Altrincham-based animation companies are behind two new television programmes that are set to cause a stir in the worlds of children’s TV and satire.
Mackinnon and Saunders, based on Seamons Road in Oldfield Brow, has been commissioned by CBeebies to produce the stop-frame animation for Twirlywoos, a new 50-part series from the makers of Teletubbies and In the Night Garden.
Each 11-minute episode will showcase the antics of four bird-like characters called Great BigHoo, Toodloo, Chickedy and Chick.
Anne Wood, from creators Ragdoll Productions, described Twirlywoos as “a situation comedy for 3-4 year olds who enjoy the fun of watching characters on screen who know much less than they do”.
Describing the particular type of animation that Mackinnon and Saunders have brought to the screen, she added: “Twirlywoos is different in that it is stop-frame animation and contains very little computer generated material. Its main difference, however, is that its animated characters have adventures in the real world.”
Just up the road on the Altrincham Business Park, Factory has been commissioned by ITV to create a “groundbreaking” puppet sketch show called Newzoids that will inevitably be seen as a successor to Spitting Image.
The six-part series promises to depict celebrities and politicians “in a way they have never been seen before”, and will feature a combination of “low-tech traditional puppetry and state of the art animation”.
Below: Some of Factory’s creations for ITV’s Newzoids
It’s a co-production for ITV between Factory – who have already forged a reputation for cutting-edge CBBC shows such as Strange Hill High and Scream Street – and Citrus Television.
Jon Culshaw and Debra Stephenson will provide the voices and the writing team features established and up-and-coming talent including Giles Pilbrow, who worked on the original Spitting Image.
The result will be “high-energy puppetering, snappy writing and pinpoint accurate impressions”, promises ITV.
It added: “Imagine a world where David Cameron and Nick Clegg battle it out on Jeremy Kyle, where Ed Miliband joins Ant and Dec on I’m A Catastrophe… Get Me Out Of Here, and where Professor Brian Cox finds an extraordinary new planet in the solar system – Kim Kardashian’s backside.”
Factory is actually working with Mackinnon and Saunders on the much-anticipated revival of Clangers, which will air on CBeebies in the summer.
Below: The CBeebies launch party for Twirlywoos, held this week
