Final Character Presentation Design Packs

This design pack will fall under the heading of an illustrated children’s books. The characters are
stylistically lend more to that genre; though they could also fall under traditional animation.

CHARACTER BIOS

Jean–Baptiste Bear and Gris Gris De’Pouille live in the Lafourche Bayou.
Bayou Lafourche, originally called Chetimachas River or La Fourche des Chetimaches (the fork of
the Chitimacha), is a 106-mile-long bayou in southeastern Louisiana, that flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
The term bayou refers to a creek whose current reverses daily due to tides and which contains brackish
water highly conducive to fish life and plankton. It also refers to a body of water typically found in a flat,
low-lying area, and can be either an extremely slow-moving stream or river (often with a poorly defined
shoreline), or a marshy lake or wetland.
Bayous are home to crawfish, certain species of shrimp, other shellfish, catfish, frogs, toads, American
alligators, American crocodiles, herons, turtles, spoonbills, snakes, leeches, and many other species.

Jean-Baptiste Bear
Jean–Baptiste Bear is a Louisiana black bear from the Atchafalaya River Basin, more specifically from
Plaquemines Parish though he was born in Concordia Parish. Jean–Baptiste Bear is known for being a
tough-talking, gracefully oafish, charismatically bumbling bear. Life is good when you are your state’s
animal. Jean–Baptiste grew up in the protected National Wildlife Refuge System. Bear activity revolved
primarily around the search for food, water, cover, and friends. Bears like Jean–Baptiste are best
described as opportunistic omnivorous feeders, as they eat almost anything that is available. Jean–
Baptiste spent his days lazily gathering foods from tree tops and vines, but also foraging in fallen logs for
insects and fishing is swamps and bogs. He is friendly and even-tempered , and lives a responsibility-
free lifestyle. Jean–Baptiste is also patient and strong.

Everything was practically pastoral, basically bucolic until Hurricane Katrina hit. Every member of Jean-
Baptiste’s family found themselves geographically isolated, and extremely vulnerable. Jean-Baptiste
himself got so lost in the storm that it was a number of weeks before he could even figure out, loosely,
what part of Louisiana he was in. There were dark days in there where Jean–Baptiste wandered
aimlessly and was barely a nimble oaf, and lesser version of an uncharismatic, bumbling bear.

Jean-Baptiste’s ran into Mr. Legba, a loa, who looked just like an old man with a cane, wearing a broad
brimmed straw hat and smoking a pipe. Mr. Legba helped Jean-Baptiste work through the displacement
and grief he felt over Katrina. Mr. Legba taught him how to use Five Finger Grass, Dragon Blood Sticks,
Dixie Love Perfume and Brimstone. Mr. Legba taught Jean-Baptiste lessons like Five Finger Grass has a
leaf that splits into five sections. The belief was that if hung in one’s house, it would ward off any evil.
Dragon Blood Sticks were said to bring good luck in money, business, and love. Keeping a stick close on
a person was said to bring luck. Dixie Love Perfume was noted for a fragrance to encourage romance.
Brimstone is used to keep away evil spirits and counteract spells cast on households, and was burned in
rooms needing to be deodorized. These are all available in local shops.

Jean-Baptiste was not surprised when he lost Mr. Legba during Hurricane Isaac. He was not surprised
when he found himself geographically isolated yet again. He was surprised that special day down by
Laughing Brook in Bayou Lafourche where he first met Gris Gris De’Pouille which is where our story
begins.
Gris Gris De’Pouille

Gris Gris is a voodoo doll who tries really hard to be perky, positive one but in truth tends to be timid and
worrisome. The overbearing queen who made him always expected more from Gris Gris than what he
could give. Gris Gris is sensitive and tends to overreact. Gris Gris’ queen was known to exercise great
power in their community, and had the role of leading many of the ceremonial meetings and ritual dances.
These drew crowds of hundreds and thousands of people. She was considered a viable practitioner who
made a living through the selling and administering of amulets, charms, and magical powders, as well as
spells and charms that guaranteed to remedy ailments, grant wishes, and confound or destroy one’s
adversaries Her power and influence was widespread and largely incontestable, recognized by
journalists, judges, criminals, and citizens alike.

While Gris Gris loved his queen he always leaned toward a penchant for self harm. His motivations for
self-harm vary. It’s just that there’s a lot of baggage when your sole purpose is to bring harm or pain to
the lives of others. Self-harm is not limited to humans. Captive animals, such as birds and monkeys, are
also known to participate in self-harming behavior; not just dolls. Gris Gris may be of a generally anxious,
fainthearted disposition, he tries to be brave and on occasion conquers his fears.

When Katrina hit everything changed. It is known that the storm surge was as high as 12-14 feet range in
the Bayou La Batre where Gris Gris was sewn, in Alabama and was likely closer to 20 feet immediately
along the Mississippi-Alabama border. Many homes were completely engulfed by Katrina's surge in
Bayou La Batre. To Gris Gris the storm was just unreal. It was the worst his queen had seen anywhere.
Katrina's surging waves lifted one of two shrimp boats, the Integrity, from the bayou and involuntarily dry-
docked her at a shipyard, right below the drawbridge in the town's center.

The skipper of the Integrity, the queens brother, rode out Katrina on the boat, along with his wife and
children. He fought the 100-plus-mph winds and 15-foot storm surge in a vain effort to keep Integrity from
breaking loose from its moorings. During the storm, however the voodoo queen near lost her mind with
worry and exhaustion too her under what with all the dancing, magic, and biting the head off a live
chicken and drinking its blood. That’s what she did to waylay the storm to no avail. She was never the
same.

One day while she was sick from dwelling between the land of the living and the dead she threw Gris Gris
out with the morning newspaper. After a long drive in the back of the garbage truck he found himself lost
in Bayou Laforche not long before that special day down by Laughing Brook in Bayou Lafourche where
he first met Jean-Baptiste which is where our story begins ….

Laissez les bon temps rouer.

JEAN–BAPTISTE BEAR AND AN AHNVEE

Jean–Baptiste Bear yawned as he lay on his cozy bed of grasses and

watched the first early cockcrow sunbeams creeping through the Bayou
Lafourche to chase out the Black Shadows. Once more he yawned, and slowly
got to his feet, picked up his satchel and juddered himself. Then he walked over to a big bald cypress,
stood up on his hind legs, reached as high up on the trunk of
the tree as he could, and scrabbled the bark with his great bear claws. After
that he yawned so wide it seemed as if his jaws would crack, and then sat
down to think what he wanted for breakfast.
While he sat there, trying to make up his mind what would taste best, he
was listening to the sounds that told of the waking of all the little
friends who live on the Bayou. He heard Samson Water-Thrush way off in the distance screaming, "Thief!
Thief!" and grinned. "I wonder," thought
Jean–Baptiste , "if someone has stolen Sammy's mojo, or if he has stolen
the mojo of someone else. Probably he is the thief himself."

He heard Chatterer the Coypu scolding as fast as he could make

his tongue go, and working himself into a terrible rage. "Must be that
Chatterer got out of bed the wrong way this morning," thought he.

He heard Mauvais the Crow cawing at the top of his lungs, and he knew by
the sound that Mauvais was getting into mischief of some kind. He heard
the sweet voices of blissful little frog singers, and they were good to hear.
But most of all he listened to a merry, low, watery laugh that never
stopped but went on and on, until he just felt as if he must laugh too.
It was the voice of the Laughing Brook. And as Jean–Baptiste listened it
suddenly came to him just what he wanted for breakfast.

"I'm going fishing," said he in his deep grumbly-rumbly bear voice to no one
in particular. "Yes, ma chère, I'm going fishing. I want some fat catfish for
my breakfast."

He trundled along to the bank of the Laughing Brook, and then left past the curve to a little billabong of
which he knew, and as he drew near he took the greatest care not to make the littlest, fiddliest bit of
noise. Now it just happened that
early as he was, someone was before Jean–Baptiste Bear. When he came in sight
of the little pool, who should he see but another sort of fisherman there, who
had already caught a fine fat catfish.

“Who is was?” asked, Jean–Baptiste before answering his own question. “Why, it be Little Gris Gris
De’Pouille to be sure.” He was just climbing up the bank with the fat catfish in his burlap fist. Jean–
Baptiste Bear's own mouth watered as he saw it. Little Gris Gris sat down on the bank and prepared to
enjoy his breakfast. He hadn't seen Jean–Baptiste Bear, and he didn't know that he or anyone else was
anywhere near.

Jean–Baptiste Bear tiptoed up very softly until he was right behind Little Gris Gris. "Groof, grawf!" said he
in his deepest, most grumbly-rumbly bear voice.
"That's a very fine looking catfish. I wouldn't mind if I had it myself."

Little Gris Gris gave a frightened squeal and without even turning to
see who was speaking dropped his fish and dived headfirst into the
long reeds of the marshlands. Jean–Baptiste Bear sprang forward and with one of his big paws caught
the fat catfish just as it was slipping back into the water.

"Here's your catfish, Voodoo Doll," said he, as Little Gris Gris poked his head out
of the tall grass to see who had frightened him so. "Come and get it."

But Little Gris Gris wouldn't. The fact is, he was afraid to. He flinched at
Jean–Baptiste’s big bear growls and called him a Rocachah which means beach burrs that stick to
socks…. and everything wicked name he could think of. Jean–Baptiste didn't seem to mind. He chuckled
as if he thought it all a boundless
joke and repeated his invite to Little Gris Gris to come and get his fish.
But Little Gris Gris just turned his back and went off down the Laughing Brook
in a prodigious indignation and wishing his little burlap doll feet could make stomping noises.
"It's too bad to waste such a fine fish," said Jean–Baptiste thoughtfully. "I
wonder what I'd better do with it." And while he was wondering, he ate
it all up. Then he started down the Laughing Brook to try to catch some
for himself.

LITTLE GRIS GRIS DE’POUILLE GETS EVEN WITH JEAN–BAPTISTE BEAR

Little Gris Gris De’Pouille was in a terrible rage. It seemed like a cruel beginning to a potentially beautiful
day and Little Gris Gris knew it. But who wouldn't be in a rage if his breakfast was taken from him just as
he was about to eat it? Not that he was truly prepared to eat the catfish raw but that’s hardly the point.
Anyway,
that is what Little Gris Gris told Natalia Nutria. Perhaps he didn't tell it quite
exactly as it was, but you know he was very badly frightened at the
time.

"I was sitting on the low bank of the Laughing Brook beside one of the
little pools," he told Natalia Nutria, "and was just going to eat a fat
catfish I had caught, when who should come along but that huge whopping
bully, Jean–Baptiste Bear. He took that fat catfish away from me and ate it just
as if it belonged to him! I hate him! If I live long enough I'm going to
get even with him!"

Of course that wasn't nice talk and anything but a nice spirit, but
Little Gris Gris De’Pouille's temper is sometimes pretty short, especially when he
is hungry, and this time he had had no breakfast, you know.

Jean–Baptiste Bear hadn't actually taken the fish away from Little Gris Gris. But
looking at the matter as Little Gris Gris did, it amounted to the same thing.
You see, Jean–Baptiste knew perfectly well when he invited Little Gris Gris to come back and get it that
Little Gris Gris wouldn't dare do anything of the kind.

"Where is he now?" asked Natalia Nutria.

"He's somewhere up the Laughing Brook. I wish he'd fall in and get
drowned!" snapped Little Gris Gris.

Natalia Nutria just had to laugh. The idea of great big Jean–Baptiste Bear getting
drowned in the Laughing Brook was too funny. There wasn't water enough
in it anywhere except down in the Smiling Pool, and that was on the
Bayou Meadows, where Jean–Baptiste had never been known to go. "Let's go see
what he is doing," said Natalia Nutria.

At first Little Gris Gris didn't want to, but at last his curiosity got the
better of his fear, and he agreed. So the two little brown-coated scamps
turned down the Laughing Brook, taking the greatest care to keep out of
sight themselves. They had gone only a little way when Natalia Nutria
whispered: "Sh-h! There he is."

Sure enough, there was Jean–Baptiste Bear sitting close beside a little pool
and looking into it very intently.

"What's he doing?" asked Little Gris Gris De’Pouille, as Jean–Baptiste Bear sat for the
longest time without moving.

Just then one of Jean–Baptiste 's big paws went into the water as quick as a
flash and scooped out a catfish that had ventured too near.

"He's fishing!" exclaimed Natalia Nutria.

And that is just what Jean–Baptiste Bear was doing, and it was very plain to
see that he was having great fun. When he had eaten the catfish he had
caught, he moved along to the next little pool.

"They are _our_ fish!" said Little Gris Gris fiercely. "He has no business
catching _our_ fish!"

"I don't see how we are going to stop him," said Natalia Nutria.

"I do!" cried Little Gris Gris, into whose head an idea had just popped. "I'm
going to drive all the fish out of the little pools and muddy the water
all up. Then we'll see how many fish he will get! Just you watch me get
even with Jean–Baptiste Bear."

Little Gris Gris slipped swiftly into the water and swam straight to the
little pool that Jean–Baptiste Bear would try next. He frightened the fish so
that they fled in every direction. Then he stirred up the mud until the
water was so dirty that Jean–Baptiste couldn't have seen a fish right under his
nose. He did the same thing in the next pool and the next. Jean–Baptiste Bear's
fishing was spoiled for that day.