Alan Summa was skeptical about the task of bringing candy to life.
However, after discussions with his wife and agent, Summa, the president of Covington-Twp.-based Leadbelly Productions, watched the confectionary creations take shape and “Creepy Candy” gain worldwide attention.
Leadbelly Productions LLC — consisting of Summa, his wife, Laura Fleming Summa, and business partner, Glenn Boyd — partnered with Toonz Media Group of India to co-produce the 2D animation show geared toward children ages 4-8.
The show is based on a bag of Halloween candy that comes to life on Halloween night in a haunted library after the nephew of the head librarian accidentally unleashes a green mist while experimenting in his lab.
The mist has a different effect on the characters as it transforms Mr. Finkle, a grumpy janitor, into a cat every time he gets angry and brings out the dark side of Miss Paige Turner, the librarian, whenever she sneezes.
“Initially, it was just a candy product concept,” Summa said. “Then, my agent — Debi Rosenfeld, CEO of Nevada-based Nxtgen Brand Marketing — thought it would be great if we developed it into an animated series. As we played with it, it started to come together. It took about a year to develop the storyline.”
Fleming Summa, inspired by Rosenfeld’s confidence, suggested the episodes be set in a library.
“The creepy part reminded me of when I was in high school, and my friend and I used to hang out in the stacks of the library in downtown Scranton and do our homework,” she said. “It was such a dank, creepy environment.”
More than 20 of the planned 26 episodes for the first season are currently available on YouTube.
TRENDING STORIES
After they all go live, they will be translated into other languages and released on additional streaming venues like Peacock and Hulu, Summa said.
Toonz Media Group also approved the production of a full-length animated film, expected to be released in October 2025.
Summa loves watching concepts evolve from ideas to the finished product.
“When you’re done, you create this little world that comes from inside your head,” he said. “You give the characters personality traits and they almost become real. You’re very attached to them … they become almost like your kids. It’s really satisfying when you can pull it all together.”
Fleming Summa, vice president of Leadbelly Productions, felt the arduous journey was worthwhile after seeing the shows on the screen.
“For the longest time there was so much development, but just to be able to look at the episodes on YouTube is so surreal,” she said.
The Summas’ daughter — Bethany Shaffer — serves as director of marketing and social media for Leadbelly Productions. Her husband, Brian, and the Summas’ son, Joshua, also work on the project.
“It’s become quite the family business,” Fleming Summa said. “You start to eat and breathe it. We’ll be out at a restaurant and Brian will pass me his phone and say I have some ideas for upcoming episodes.”
