There was fierce competition between French visual effects houses for the Robota job.

As for Sparx*, they really liked Robota and thought it would be the perfect project to showcase their new abilities. I knew of their previous work having worked with some of their staff members before so I felt very confident that this would be a very good partnership. I hope this first teaser is only the beginning of more collaborations together.

You normally don't see anything this elaborate lead into a book. What were your thoughts behind having a trailer made?

DC: The trailer was a fun opportunity for me to see the images in the book transformed into movement and sound. As I said earlier, I approached creating this book as if I were designing a film so the teaser became a natural extension of the book writing process.

Where else do you see Robota going?

DC: I would like to see Robota be developed in as many different media as possible, but I am also very realistic about the expectations. As a film, Robota could be all CG or CG/live-action mix. Both would be appropriate and offer their unique challenges. In many ways, I feel more comfortable doing an all CG film because of my background and work on films such as Star Wars and The Polar Express.