Jason Kenney’s Energy War Room Launches Campaign to Stop Netflix Children’s Cartoon About ‘Bigfoot’

The Government of Alberta’s so-called energy war room has turned its guns on a new target — a children’s cartoon about Bigfoot.

The latest battle in Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s multimillion dollar culture war on behalf of the oil industry is pitting the Canadian Energy Centre against a new kids movie streaming on Netflix called “Bigfoot Family.”

The cartoon follows the adventures of Bigfoot, his human family members and a cast of friendly woodland animals, including a talking raccoon and a grizzly bear.

According to a plot summary posted on the website Rotten Tomatoes, “Bigfoot disappears without a trace while protecting a wildlife reserve, prompting Adam, his mom and their animal friends to head to Alaska to rescue him.”

Netflix

However, the war room, which is set to receive $12 million in taxpayer funds this year,  sees a subversive message aimed at Canada’s oil and gas industry.

On a website called “supportcanadianenergy.ca” that identifies itself as a “Canadian Energy Centre project,” the energy war room has launched a pressure campaign targeted at Netflix Canada executives.

“Netflix recently added a kids movie that is spreading misinformation about the oil and gas industry,” the energy war room explains.

“The movie — called Bigfoot Family — was number one in Canada and the US when it debuted on the streaming service earlier this year – and peddles lies about the energy sector,” the war room notes. “It even shows oil being extracted by blowing up a valley using glowing red bombs that look like something out of an action movie.”

The war room’s pre-written form letter asks Netflix executives to use their “powerful platform to tell the true story of Canada’s peerless oil and gas industry and not contribute to misinformation targeting your youngest, most vulnerable and impressionable viewers.”

“Brainwashing our kids with anti-oil and gas propaganda is just wrong – and Netflix needs to know that!”

Canadian Energy Centre

In a statement to PressProgress, Canadian Energy Centre CEO Tom Olsen indicated that the energy war room was responding on behalf of a concerned parent.

“The Canadian Energy Centre responded after a parent flagged a Netflix movie called ‘Bigfoot Family’,” Olsen explained, adding that “pushing back against misinformation about the oil and gas industry is a major part of what the Canadian Energy Centre was set up to do. ”

“The film claims an oil company intends to use a bomb to blow apart a mountain landscape within a wildlife preserve, then flood a pristine valley with oil. All while lying about it.”

Olsen, who ran unsuccessfully as a UCP candidate in 2019, credited his war room with directing “more than 1,000 emails” to Netflix Canada in less than a day, with “almost 60% from outside of Alberta.” 

“We intend to continue this important work,” Olsen said.