The world is hearing from Michael Jackson’s youngest son for the first time since the King of Pop’s death.
Eleven-year-old Blanket gives fans a rare glimpse of his sweet personality and future plans in excerpts of a video interview posted online and shared with ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
The youngster was only seven years old when Michael died in 2009 and says he shares his famous father’s love of animals and interest in conservation.
“I’m just trying to help, like Africa, because that’s a very poor continent,” Blanket says in the new video clip obtained by GMA.
ABC
Paris Jackson said she and her siblings didn’t have many friends their age growing up.
“There’s a lot of animals being killed from like poachers and stuff, so I want to help, like, endangered species of animals,” he explains.
The video interview is part of a documentary film project organized by matriarch Katherine Jackson, 83, that’s being promoted online.
Katherine is asking fans to donate to the pay-per-view effort at the website fundanything.com/rememberingmichael.
The sneak-peek trailer posted online also includes excerpts from interviews with Michael’s two older kids – Prince, 16, and Paris, 15 – as well as their grandfather Joe Jackson, 85.
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Prince Michael talks about his late father in the film ‘Remembering Our Michael.’
It shows Paris with the long hair she had prior to her suicide attempt over the summer and subsequent hospitalization.
“He promised me he would teach me how to moonwalk. Never got around to it,” Paris says in snippets of her interview. “I will definitely never forget him, ever. He was amazing.”
She and her siblings talk about growing up at Neverland Ranch in the years before Michael’s criminal trial, his move to Las Vegas and his ill-fated attempt at a comeback with his doomed “This Is It” concert series.
“We didn’t know a lot of kids, like, our age. We were more secluded. We never really left the ranch that often,” Paris says.
LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images
Michael Jackson's children, Prince, Blanket and Paris Jackson speak on stage during the 'Michael Forever' concert in memory of their late father in 2011.
“We had kind of like a zoo basically. Giraffes, lions. You probably heard of it, but yeah, a chimp named Bubbles,” recalls Blanket, who is seen wearing a green polo shirt and the same long hair he had when Michael died.
“It took me till I was like six years old to learn that his name was Michael Jackson, because he was always daddy to me,” Prince tells the camera. “He wanted us to always be, like, what we wanted to be, just be greater at it than anybody else has ever been.”
The video excerpts include shots of intimate family photos, including the kids wearing masks in public.
At one point, Blanket seems to scold outsiders who put his family under a microscope.
LEONHARD FOEGER/Reuters
Michael Jackson performs in 1997 during his ‘HIStory World Tour’ concert in Vienna.
“It’s not right to invade someone’s privacy like that,” he says without elaboration.
Joe Jackson, who remains married to Katherine but isn’t allowed to live with her and Michael’s kids, says a fortune teller once predicted Michael’s astounding fame.
“Mr. Jackson, that boy there, that boy right there, he’s going to be the biggest entertainer in the world,” Joe recalls the woman saying many decades ago.
Joe claims he sees similar potential in Blanket.
Mark J. Terrill/AP
Janet Jackson (l.) comforts Paris Jackson as Blanket and LaToya Jackson look on during the memorial service for Michael Jackson.
“They also say there will never be another Michael Jackson, and I say, we already have one,” he says about Blanket. “He just has to be trained. That kid is the spitting image of Michael when Michael was smaller.”
Katherine says she previously put her foot down when Paris sought the spotlight.
“Paris wants to be an actress, but I wouldn’t let (her) go into being an actress. She thinks it’s good, but it’s a lot more work than she thinks it is,” Katherine says.
The film project has a fundraising goal of $3.2 million.
It had contributions of $1,048 as of Monday afternoon.
“We miss Michael very much, and this film shows how much we love him,” Katherine says in the online trailer.
Michael named only his three kids and Katherine as heirs to his estate. When Katherine dies, her portion will revert to the trust and be divided among Paris, Prince and Blanket.
The video project is not affiliated with the estate, so it appears any profits could help support other members of the Jackson family.
“I’m inviting all of Michael’s fans to join me, Prince, Paris and Blanket to finish this wonderful project. Please join us,” Katherine says. “I’d love to have you.”
ndillon@nydailynews.com
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