Red Stick Festival in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Here's Jackie Edwards and I picking up the Pulcinella in Salerno the other week. Note the Lobot-esque headphones that I've handily dropped around my throar like a bit of cyber-bling. Jackie, on the other hand, went for the full on John Motson commentator look, and by jove, i think she cracked it. Haven't got any snaps of the actual award yet, but once I do I'll update it onto here.

Left to right, here's Professor Stuart Sumida, Red Stick Director Stacey Simmons, Dougie Pincott, myself, and Pete "Pedro Diablo" Draper. This was on my first night getting over to Baton Rouge last week for the festival, and it was lovely to spend some quality time with a bunch of old friends. Stuart digs up dinosaur bones for a living, as well as consulting on numerous motion pictures re: anthropology, paleantology, anatomy and physical motion. He has the best job in the world. Official. But you just try bringing up Jurassic Park with him, saying "Could happen..." and watch the fur fly!
Genuinely, I hadn't really been drinking. I'd got off the plane after an extremely long flight. The same, however, can not be said for Dougie...
Graham and Badger in addition on this one - these chaps are the drivers from the Animex Festival, and such is the friendly, familiar nature of both festivals, the two were invited out by Stacey this year. Top blokes.
And the last roll call here - Cliff Cohen from Animaction, Tom Martinek from Industrial Light & Magic, the rest of us as before and on the far right a lovely lady who by all accounts appeared to be a preschool nazi. By her own admission, I might add.

I held a talk on how we brought Frankenstein's Cat to life (so to speak) at the festival, where I got to show loads of clips and early footage, topped and tailed by the finished thing. I followed this up with a character design workshop the next day which was really well attended and I hope proved useful to the participants - it's always tricky with a workshop not knowing the spread of ability within the group, but I was hugely impressed by some of the guys present. Eric and Mike and the other chaps - a pleasure to meet y'all!

And huge thankyous to Stacey and Steve Beck for getting me over once more - I missed Red Stick last year through moving home, but if they'll have me back next year we'll be sure to bring the little ones.

Bada Bling!

Frankenstein's Cat wins Pulcinella Award at Cartoons On The Bay

Just got back from a few days in Salerno, Italy, where Jackie Edwards and I have been attending Cartoons On The Bay, the international television animation awards festival. On Saturday night we were very giddy and slightly gobsmacked recipients of the Pulcinella Award for Best Childrens Show. Hopefully Jackie is able to get some pictures printed up from the camera she took, although judging by her technical wizardry on the laptop I'm not holding out too much hope ;-) If I get some pix we'll whack them up here.

Many thanks to everyone who has worked on the show and helped to make it the fun, fast paced, mad science comedy that it is.

Also managed to visit Pompei round the corner, beneath the shadow of Vesuvius, coincidentally on the day that the Doctor visited it on the Beeb. Awestruck by Pompei, the sheer size of it was breathtaking.

Off to Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Wednesday to attend the Red Stick Animation Festival. Looking forward to catching up with old friends as well as holding a talk on how we got the Cat into production and onto the screen, plus a character design workshop.

Bada Bling!

Loved him to bits???

Well, the stinky feline by the name of Nine has completed his run on Childrens BBC in the UK, all 30 episodes having been screened over the last 6 weeks. We've no proper indication yet as to how well it's been received, but I've had a few indicators from the various school visits, book signings and storytelling workshops I've done over the last few months. I've had kids singing the theme tune to me who don't know me from Adam so it seems to have struck a chord. For those of you who may not have seen it yet, do check it out on the BBC iPlayer where they're all being shown.

Frankenstein's Cat has also been chosen in competition for a Pulcinella Award at this year's Cartoons On The Bay festival in Salerno, Italy. It's pretty big news for us as it's probably the biggest dedicated animation awards festival in the world. Competition is fierce but, again, it's just nice to be in the mix.

Animex Animation Festival was it's usual bout of giddy fun and fantastic talks last month. Still recovering now... Also visited Animated Exeter for the first time too, which was a wonderful experience, thanks in no small part to the team who run it down there.

I've a couple of shows that are close to being optioned currently which I'll spill in more detail once the paperwork is signed off on, but it's good news - one's a preschool property and the other is a gothic fantasy live action series for older audiences. I'm also off to Aardman next week to work on a new preschool show I've got in development with them. It's a great opportunity for me to meet up with my old producer from back in the days of Bob the Builder, Jackie Cockle, who is senior producer of preschool at the studio now.

Last bit of news is I'm going to be appearing at the Red Stick Animation Festival in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, next month, holding talks and workshops for all who turn up. If you're in the States and fancy attending the festival, do come along, there are some terrific speakers lined up!

Bada Bling!

FRANKENSTEIN'S CAT premiering Monday 4th February, CBBC, 6pm!

"FRANKENSTEIN'S CAT, FRANKENSTEIN'S CAT!"

"HE'S A MONSTER!"

"A TWIT!"

"I'M A CAT FROM A KIT!"

"AND YOU'RE GOING TO LOVE HIM TO BITS!"

Well, it's here at long last. It's been a long, long road from the first doodles and scribbles I penned on a train journey from Warrington to London Euston in 2000. Since then the Cat was picked up as a picture book by Hodder, optioned as a short film by Mackinnon & Saunders, developed into a 2D flash animated series and now finally appears on Television next week. Along the way characters have been discarded (the Butler, the Cook) and other have been added or developed (Lottie, Egora, Heidi and the Doctor). We've a large cast of colourful, and quite mad, characters populating the village of Oddsburg and it's surrounding wilderness, so I can only hope now that the show is well received by its audience (that's you, that is!)

Big thanks go to all the production teams and broadcasters who've worked on the show, at Mackinnon & Saunders, Kayenta Production, BBC, CCI, 4:21, and A Productions. Special thanks go to Jackie Edwards, Sara Mullock and Thierry Rivard (producers on the show), Alan Gilbey (head writer and script editor) and Raoul and Jane Davies (directors) for helping make such lovely animated shenanigans. And big man love to Pete (Saunders) and Ian (Mackinnon) for believing in my stinky cat in the first place and taking a big ol' punt on it. Big man love hugs to the writers - Ian Carney, Dave Ingham, Myles McLeod, Darren Jones, Lee Pressman and Joel Jessop. Suffice to say the voice artists (Joe P, Keith Wickham, Alex Kelly, Teresa Gallagher and Jimmy Hibbert, who also pitched in with a script!) have done a wonderful job of breathing life into the cast, and I owe them a drink or four...

Lordy, that sounds like an acceptance speech. I'd best go and accept a banana from the fruit bowl as that's all I'll be receiving for the forseeable!

Off on the road this coming week, appearing at Animex Festival of Animation from Wednesday through Friday. I'll be doing a character design workshop on the Wednesday and on the Friday, accompanied by Jackie Edwards, we'll be doing a talk about The Anatomy Of Frankenstein's Cat. It promises to be a hoot!

Bada Bling!

Frankenstein's Cat trailer on You Tube

You can have a wee butchers at this little teaser trailer that's been put together for the show, currently being screened on Youtube!

The show starts in the UK on CBBC in less than 3 weeks time, on February 4th, 6pm, so all systems are go!

Thanks for all the kind words on my own Frankenstein's Cat, Ernie. He's on the mend and the way he's acting you'd never known some nut job had shot him, bar the obvious missing tail of course...

On a purely geeky filmfan note I saw Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, at the weekend and loved it immensely. A worthy follow-up to the splendid Anchorman from Mr Ferrell (avoid Blades of Glory at all costs, Ferrell fans - bag of doodoo and no mistake.)

Somebody shot my cat

So, some turd shot my cat the other day.

Ernie (for that's his name) is currently at the vets, doped up to his eyeballs and awaiting surgery on Friday. He's been shot just where the tail meets the body, he's a fractured vertebrae, has lost quite a bit of blood, and is on anti-inflammatories and pain relief. On Friday they're going to be operating on him, cleaning the shrapnel out (they don't know what kind of firearm caused it yet) and then amputating his poor tail.

Yes, would happily have my hands around the throat of the sick scumbag that did this, but chances are slim. Police will be following up with an investigation, but I personally will be using the platform of Frankenstein's Cat to get a message out there to kids who can get access to firearms, be they BB guns, air rifles or bigger beasts. If it's at all possible I'm going to try and align myself with Cat and Cruelty to Animals charities to raise awareness of this kind of thing. I find it baffling that any sane-minded person could harm, injure or even kill a family's dear pet.

With Frankenstein's Cat starting transmission in February there's a chance I can direct a bit of publicity on this and highlight a very real problem.

Santa's Hapless Helpers online!

The Festive animated short that we've produced with Qurios Entertainment is now live at HD Greetings website. Call by, enjoy, and send it on to loved ones, friends and foes. It's a smaller piece of a bigger project, featuring the Helpers and their various screwy exploits. Those of you who've followed badablingthing since I first started posting will be aware of the property, and the characters in particular. The ambition is that we present this to a broadcaster as a proposal for Christmas interstitials, idents, and potentially a half hour family film.

Terrific work by all the chaps at Qurios and yet again it's been an absolute delight to work with them, long may it continue. The short is 30 seconds long so don't worry about having to endure a mammoth bum-numbing viewing. Just make sure you click on the Helpers link when you get to the site if it doesn't come up automatically.

In other announcements, I'm going to be doing a characters design workshop at the beginning of February at the ANIMEX FESTIVAL OF ANIMATION, as well as a talk with producer Jackie Edwards on how we got Frankenstein's Cat from the book to the screen. Always a pleasure to return there and catch up with Chris Williams and his gang, plus the fellow speakers. Furthermore, a week later, I'm off down to ANIMATED EXETER to hold similar workshops there. Should be a busy fun-filled month!

Bada Bling!