With a solid filmography of funny, quirky animated films under her belt, including My Favourite Things That I Love, Penguins Behind Bars, Invasion of the Space Lobsters, Monsieur Pug and the Oscar nominated Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin, Janet’s work over the years has also included contributions to Sesame Street, the NFB’s ShowPeace series and the collaborative project Pink Komkommer.

This week her latest NFB film The Girl with the Red Beret is playing at Animafest Zagreb as part of their Time For The Masters programme, which showcases recent work by some of the biggest stars of animation. The film is a love letter to Montreal in which a girl encounters an array of colourful, extravagant characters across the city’s metro stations, set to a re-orchested take on Kate and Anna McGarrigle’s Complainte pour Ste-Catherine.

Interview conducted by Ben Mitchell
Produced, edited and presented by Ben Mitchell

The Girl with the Red Beret screens in Animafest Zagreb’s Time For The Masters programme Thursday July 8th 3:30pm

The post Animation One-To-Ones Episode #24 – Janet Perlman appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ryan Gaur in conversation with Magdalena Osinska, director at Aardman Animations.

Magdalena directed the recently released ‘I Am Your Mother’ which blends together the expansive universe of the Star Wars franchise with the look, wit and ingenuity of the much loved UK studio Aardman. The short sees young pilot Anni (Charithra Chandran), who is embarrassed by her sweet, but clingy mum Kalina (Maxine Peake), who she inevitably must team up with for a madcap family race at the academy. Along the way, their relationship is tested by the elements, their old ship, other racers…and each other!

Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 includes nine new shorts from nine studios across the globe, all with their own unique take on the saga. Watch all episodes now on Disney+.

If you want to find out more about the series you can read a special feature on it below.

Star Wars: Visions Season 2 Showcases Animation from Almost Every Continent

Interview conducted by Ryan Gaur
Video Edited by Aaron Wood
Audio Edited by Steve Hednerson
Music & Graphics by Ben Mitchell

The post Animation One-To-Ones Episode #23 – Magdalena Osinska (I Am Not Your Mother) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

The youngest of five brothers, Rich grew from welfare and government food stamps to becoming Senior Vice President of Production and Animation. His childhood nurtured his creative roots to support more kids with content that ignites their imagination and teaches positive lessons, so that they too can be inspired to achieve what others might believe to be impossible.

Rich’s extensive list of hit shows includes Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, ChalkZone, Teenage Robot, El Tigre, Invader ZIM, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to name a few. Recently, Rich made a triumphant return to Nickelodeon as a Consulting Producer, serving to reinvigorate hit animated preschool entertainment for kids. He also was named Imagen Foundation’s Most Influential Latino in Entertainment.

Interview conducted by Mel Cionco
Produced, edited and presented by Ben Mitchell

The post Animation One-To-Ones Episode #22 – Rich Magallanes appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Born in London and based in Newcastle, Alex’s work includes storyboarding for BBC Bitesize (Arcus Studios), Incredible Ant (Wildseed Studios), Norman Picklestripes (Factory-Create) and a range of shows at Blue Zoo including Millie & Lou and the second season of Pip & Posy.

In 2022 Alex’s role with the studio expanded to shorts directing with her successful pitch on a short film for the charity Beyond Equality, who wanted to explore the concept of the ‘Armour of Masculinity’ or ‘Man Box’ that young men find themselves socially pressured to stay within. The resulting film, Armour, tells the story of James, a young man who feels obliged to speak and act a certain way to impress his male friends, only serving to alienate a female classmate he has a crush on.

Released towards the end of last year, Armour is the latest short film from Blue Zoo following such celebrated offerings as Daddy Christmas, Lynx and Birds, Mamoon, Sinking Feeling, Ada and In Shape.

Interview conducted by Penny Whitehouse
Produced, edited and presented by Ben Mitchell

The post Animation One-To-Ones Episode #21 – Alex Davy appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

The show tells the story of siblings Lisa and Sean, who, feeling neglected by their dad, stow away on his latest work trip, hoping to finally get some quality time together. They quickly learn of his secret double life as an intergalactic bounty hunter and are thrust into a series of adventures exciting and perilous.

Everett Downing Jr.’s past industry experience began as a story artist at Big Idea Productions, eventually animating on feature films such as Ice Age for Blue Sky Studios and numerous Pixar films including Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3 and Monsters University among others. More recent projects include directing on We The People and storyboarding Maya and the Three, both Netflix series, as well as co-directing the Oscar winning short film Hair Love alongside Matthew Cherry and Bruce Smith

Having graduated from the California Institute of the Arts and cut his teeth in the industry as a Story Intern at Pixar, Patrick Harpin would go on to be a Head Writer for the Cartoon Network series Clarence and storyboard for Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom as well as a number of animated features including Ice Age: Continental Drift, Free Birds, The Emoji Movie, Smurfs: The Lost Village, and the Hotel Transylvania franchise.

Produced and presented by Ben Mitchell

The post Animation One-To-Ones Episode #20 – Everett Downing Jr. & Patrick Harpin (My Dad the Bounty Hunter) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

The film, presented in a uniquely elaborate 2D animation style that combines rotoscoping with traditional processes (brought to life by the talents of Submarine and Minnow Mountain), stars Jack Black as a man fondly narrating memories of his youth in Houston, Texas during the summer of 1969 in the lead-up to the moon landing, interweaving the enormity of mankind’s great leap and the fantasies it conjured in his young mind with comparatively mundane yet equally entertaining snapshots that celebrate the simple joys of family life and Americana.

The story draws upon the personal memories of Richard himself, whose films include Slacker, Dazed and Confused, the decades-spanning Before trilogy and Boyhood as well as Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly, both of which implemented their own variations on the rotoscoping technique, owed to his ongoing collaboration with Tommy and their shared passion for implementing animation as a valid and powerful storytelling method.

Having dropped on Netflix last Spring to much enthusiasm and positive reviews, the film is presently in contention for the 2023 Best Animated Feature Academy Award, following an initial struggle to be deemed eligible, a battle won that will hopefully set a new precedent for future editions of the ceremony and the industry at large.

Produced and presented by Ben Mitchell

The post Animation One-To-Ones Episode #19 – Richard Linklater & Tommy Pallotta (Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

The post Animation One-To-Ones #18 – Nora Twomey (My Father’s Dragon) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Strange World follows a family of historically great explorers, the Cades. The film focuses on three generations of men in the family. Jaeger Clade mistakenly abandoned his son, Searcher, after his lust for adventure sees him transported to the titular Strange World. Searcher himself feels a certain distance from his son, Ethan, whose interests and personality highlight the generational differences between the two. After the entire family are thrown into the pink-tinted Strange World populated by exotic animals and unknown threats, the three generations of fathers and sons are forced to find some common ground.

The Oscar-winning collaboration of director Don Hall and producer Roy Conli returns after their success on Big Hero 6. Penning the script is Qui Nguyen who also has previous with Don Hall following their work on Raya and the Last Dragon. Fittingly for the themes of the film, Strange World keeps it within the established Disney family.

Interviewer: Ryan Gaur
Guest: Roy Conli
Presented by Steve Henderson
Produced by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell
Music: Ben Mitchell

The post Animation One-To-Ones #17 – Roy Conli (Strange World) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

The studio’s latest project is Oni: Thunder God’s Tale, a four part animated series released today on Netflix that takes place in a world filled with the oddball gods and monsters of Japanese mythology, where one of the creature’s free-spirited daughters, Onari, is determined to follow in the footsteps of the mighty heroes of lore, but her unique powers are yet to be revealed, and her peaceful village is under the encroaching threat of the gods’ mysterious enemies, the “Oni”.

Oni: Thunder God’s Tale is written by Mari Okada, with Dice taking the reins as creator and directing showrunner and Robert producing alongside Sara. With a cast including Momona Tamada, Archie Yates and Craig Robinson, the series has been be brought to life by a trifecta of high-end CG production houses Megalis VFX, Marza, and Anima working in tandem with Tonko House to create a visually compelling world and tell a story that explores broad folkloric themes alongside more universally relatable concepts such as self and cultural identity.

Guests: Dice Tsutsumi, Robert Kondo and Sara K. Sampson
Presented, edited and produced by: Ben Mitchell
Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

The post Animation One-To-Ones Episode #16 – Tonko House (Oni: Thunder God’s Tale) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Welcome to another episode of Animation One-To-Ones where Ryan Gaur speaks to Peter Sohn, the voice of Sox in Pixar’s latest feature Lightyear which is streaming on Disney plus now.

Lightyear Review: The Final Frontier For Pixar’s Legacy Characters

The feature film shares the origins of the character of Buzz Lightyear in a time bending adventure as Buzz attempts to save his people from the villainous Emperor Zurg. As well as voicing robot companion Sox, Peter Sohn has played a key role in Pixar productions in the past, not only behind the microphone voicing Emile in Ratatouille and Squishy in Monsters University, but also behind the scenes, Directing The Good Dinosaur and he is currently working on Pixar’s next feature Elemental which is due in 2023.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider.

Guest: Peter Sohn
Presented, edited and produced by: Steve Henderson
Edit assist: Aaron Wood
Interview Conducted by: Ryan Gaur
Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell
Clips courtesy of Disney

The post Animation One-To-Ones Episode #15 – Peter Sohn (Lightyear, Elemental) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Having previously appeared on the Skwigly Animation Podcast to discuss her work as head of the Cardiff Animation Festival and its associated Cardiff Animation Nights screening events as well as her work as an animation director, Lauren joins Animation One-To-Ones to talk about the ways in which she has steered both CAF and her animation studio Picl in a more eco-conscious direction while also actively researching practical and practicable solutions for combating the increasingly concerning realities of climate change.

The latest endeavour of Lauren’s is the newly-launched Planet Positive Animation Network to help animation, VFX and games companies and freelancers become environmentally sustainable and help us reach net zero sooner.

While the new network will be hosted digitally, CAF has plans to run events enabling members to meet and share ideas in person. CAF is also sharing resources on their website [cardiffanimation.com], and is offering a consultancy service for animation companies who want a little more help reaching net zero or becoming environmentally sustainable.

Further reading and resources

• Join the Planet Positive Animation Network
• Net Zero Roadmap
• Calculate Your Carbon Footprint
• Reduce Your Impact
• Beyond Net Zero
• 11 Lessons from Lockdown
• CAF Climate Assembly
• Picl Climate Emergency Action Plan

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your preferred podcast provider.

Guest: Lauren Orme
Presented, edited and produced by: Ben Mitchell
Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

For more on Lauren’s work at laurenorme.com, piclanimation.com and cardiffanimation.com

The post Animation One-To-Ones Episode #14 – Lauren Orme (Planet Positive Animation Network) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

The fantastic medieval fantasy drama series from the minds of Matt Groening and Josh Weinstein has returned to Netflix for part four which sees reluctant Royal Princess Bean, Elfo the Elf and her personal demon Luci traverse their way through a world of hell, magic, dream and steam. As the show grows we’re really getting to know these characters and with each passing series the ante is upped, the jokes get funnier and the storylines get more exciting, packed. With a cast of US and UK comedians and voice over artists the show really is showing others how it is done so if you’re not already watching get stuck in!

In this episode we catch up with Josh Weinstein the co-creator of the series to find out more about the writing process of Disenchantment.

Watch the full interview below and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider.

Guest: Josh Weinstein
Presented, edited and produced by: Steve Henderson
Co-edit: Aaron Wood
Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

The post Animation One-To-Ones #13 – Josh Weinstein (Disenchantment) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Turning Red has been delighting film fans everywhere as it tells the tale of Mei Lee (voiced by newcomer Rosalie Chiang), a young, booksmart, eager to please tween on the cusp of puberty who lives for three things, for her close nit set of friends, for the dashing boyband 4*town and for the good graces of her parents, particularly her mother Ming (Sandra Oh). Puberty and pushy parents are hard enough for anyone, but Mei’s additional problem of turning into a giant red panda whenever her emotions flare up adds the additional spark to proceedings.

Showcasing an enchanting blend of epic fantasy, heartwarming friendship and characterful family drama, Turning Red deserves to put the name Pixar back on the lips of film fans everywhere, you can catch it on Disney +

Turning Red – Review

Watch the full interview below and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider.

Guest: Domee Shi & Lyndsey Collins
Presented, edited and produced by: Steve Henderson
Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

The post Animation One-To-Ones #12 – Domee Shi & Lyndsey Collins (Turning Red) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Having previously appeared on the Skwigly podcast strand Intimate Animation to discuss her short film work including the Annecy Cristal-winning Tram, Michaela’s latest project is My Sunny Maad, a feature-length animated adaptation of Petra Procházková’s Frišta.

Produced by Negativ, Sacreblue Productions and BFILM, the film tells the story of Herra, a Czech woman who moves to Afghanistan to be with her husband Nazir and his family; when their hopes to have a child of their own don’t turn out as planned, the couple take in the ailing Maad, a young boy who proves to be an anchoring presence in Herra’s tumultuous life.

Following inclusion at this year’s Annecy festival, My Sunny Maad is playing at the Manchester Animation Festival and as part of the 25th edition of the Czech Centre’s Made in Prague cultural festival this month.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider.

Guest: Michaela Pavlátová
Presented, edited and produced by: Ben Mitchell
Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

The post Animation One-To-Ones Episode #11 – Michaela Pavlátová (My Sunny Maad) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Both equally poignant and witty, the film sees a young woman drawn in ink who is forced to deal with paper breasts appearing on her chest. She must quickly come to terms with these new strange things. Her breasts lead her into increasingly unusual situations that reveal her deepest anxieties: the fear of becoming a woman, the apprehension of female rivalries, the taming of male desire, the worries related to becoming a mother and finally the fear of cancer and a loss of bearings. Boobs is both a comic and dark journey that explores a woman’s love-hate relationship for her body and her femininity. It highlights the powerful symbolism that breasts evoke for everyone. Boobs is presently screening as part of the Toronto International Film Festival and Bristol’s Encounters Festival.

In 2010 Marie obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Film Animation at Concordia University and participated in the NFB’s Hothouse apprenticeship program. Since then, she has collaborated on short and feature films and cultural mediation projects. Fascinated by traditional frame by frame animation techniques including pixilation, object and puppet animation and 2D animation, she likes to play with the boundaries between narrative storytelling and experimental creation. See more of Marie’s work at cargocollective.com/mariev

As well as continuing to work in animation Marie is co-director of Festival Stop Motion Montreal, whose 15th edition takes place September 10th-19th 2021. For more information visit stopmotionmontreal.com/

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider.

Guest: Marie Valade
Presented, edited and produced by: Ben Mitchell
Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

The post Animation One-To-Ones Episode #10 – Marie Valade (Lolos / Boobs) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

With an extensive history in animation, story creating, boarding and directing  and an equally illustrious career in comic publication Stephan is perfectly placed working alongside director Bryan Andrews and head writer AC Bradley to take the MCU as we know it flip the script, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways. This is Marvel Studios’ first original animated series.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider.

Guest: Stephan Franck
Presented, edited and produced by: Steve Henderson
Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell
Clips courtesy of Disney

The post Animation One-To-Ones #09 – Stephan Franck (What If…?) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Welcome to another episode of Animation One-To-Ones, the Skwigly Podcast which puts the animation community front and centre. In this episode we’re joined by two talents from Sony Pictures latest animated Feature Vivo, Director Kirk DeMicco and Screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes.

The animated musical adventure features all-new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony, Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Hamilton and In the Heights. And follows a one-of-kind kinkajou, who spends his days playing music to the crowds in a lively square with his beloved owner Andrés. But when tragedy strikes it’s up to Vivo to deliver a message that Andrés never could: A love letter to the famous Marta Sandoval, written long ago, in the form of a song. Yet in order to get to Marta, who lives a world apart, Vivo will need the help of Gabi – an energetic tween who bounces to the beat of her own offbeat drum.

In a world of musical films Vivo strands apart, wearing the love for music and the craft of well told family animation on its sleeve, showcasing an exciting blends of song, design and story.

Prior to Writing and Directing Vivo Kirk DeMicco is best known for helming The Croods from DreamWorks. Screenwriter and Story writer Quiara Alegría Hudes is best known cinematically for Into the Heights.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider.

Guests: Kirk DeMicco & Quiara Alegría Hudes
Presented, edited and produced by: Steve Henderson
Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

The post Animation One-To-Ones Episode #08 – Kirk DeMicco & Quiara Alegría Hudes (Vivo) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Welcome to another episode of Animation One-To-Ones where we speak with Megan Nicole Dong, the creator of Netflix Animation’s latest offering Centaurworld, which streams from the 30 July.

A war horse is transported from her embattled world to a strange land inhabited by silly, singing centaurs of all species, shapes, and sizes. Desperate to return home, she befriends a group of these magical creatures and embarks on a journey that will test her more than any battle she’s ever faced before.

Megan has worked in features for Dreamworks and on tv series for Nickelodeon before being scooped up by the streamer to bring us Centaurworld, a musical cavalcade of muppety mayhem with a surprise around every corner, filled with magic, sparkles, merriment and action adventure.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider.

Guest: Megan Nicole Dong
Presented, edited and produced by: Steve Henderson
Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell
Clips courtesy of Netflix

The post Animation One-To-Ones #07 – Megan Nicole Dong (Centaurworld) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.