Animator Danny Casale, aka Coolman Coffeedan, and fan Mark Ruffalo
Danny Casale’s animated characters may be colorful and blobby, but their simplicity belies their message. A universe away from superficial memes or punch lines, Casale’s art, under his moniker Coolman Coffeedan, seeks to elevate mental wellness, especially among young people experiencing everyday angst.
After doodling his way through school, Casale initially went viral with his animation Snakes Have Legs, a non-partisan treatment about fake news. He was headed down a path of clever witticisms, quickly gaining traction on social media.
Then he awoke with the rest of the world one morning in October 2017 to the news that a shooter had opened fire on the crowd gathered at a music festival in Las Vegas.
“I was a 21-year-old college student living in Brooklyn, and I just felt this innate weight in my heart, this sadness that I knew everybody was feeling,” says Casale, who was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in 2020. “I was looking at my watch and knew I had to go to class later but I really felt like I wanted to say something to make people feel better with this new platform I had.”
He started recording and animating a video featuring one of his signature characters, Blue Dude, imparting a message Casale learned from his father at a young age: Although there are bad people, most people are good and there’s a lot of good in the world.
The video that poured out is full of simple reminders of good things: The smell of bakeries, the taste of watermelon in summertime, that feeling when your crush says your name.
“And I was like, I can’t got to class. This needs to be finished and it needs to be posted today. It was that Spiderman moment, where I felt like I had something to do,” he recalls.
MORE FOR YOU
Seconds after he posted, he knew he’d struck a chord. “People were starved for that reminder in that moment, but also in general,” he says. As the DMs and chat continued to pour in, Casale realized the animation could be interpreted in an infinite number of ways, for an infinite number of scenarios.
“That was the first time when I saw, there’s something bigger to do here. Focusing on mental health is not just about the jokes; it’s now also about talking about things that are hard to talk about. That’s when it kicked up to the next level.”
Danny Casale at work on an art activation featuring his signature character Spesh.
With topics ranging from loneliness, fear and inertia to reminders to drink more water, hug someone and exercise, Coolman Coffeedan animations resonate across demographics and geographical boundaries. Many have their roots in scenarios that are both personal to him, and universal. After recently losing his grandmother, Casale created an animation about missing a loved one.
“I’m glad these characters aren’t just passing content while you’re scrolling on your time line. People come back to that [first] video to hang out with Blue Dude every time they need that reminder. That’s kind-of what this Coolman universe has grown into—a bunch of characters people really love and have a connection with,” he says.
“They form this friendship with them, because unfortunately a lot of people don’t have that person in their life they can talk about these simple things with, that we all need to be talking about—depression and anxiety, and how to deal with those things. For so many people around the world, regardless of language or culture, these characters are that person for them. Once I realized that I was like, OK there’s a lot to do here. Let’s keep it going and see where it goes.”
It’s gone far. With 6.8 million followers across YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, Casale is also gaining a foothold in Hollywood circles celebrity including actor Mark Ruffalo and DJ and songwriter Diplo, who provided the voice for one of his animations. He also teamed with Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone for an animation about self-care that’s gotten 10 million views and counting.
This month, he’s published his first book of animations, both a means to comfort himself during the months of pandemic isolation and a way for others to get cozier with mental health topics.
“Text is the best way to spend a longer time as we unfold and unravel these more complicated subjects,” he says.
Ur Special: Advice For Humans! (TarcherPerigree) features some new companions—a robot who’s lost his arms, a self-loathing turtle—together with familiar Coolman characters like Blue Dude and Spesh, a white cat… or maybe he’s a bunny? No one really knows, and it doesn’t really matter, Casale says. The important part is to keep moving the conversation forward.
“When I started this four years ago it felt like to me as a young 20s dude this stuff wasn’t being talked about nearly enough, there wasn’t enough of that dialog happening on the Internet without it being too cheesy or not relatable,” he says. “It was geared toward older people or much more severe conditions than your everyday anxiety or depression that I think is prevalent among young people.”
Today, Casale believes the conversations are beginning to ease for “the everyday person… The high school sophomore who just had their heart broken or just lost their dog. There are more resources for that person, where I feel like even five years ago there really wasn’t,” he says. “You were kind-of just left to sulk or figure it out on your own. I’m happy to be part of the movement.”
- Hollywood & Mind lives at the intersection of entertainment and wellbeing, and features musicians, actors, sports figures and other culture influencers who are elevating mental health.
