Sincerely, Cody is an animated TV series, created by Tim Cosmatos and developed for television by Cosmatos and Dave Hayman. The series was co-produced between Cosmos Films, Fever Pitch Productions, the Canadian studio Magic World and the American RKO Network.
The series focuses on Cody Cholevas, a trouble-making kid who lives in Arlington, a community of Jacksonville, Florida (where Cosmatos grew up).
The series began airing on the RKO Network on March 9, 2002 as part of an initiative that introduced new in-house cartoons for the RKO networks, with this being one of four new animated shows to premiere on the RKO KidShow block that day. It was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Children's Animated Program. It later spawned a follow-up, Cody & Mark (2011-2015).
Plot[]
- Main article: List of Sincerely, Cody characters
Told from the point of view of Cody (Angela Massey) and framed as letters he's writing to his cousin Mark (Nia Vardalos) - who lives in Arkansas - he describes the every-day adventures of him, his friends - Mikey (Phil LaMarr), Kylie (Christine Cavanaugh/Kelly Stables), Dana (Candi Milo), Phil (Nika Futterman) and later Emma (Julianne Hill), and his dysfunctional family - including his parents Tom (Maurice LaMarche) and Cynthia (Tress MacNeille), brothers Matthew (Danny Cooksey) and Todd (Greg Cipes), and sister Rebecca (Lacey Chabert). Through his correspondence with Mark, Cody often takes time to make sarcastic observations on everyday life and pop culture, often in relation to the events he's describing.
Attending Ray Graves Middle School, Cody and his friends enjoy pulling pranks, while frequently butting heads with Principal Wilson (Rob Paulsen). They often come into conflict with popular cheerleader Maxine (Jodi Benson), as well as interact with other students, such as Morgana Willis (Kimberly Brooks), Scottie Paulson (Tony Tarjan), Kendall Gryszkiewicz (Tom Kenny) and Ayleen Richards (Grey DeLisle).
Episodes[]
- Main article: List of Sincerely, Cody episodes
Most of the episodes premiered in pairs of two 11-minute stories, while others were released on their own.
Production[]
Development[]
Tim Cosmatos grew up in a first-generation Greek-American family in Jacksonville, Florida, and described his childhood growing up as a Greek-American in the Southern United States as "a crash course in culture clash." After graduating from the Ringling College of Art and Design, Cosmatos worked as a freelancer for several companies, primarily Warner Bros. Animation, then moved to France to work for Saban International Paris on several shows, including Iznogoud, Princess Sissi and Diabolik.
While in Paris, Cosmatos met another American working for SIP, Dave Hayman. Hayman, who grew up in Tennessee and experienced a similar case of culture shock while attending the California Institute of the Arts, was interested in stories Cosmatos told about his childhood, and suggested they develop a series inspired by them and their Southern upbringings. While having lunch at a Quick restaurant near Parc des Princes, the two quickly prepared a pitch bible for a show called Opa!. The two pitched the show to their superiors at Saban, but the pitch was rejected on the basis that it "didn't meet company standards."
After leaving SIP, Cosmatos and Hayman retooled the pitch into a new concept, Sincerely, Cody, and pitched it to the RKO Network, who were planning to develop a children's programming service. They were given the go-ahead to produce a pilot to screen for the network and see if "the series would make it". Through a friend they were able to secure a deal with Canadian studio Magic World to produce the pilot. The pilot was screened for the RKO Network in January 2000, and Tom Bloomer, head of RKO Animation Studios, gave approval for the show to be green-lit for a initial first season of 15 episodes.
Other media[]
Video games[]
Several video games have been released based on the series. The first was Sincerely, Cody: Making Dreams Come True, which was released on November 1, 2004 for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox and Theorysonic Pyramid. This was followed by All Mixed Up!, which was released in 2006 for the Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2; On The Go!, which was released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS; and Set It and Regret It!, which was released in 2008 for the Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. An HD remake of Making Dreams Come True, Reheated, was released in 2022.
The Sincerely, Cody characters have made appearances in RKO crossover video games.