Amanda the Adventurer is an American children's animated series created by Sam Colton. It revolves around the young titular protagonist Amanda going on adventures with her anthropomorphic sheep companion Wooly, while asking the viewer to help point them in the right direction.
The show started in 1999 as a live-action public-access series in Kensdale, Ohio. After the town admired it, the rights to Amanda the Adventurer would be purchased by Hameln Entertainment in late 2000, aiming to animate it and promote it nationally. In late 2001, the show underwent controversy following Sam's sudden disappearance and recent episode plots that concerned parents, and eventually, would have a paranormal nature around it that caused children watching to disappear.
History[]
After Sam adopted a girl named Rebecca, her joyous view of the world would inspire Sam to create a live-action public-access show titled Amanda the Adventurer, with Rebecca starring as the titular protagonist, Amanda. Amanda the Adventurer first aired in early-mid 1999. The show lacked a high budget and Sam viewed it as "scrappy", but was still passionate about it. Despite its low production value, the show became a hit by summer 1999 in Sam's hometown of Kensdale, Ohio,[1] with promotion helped by the local librarian, Kate Park.
In early 2000, Sam went on a talk show titled Coffee Break, where he was interviewed by its host, Sadie Koppen. Sam discussed the surprising popularity of Amanda the Adventurer and revealed that "some people" approached him about turning it into a cartoon and promoting it nationally, which excited him.[2] Toy-making company and television studio Hameln Entertainment would purchase the rights to the show later that year, having it be 3D animated. Despite the increase in budget, the show's character and object models seemed low quality.
Sometime in 2001, when Sam brought Rebecca to record lines with the Hameln Director at their headquarters, the script that Rebecca read contained odd, repeated phrases, with the Director reassuring Sam that it helps "train the technology's dynamic voice reaction." Then, Rebecca heard a "man in the headphones", causing Sam to believe she was upset, expressing concern to the Director.[3]
One year after Hameln's acquisition, Sam mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Hameln released a written statement, claiming that he abandoned Amanda the Adventurer and Rebecca, and that they "cannot speculate on his reasons for leaving." Following his disappearance, newer episodes of the show contained subjects that started leaving parents uncomfortable, with one episode having Amanda say "mommies and daddies aren't always right."[4]
Later, cases began occurring that had kids watching the show suddenly disappear, two known victims being Jordan Cook and Lauren, who were both seen in a trance-like state watching the show before vanishing. This prompted the librarian, Kate to start a secretive work that investigated the show. This investigation would somehow lead to her demise, causing her to mail a letter to her nibling Riley about passing the show's VHS tapes onto them.
What happened to Amanda the Adventurer following its controversy is unclear.
