids so I'd love to know, from your perspective, what do you think adults can take away from this film that they can also use in their own lives?

Joe: It has to do with how we look at a story like this and see where we are in our personal lives or even in our inner landscapes, or our own characters within us. When there is division or conflict in Brambletown, it's ultimately the fire that they go through as a community that leads to healing. I think adults always need that reminder that even in the dark, you can find healing moments. It's especially in the dark, where we realize deep truths that are hard to come to when we're just going down an easy street. That's the main message.

Is there a song that you think audiences will find the most catchiest, or what's a favorite of yours?

Joe: I like how catchy [the song] 'Doctor Mole’s Apothecary' is. That's just a fun song with a lot of good rhythms and words. But I still think about the message of that song where the chorus says, ‘The healing is in you’. I have to remind myself of that all the time. In our culture, we look to answers outside of ourselves, whether that's teachings outside of ourselves or material objects that could help us. But ultimately, at the end of the day,  the last stretch has to happen within yourself. I enjoy listening to that song for those reasons.

The film is about Fox and Badger, lifelong friends. Are there any parallels to you and your 'brother 'in this relationship? I'd love to hear more about that.

Joe: Brambletown is based on our friendship. Justin and I grew up together. We're actually technically not blood brothers, but we call each other brothers. We have been through it all - the ups and downs of friendship. The Fox character is loosely based on Justin, and Badger is loosely based on me. We go through changes together when we come back home. That did happen in our lives. As we change communities or try different things or have different relationships, these changes shift how our friendship works and how much independence we have from each other, how much we need each other, or how much space we need. Navigating the back and forth of our needs while each of us is changing inspired a lot of these songs. It shows how you can have a lifelong friendship if you can listen to each other and have room for forgiveness and acceptance. As we walk this road with bumps in it, we find that loyalty at the heart and can hopefully make it through the hard times.

Click here to see the trailer for the film:

Brambletown premieres on Jul. 26. Want to watch the special? Check your PBS KIDS local listings and you can also watch the film on PBSKIDS.com