Animalia and the Art of Talking Animals
"Because the book is so revered, we had the good fortune of attracting some great artists and animators. David had worked with Peter Jackson on [The Lord of the] Rings trilogy, but had never done television. The result is that every episode looks and feels like a mini-movie. It's also animated in full HD and really is one of the most spectacular-looking children's series I've ever seen.
"As often happens, the quality was great to begin with and just kept getting better and better. The last 10 episodes are fantastic, which is a tribute to David, to the writers and to the animators."
TV and Beyond "The website was contemplated and planned all along," says Johnson. "Fortunately, we had tremendous assets to use in developing it. The anchor network was the BBC, and the original website, animalia.tv, was done in support of the BBC broadcast. It's an amazing site.
"The other site, pbskidsgo/animalia, has many of the same elements, including some fun games. The goal of both was to make a fun interactive experience, not necessarily to teach. However, there's a great activity curriculum on the PBS site, especially designed for teachers and parents, all tied to the original language arts goals of the series."
The first U.S. DVD compilation of the series will be available on September 23, with more releases planned for 2009 and beyond. There will also be DVD releases in the U.K., Canada and Australia.
"There are eight or 10 major international territories getting ready to premiere the series as well," Johnson advises. "As for the production team, we completed the 40th episode about a month ago and we're all taking a well-deserved breather."
The hard work has paid off. Animalia has helped put Australia's animation facilities and expertise on the global map.
Animalia also has an active presence on the Internet. Communication skills promoted by the show include online searching and research, and Animalia supports this with its associated interactive websites for kids. There are stories, games and character biographies, and visitors can create their own online comics featuring the characters and backdrops, send Animalia e-greetings, and more.
"Animalia set a new standard for excellence in television animation," comments Johnson. "I'm not saying that was the goal, but it does seem to be the end result. It's really breathtaking, especially when viewed in HD on a great screen."
Janet Hetherington is a freelance writer and cartoonist who shares a studio in Ottawa, Canada, with artist Ronn Sutton and a ginger cat, Heidi.
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Well done aritcle that. I'll make sure to use it wisely.
It's much eaiesr to understand when you put it that way!
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