LITTLE AMÉLIE © Maybe Movies, Ikki Films, 2 Minutes, France 3 Cinéma, Puffin Pictures, 22D Music

Presenting episode 119 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast!

In this episode we welcome Liane-Cho Han and Maïlys Vallade, who join the podcast to discuss their film Little Amélie or the Character of Rain.

The world is a perplexing, peaceful mystery to Amélie until a miraculous encounter with chocolate ignites her wild sense of curiosity. As she develops a deep attachment to her family’s housekeeper, Nishio-san, Amélie discovers the wonders of nature as well as the emotional truths hidden beneath the surface of her family’s idyllic life as foreigners in post-war Japan. Adapted from the autobiographical novel by Amélie Nothomb and brought to life in the completely original animated style of directors Mailys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN tells a tender, poignant and visually stunning story about the healing power of human connection.

ANNECY 2025: Little Amélie or the Character of Rain – Review

Also discussed: The launch of Skwigly pal Gareth Cavanagh‘s Square Window podcast, The Simpsons x Fortnite crossover and the cursed history of Simpsons video game tie-ins, Mike Judge’s laudable reboots of King of the Hill and Beavis and Butt-Head, recent festival funtimes at Encounters, Overlap, MAF and LIAF and preview the year’s animated holiday specials. We also review Michel Gondry’s Maya, Give Me a Title, Common Side Effects, Smiling Friends and Beryl, the new book from Joanna Quinn and Les Mills.

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Winter 2025 – Liane-Cho Han & Maïlys Vallade appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Image: Netflix

Presenting episode 118 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast!

In this episode we welcome back Genndy Tartakovsky, whose new feature film Fixed is out now on Netflix.

From visionary director Genndy Tartakovsky comes “Fixed,” an adult animated comedy about Bull, an average, all-around good dog who discovers he’s going to be neutered in the morning! As the gravity of this life-altering event sets in, Bull realizes he needs one last adventure with his pack of best friends as these are the last 24 hours with his balls! What could go wrong…?

Also discussed in this episode: The patchy state of the current industry, the return of Bristol’s Encounters Film Festival and its re-embracing of animation, the legacy of animation champion and publicist extraordinaire Fumi Kitahara and the inescapable rise of AI.

Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson
Produced, edited and music by Ben Mitchell
Interview conducted by Steve Henderson

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Summer 2025 – Genndy Tartakovsky appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Image: BBC/Aardman/Netflix

Presenting episode 117 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast!

In this episode we look back at the incredible world of Wallace & Gromit, whose hotly-anticipated new feature-length outing Vengeance Most Fowl will premiere in the UK on Christmas day!

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl: Aardman’s four-time Academy Award®-winning director Nick Park and Emmy Award-nominated Merlin Crossingham return with a brand new epic adventure, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. Image © 2024 Netflix, Inc.

We also welcome the film’s co-directors Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham as well as star Ben Whitehead (voice of Wallace) to learn more about the duo’s latest adventure, which sees the return of the franchise’s most beloved villain Feathers McGraw, known for his chillingly mute performance in 1993’s BAFTA and Oscar-winning The Wrong Trousers.

Gromit’s concern that Wallace is becoming too dependent on his inventions proves justified, when Wallace invents a “smart” gnome that seems to develop a mind of its own. When it emerges that a vengeful figure from the past might be masterminding things, it falls to Gromit to battle sinister forces and save his master… or Wallace may never be able to invent again!

The 70-minute long film will be the pair’s first feature-length outing since 2005’s Curse of the Were-Rabbit and is set to premiere on the BBC/BBC iPlayer this Christmas followed by a global release on Netflix in the new year.

Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson
Produced, edited and music by Ben Mitchell
Interviews conducted by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Winter 2024 (Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl) appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Images: The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland (Universal Pictures Content Group/Lupus Films), Tiddler (BBC/Magic Light Picture) & That Christmas (Locksmith Animation)

Presenting the 116th episode of the Skwigly podcast!

In this episode we meet some of the talents behind the 2024 holiday animated feature films The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland (director Peter Baynton and producer Ruth Fielding of Lupus Films) and Locksmith Animation‘s That Christmas (writer Richard Curtis, director Simon Otto and producer Nicole P. Hearon) as well as the 22-minute BBC special Tiddler (producer Barney Goodland of Magic Light Pictures).

Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson
Interviews conducted and edited by Steve Henderson
Edited and produced by Ben Mitchell
Music by Ben Mitchell

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast #116 – 2024 Seasonal Animations appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Autumn 2024 – Chris Sanders appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: 25 Years of Cartoon Saloon appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Image: IFC Films

Presenting episode 113 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast!

In this episode we welcome back director Robert Morgan, whose live-action/animation hybrid horror feature film Stopmotion is released on Shudder this month.

Ella Blake is a stop-motion animator who is struggling to control her demons after the loss of her overbearing mother. Suddenly alone in the world, she embarks upon the creation of a macabre new puppet film, which soon becomes the battleground for her sanity. As Ella’s mind starts to fracture, the characters in her animated film take on a terrifying life of their own, and the unleashed power of her imagination threatens to destroy her.

Starring Aisling Franciosi as haunted stop-motion animator Ella Blake alongside Stella Gonet and Tom York, Stopmotion is written by Robert Morgan with Robin King and recently enjoyed a festival run where it picked up the award for Best Director at Fantastic Fest and the Special Jury Award at Sitges.

Filmed in live-action combined with Robert Morgan’s signature brand of nightmarish puppet design and uncanny stop-motion animation, the film expands on a multi-award-winning legacy of (mostly) animated horror shorts that also include The Man in the Lower Left Hand Corner of the Photograph, The Separation and Invocation. Morgan’s body of work also includes contributions to YouTube phenomenon Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared and the feature films The ABCs of Death 2 and To Dust, as well as the tribute films Belial’s Dream and Tomorrow I Will Be Dirt, created for Arrow’s BD releases of cult horror classics Basket Case and Schramm respectively.

Also discussed: Festival reports from Anima Brussels, Animation Dingle and Cardiff Animation Festival, an overview of some of the exciting projects coming out of the Irish animation sector, 25 years of Cartoon Saloon, the BFI’s upcoming Stop-Motion season curated by Justin Johnson, Ren & Stimpy reboot leaks and the bizarre fate of Coyote Vs. Acme.

Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson
Interview conducted by Ben Mitchell
Edited, produced and music by Ben Mitchell

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Spring 2024 – Robert Morgan appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Winter 2023 – Sam Fell, Leyla Hobart, Robin Shaw and Ruth Fielding appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

Presenting episode 111 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast!

In this episode we welcome back Charles Huettner and Sean Buckelew as well as Benjy Brooke of Green Street Pictures, whose new series Scavengers Reign will kick off this month on Max.

In Scavengers Reign, the brainchild of visionary creators Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner, the remaining crew of a damaged interstellar freighter ship find themselves stranded on a beautiful yet unforgiving alien planet – where they must survive long enough to escape or be rescued. But as the survivors struggle to locate their downed ship and missing crewmates, their new home reveals a hostile world allowed to thrive without human interference. Featuring lush, visually stunning animation, Scavengers Reign presents a wholly unique view of the consequences of unchecked hubris and humanity’s eternal desire to conquer the unknown.

Also discussed: Upcoming MAF highlights, Chicken Run and Rick & Morty recasts, mutual Mutant Mayhem enthusiasm, the evolution of Bristol Animation Meetup and the worrying dearth of animation at this year’s Encounters Film Festival.

Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson
Interview conducted by Ben Mitchell
Edited, produced and music by Ben Mitchell

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Autumn 2023 – Charles Huettner, Sean Buckelew & Benjy Brooke appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

In this episode we welcome Peter Sohn and Denise Ream, director and producer respectively of the latest Disney/Pixar feature film Elemental.

Disney and Pixar’s Elemental is an all-new, original feature film set in Element City, where fire-,water-, land- and air-residents live together. The story introduces Ember, a tough, quick-witted and fiery young woman, whose friendship with a fun, sappy, go-with-the-flow guy named Wade challenges her beliefs about the world they live in. Directed by Peter Sohn (The Good Dinosaur, Partly Cloudy short), produced by Denise Ream (The Good Dinosaur, Cars 2), and featuring the voices of Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie as Ember and Wade, respectively, Elemental releases on 7th July, 2023.

Also discussed: Annecy highlights, MAF developments, the return of Futurama and the strange new phenomenon of animators being spotted in the wild,

Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson
Interview conducted by Ryan Gaur
Edited and produced by Ben Mitchell
Music by Ben Mitchell

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Summer 2023 – Peter Sohn & Denise Ream appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Spring 2023 – Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby & Domee Shi appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Winter 2022 – Guillermo del Toro & Mark Gustafson appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

In this episode we welcome acclaimed director Henry Selick, whose work includes the beloved stop-motion feature films The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach and Coraline. His latest project Wendell and Wild, co-written by comedy-horror visionary Jordan Peele, is released on Netflix October 28th and tells the story of a teenage girl blighted by misfortune who is targeted by scheming demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Peele) to summon them to the Land of the Living.

Also discussed: New trailers for upcoming animated features My Father’s Dragon and Super Mario Bros., continued excitement for Guillermo del Toro‘s upcoming stop-motion take on Pinocchio, Tonko House‘s new series Oni: Thunder God’s Tale, the mixed fates of Netflix’s animation slate and the online release of Don Hertzfeldt‘s modern classic World of Tomorrow.

Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson
Interview conducted by Laura-Beth Cowley
Edited and produced by Ben Mitchell
Music by Ben Mitchell

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Autumn 2022 – Henry Selick appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

In this episode we welcome back Matthew Walker and Jane Davies, directors of Lloyd of the Flies, the latest animated series to come from the much-celebrated Bristol studio Aardman Animations made with support from the BFI Young Audiences Content Fund. Beginning on CITV this week, the project marks the continued expansion of Aardman’s project roster as its first “in-house” CG production with a major brand push planned for the show and its characters.

Lloyd of the Flies shines a light on the weird, wonderful, and sometimes bizarre world of insects and their behaviour. The series follows the adventures of Lloyd B Fly, a housefly and the middle child of 453. Lloyd lives with his parents, his little sister PB and their 225 maggot siblings inside a compost bin they call home. In the series, Lloyd is always accompanied by his best and only friend, Abacus Woodlouse, PB, and eccentric tag-along, Cornea Butterfly. Together they explore the strange world beyond the compost bin, where there is no shortage of lessons for Lloyd to very nearly learn.

Also discussed: The premature demise of the Young Audiences Content Fund, notable projects from the recent Disney D23 Expo, the South Park 25th anniversary concert, excitement for upcoming Netflix features Wendell & Wild and Pinocchio, Mike Judge’s second Beavis & Butt-Head reboot, fake/scam festivals and mysteries surrounding the production circumstances of the new Ren & Stimpy Show.

Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson
Interview conducted by Ben Mitchell
Edited and produced by Ben Mitchell
Music by Ben Mitchell

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Summer 2022 – Matthew Walker & Jane Davies appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

In this episode we meet Angus MacLane and Galyn Susman, director and producer respectively of Disney/Pixar’s Lightyear which arrives in cinemas June 17th. We also welcome the team behind the recently released Bob’s Burgers Movie – director/writer Loren Bouchard, co-director Bernard Derriman and co-writer/producer Nora Smith.

Also discussed: Reflecting on 10 years of the podcast, upcoming Annecy highlights, the inexplicable Better Call Saul animated spinoff Slippin’ Jimmy, sprawling fandoms and the surprise return of Beavis & Butt-head.

Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson
Interviews conducted by Ryan Gaur and Laura-Beth Cowley
Edited and produced by Ben Mitchell
Music by Ben Mitchell

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Spring 2022 – Angus MacLane, Galyn Susman, Loren Bouchard, Bernard Derriman & Nora Smith appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

In this episode we meet Jared Bush and Charise Castro Smith, the directors of Disney’s Encanto coming to Disney+ on December 24th, as well as the film’s producer Clark Spencer. We also welcome directors Jac Hamman and Sarah Scrimgeour, the directors of Magic Light’s Superworm (2:30pm BBC1, Xmas day) as well as Massimo Fenati, director of Eagle Eye Drama’s The Abominable Snow Baby (7:30pm Channel 4, Xmas day).

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Winter 2021 – Jared Bush, Charise Castro Smith, Clark Spencer, Sarah Scrimgeour, Jac Hamman & Massimo Fenati appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

In this episode we preview event highlights from this year’s upcoming Manchester Animation Festival, including feature film presentations My Sunny Maad (dir. Michaela Pavlátová) and Flee (dir. Jonas Poher Rasmussen), The House WIP, MAF Fellowship Award recipients Jorge R. Gutiérrez and Sandra Equihua’s new series Maya and the Three and the return of the much anticipated/feared Skwigly Animation Quiz.

We also welcome Mikey Please and Dan Ojari to discuss their Aardman/Netflix seasonal short Robin Robin, released November 24th. Written by Ojari, Please and Sam Morrison, the short recently wrapped production at Aardman’s award-winning UK studio and will feature the voice of Bronte Carmichael as the titular Robin alongside Gillian Anderson, Richard E. Grant and Adeel Akhtar.

Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson
Interview conducted by Laura-Beth Cowley
Edited and produced by Ben Mitchell
Music by Ben Mitchell

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Autumn 2021 – Mikey Please & Dan Ojari appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.

In this episode we review and discuss highlights from this year’s Annecy International Animated Film Festival, including standout shorts in competition, Mikey Please and Dan Ojari‘s upcoming Aardman/Netflix special Robin Robin, Erick Oh‘s immersive short Namoo, Marq Evans’s Will Vinton documentary ClayDream, Alberto Vázquez‘s Unicorn Wars, Jorge Gutierrez’s Maya and the Three, Netflix’s adult animation slate including the stop-motion anthology series The House.

We also welcome the legendary filmmaking team of Joanna Quinn and Les Mills to discuss their filmography and working history including their latest short Affairs of the Art, which received the Special Jury Distinction for Direction at Annecy.

With Affairs of the Art, director Joanna Quinn and producer/screenwriter Les Mills continue the series of beloved, hilarious and award-winning animated UK films starring Beryl, a 59-year-old factory worker who’s obsessed with drawing and determined to become a hyper-futurist artiste. We also meet her grown son, Colin, a techno geek, her husband, Ifor, now Beryl’s model and muse, and her sister, Beverly, a fanatical narcissist living in LA. Affairs of the Art provides glimpses into Beryl’s, Beverly’s and Colin’s peculiar childhoods, and we see that obsession is in this family’s DNA.

The first co-production between Beryl Productions International and the National Film Board of Canada, Affairs of the Art features Quinn’s signature hand-drawn animation with attitude and Mills’ raucously humorous scenarios, in an endearing romp through one family’s eccentric addictions.

Also discussed this episode: Reflections on ten years of Skwigly for Ben and Steve, the announcement of Robert Morgan‘s feature film debut Stopmotion, the fiddly UX of online animation festivals and the Manchester Animation Festival’s current call-for-entries.

Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson
Interview conducted and edited by Steve Henderson
Edited and produced by Ben Mitchell
Music by Ben Mitchell

The post Skwigly Animation Podcast: Summer 2021 – Joanna Quinn & Les Mills appeared first on Skwigly Animation Magazine.