Twelve Forever is an Americananimated web series created by Julia Vickerman, a former writer and storyboard artist known for her work on Clarence and The Powerpuff Girls. Twelve Forever premiered in the United States on Netflix on July 29, 2019. The original pilot was produced for Cartoon Network, by Cartoon Network Studios, and was originally released on their website on May 18, 2015. In December 2017, it was announced that Netflix had acquired the rights to Twelve Forever for a full series, with production duties being handled by The Cartel and Puny Entertainment. One of the executive producers of the series, Shadi Petosky, described Reggie as a queer character "coming to terms with her sexuality". The series also features a number of other LGBTQ characters: Mack and Beefhouse, a couple in the fantasy world of Endless Island, and Galaxander, who previously had a boyfriend. Ultimately, the series ended after its first season with no further plans to continue it, as noted by Petosky in a tweet. As such, GLAAD recognized the series as one of those shows released in 2019 with LGBTQ representation.
Premise
The series centers on Reggie Abbott, an imaginative 12-year-old whose desire to remain a child is so powerful she can enter another world in which she never has to grow up: an island called Endless where her childhood toys and drawings are real. She is joined by her friends Todd and Esther Hopkins, who visit this amazing world to live out their superhero fantasies and escape the responsibilities of impending adulthood. Life and reality often catch up with them in Endless as the preteens start dealing with growing pains and conflicts develop between them. The negativity the friends experience while dealing with their new complicated problems feed their enemy, the nefarious Butt Witch, who seeks to destroy Endless.
Voice cast
Kelsy Abbott as Reggie, Wade, Kathy, Flaps, Flowery Woman, Billy Canyon, Tammy, Dr. Tenders, Swimple Jan, Plates, Mike, Omelet, Winged Moyse
Antony Del Rio as Todd, Chairold, Garrett, Sherbert
There have been variety of reviews. Lacey Womack of ScreenRant praised the series while others praised the "great pedigree" of those working on the show. While some described the show as having a "sense of its Midwest, small town setting as the backdrop of conformist pressure" and compared it to Gravity Falls, and praised its LGBTQ representation, putting it alongside shows such as Steven Universe, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, The Dragon Prince, and OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes. At the same time, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction contributor Steven Pearce gave a short positive review of the show, arguing that the show juggles dark and light, the real world and the imagined world, with Endless acting out "metaphorical versions of Reggie's real-world problems." Pearce also argued that the series is good and inventive, bringing in surrealism, "pre-teen angst, humour and twelve year-olds using flame-throwers." In January 2020, GLAAD nominated the show for its Outstanding Kids & Family Programming award, along with a host of other shows.
Controversy and possibility of a second season
In September 2019, an old Tumblr post by Julia Vickerman, which seemed to talk about self-described pedophilia involving a 14-year-old boy, surfaced, putting the show in jeopardy. Some claimed that Vickerman had been removed from the show as a result, although no solid confirmation was provided. At a later point, sometime before July 2019, Shadi Petosky became the executive producer on the show. In May 2020, while recommending the show, Lacey Womack of ScreenRant described it as an animated series "before going on an indefinite hiatus." Around the same time, when asked about the show, Shadi Petosky said that closing the studio which made the series was a "highly traumatic decision" and that she just wanted to write after Danger & Eggs, instead of being sucked in "to managing everyone’s problems."
