PV Couple, Jay and Jane Bakerink Bring Piney to Life Creating a New Holiday Classic for the Whole Family

Photo by Brenda Cash

In the festive story Piney: The Lonesome Pine – A Holiday Classic, Grandpa Sid remarks “Life’s precious journey is a mystery, and you never know where it’s going to take you,” Piney only has one wish – for a little girl to plant him as a seed on her Grandpa’s Christmas tree farm. Winter arrives and Piney is accidentally whisked from the tree farm, his great adventure begins.

True to Grandpa Sid’s words, Piney has taken Palos Verdes-based, British-born author/Piney creator Jane West Bakerink and husband/collaborator Jay Bakerink on a journey they had envisioned for years. The Bakerinks are thrilled to share their labor of love and brighten the world this Holiday season.

In December 2020, Piney: The Lonesome Pine – A Holiday Classic, the animated movie, premiered in the U.S. on The Disney Channel, Disney Junior and DisneyNow and was their most-watched holiday special. It is now in 70 countries/territories and seven different languages. Grandpa Sid’s performance, voiced by Sir Jonathan Pryce, was nominated for an Emmy®.

Today, the 32-page picture book, Piney: The Lonesome Pine – A Holiday Classic, adapted from the animated special and published globally by Running Press Kids, is available wherever books are sold. Twenty-plus years ago, the little Christmas tree came to life. In her heart, Jane knew something big was happening when she and Jay in 1999 drove past a Christmas tree lot. Her inspiration came when she saw trees for sale long after the Holiday had ended. She felt bad for them and commented “I wonder what happens to those poor trees. They look perfect.”

Growing up in Great Britain, Jane was a performer on stage and screen who loved to write, so when the Piney vision struck, she recognized she was onto something and immediately set pen to paper. Within months, she had written a book. When she began pitching The Lonesome Pine to publishers, she realized that controlling the book and the story’s integrity would not be possible if she gave up authority and oversight. So, she decided to bring the book to life herself. Twenty years ago, self-publishing was almost unheard of but that didn’t deter her. After dozens of trips to the library and painstaking research, Jane West Bakerink proudly self-published The Lonesome Pine, bringing her brainchild to the cosmos. It was a quick and exciting journey.

A few months after visiting the sad Christmas trees, with her story in hand, Jane found a book designer, Ben Lizardi, who made The Lonesome Pine into a triangle book – her book dream was born. In October 1999, she hit the pavement, selling, and reading her book wherever she could. “We got it in the front window display of Barnes and Noble, around the Holidays, and very quickly started receiving requests from libraries, schools, and other bookstores to read the book,” she explains. “Piney’s rise to widespread acclaim was here.”

In creating Piney’s world, Jane maintains nothing would be possible without Jay. She calls her husband her best friend and partner and says mutual respect and honest communication are the keys to their success. The Bakerinks are in lockstep, both personally and professionally. Married for 29 years, they are the proud parents of two grown daughters and doting grandparents to three precious nearby grandchildren. The couple recently moved to the Palos Verdes Peninsula and could not be happier. “I grew up in the Carson Torrance area and visited the Palos Verdes area throughout my life. We took walks on the trails near Terranea. We’ve always loved it here! My Mom and Dad took me to Marineland; we cherish Palos Verde’s memories. We love the community, the businesses, the people, the tranquility, and the beauty of PV,” comments Jay.

As with their charmed life together, they always had a clear vision of what they wanted their story to be. “We knew it would resonate. Each person is unique and special – whether you’re two or 102, we all relate to Piney,” Jane says.

Over the years, the couple received many offers to buy rights to The Lonesome Pine but their unyielding passion for Piney and the world they created together never waned. Instead, just as they together made The Lonesome Pine, they decided to create the animation themselves. “We believed in the project so much that we sold our house in Manhattan Beach to start the process,” explains Jay. “So many people thought that was a gutsy move but it was natural to us. We’ve never looked back. It was a no-brainer and it has been an incredible adventure.”

The Bakerinks leveraged everything they owned to form their own production company.

“It took many years of finding the right people with whom to work for the fruition of the animation project,” Jay says. “We started in 2013 when Jane wrote the screenplay. We thought, “Let’s make it into an animation. We pitched it and pitched. They [prospects] wanted to do it their way and it just wasn’t the way we wanted to do it. In my many years of being in the entertainment industry I’ve worn several hats as a writer, producer, director, and editor. One day Jane and I just looked at each other and said with both of our experiences we can do this ourselves. Finally, in 2017, we said that’s it! Let’s do it ourselves.”

Together, they formed Haylett Entertainment LLC, and along with partners Hardy Howl Films and Open Range Entertainment, Piney: The Lonesome Pine – A Holiday Classic was released to audiences in December 2020. The animated story, born from Jane’s imagination, follows a little sapling on the way to becoming a Christmas tree and is filled with hidden clues and references called “Easter eggs.” “These hidden Easter eggs are things that nobody except the creators would know about,” Jay says.

Usually, tough-to-spot Easter eggs reveal clues or details about the story, paying homage to a creator’s inspiration. They are commonly found in movies, television shows, and video games and can be anything from a private joke to a hidden love letter to fans. In the case of Piney: The Lonesome Pine – A Holiday Classic, audiences would never know Easter eggs are hidden everywhere, from the main character’s face to a “special” repeated phrase or a word found in the dialogue. ” Our granddaughter has a mole on her cheek, so we thought Georgie should also have one. Grandpa Sid calls Georgie, “Sugarplum” as did Jay’s dad who called his granddaughter the same. Another example is on Grandpa Sid’s truck; the license plate is our anniversary date,” explains Jay.

As the animation evolved, the Bakerinks procured top talent like Sir Jonathan Pryce, who plays Grandpa Sid, Simon Pegg who plays Jackster the dog, and Jason Anthony who plays Piney, as well as Lesley Nicol, Mrs. Patmore on Downton Abbey, who plays a Forever Tree. Jane wrote two of the songs and the original score was composed by Timothy Williams and recorded at the famed Abbey Road Studios in London.  This Upbeat, warm, heartfelt music is available on Amazon, iTunes and DisneyNow.

Today, the Bakerinks are overjoyed with their success and excited to share it with the world. As Piney, Jackster, Grandpa Sid, and Georgie teach audiences about everlasting love and friendship, Jane and Jay Bakerink hope their beloved story becomes part of every family’s Holiday tradition. Jane says and signs in all her books, “May you always remember how special you are.”