Animation Podcasts | Skwigly (Skwigly Animation Magazine)

Skwigly are proud to present the eighth panel from Visible In Visuals,  an organisation pushing to make the animation and VFX industries more diverse and inclusive through honest, open conversation. Join the second Women's panel with animation professionals with over 50 years of experience between them. They discuss their experiences with inclusion, struggles women face in the workplace, and ideal working environments. Panelists: Rebecca Warner-Perry - Line Producer at Illuminated Films Lauren Orme - Animator/Creative Director Picl Animation/Festival director CAF Helen Piercy - Animation Lecturer NUA Animation & VFX Beth B Hughes - Animation Series Director Jane Davies - Director at Aardman Animations Panel organised by Tanya J Scott and Hodan Abdi. Chaired by Hodan Abdi Illustration by Jane Davies

The Skwigly Animation Podcast returns for its first episode of 2021. In this episode we discuss the animation highlights of the current awards season, including the BAFTA, César and Oscar nominations. We also welcome the filmmaking teams behind the Disney/Pixar feature 'Soul' (Pete Docter, Kemp Powers and Dana Murray) and the Netflix short 'If Anything Happens I Love You' (Will McCormack and Michael Govier), both of which having recently earned Oscar-nominations. Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson. Interviews conducted by Steve Henderson and Martyn Warren. Edited and produced by Ben Mitchell Music by Ben Mitchell

Presenting the first episode of 'Intimate Animation' season 4, brought to you by the online animation magazine skwigly.com Join Skwigly's Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley as they explore, discuss and interview the talents behind animation that deals with adult themes of love, relationships and sexuality. In this episode we meet Shoko Hara, whose film 'Just A Guy' offers unique and unusual insights into the relationship between serial killer Richard Ramirez and his female devotees – including his long time girlfriend Eva O – through testimonials as well as the director’s own personal correspondences. The film’s raw visuals and agile animation style, combined with elements of collage and archive footage, create a rich visualisation of the fascinating world of death row relationships and the women who nurture them. With festival selections including Annecy, ITFS Stuttgart, OIAF, Interfilm Berlin, Animafest Zagreb (winner of the Grand Prix) and Krakow Film Festival (winner of Best Short Film), the film handles the duality of ethics, emotions and love in the most unlikely of places. Also discussed in this episode: Short film highlights from recent and upcoming festivals including new work by Joanna Quinn, Marcel Barelli and Martina Scarpelli; inscrutable European TV offerings such as 'John Dillermand' and 'Monsieur Flap'; the return of 'Big Mouth'; and the unusual sexual politics of the new 'Space Jam' movie. Presented by Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley Interview conducted by Laura-Beth Cowley Produced and edited by Ben Mitchell

Presenting the first Animation One To One Podcast with Erick Oh, director of Opera, a film currently competing for Best Animated Short at the 93rd Academy Awards. Having worked extensively for Pixar before recently leaving and collaborating with Tonko House, Oh's film Opera has been treating audiences to an immersive, cyclical view of society. It's a film that needs to be experienced and enjoyed on the biggest screen possible as it visually brings together the excess and drama of renaissance masterpieces alongside the technical brilliance that can only be achieved in animation. Animation One to Ones are available to download and stream via your preferred podcast provider or on our YouTube Chanel - like and subscribe for more. Presented by: Steve Henderson Guest: Erick Oh Edited and Produced by Steve Henderson Music and Graphics: Ben Mitchell

Join Steff Lee as she chairs an informative and enlightening discussion on what it is like to be a parent working in animation. The conversation includes a range of topics including how they coped as new parents, the balance between work and family life and how the industry responds to parenthood. This panel is a diverse range of parents with children of varying ages. Panelists: Emma Fernando - Series Producer at CN Jim le Fevre - Freelance director and educator Evgenia Golubeva and Myles Mcleod - creators, writers and series directors. Robert Nelson - storyboard artist at Blue Zoo Marcia Rojas - 2D clean-up artist, animator and designer Rachel Thorn - 2D animator and animation designer Chaired by: Steff Lee Illustration: Marcia Rojas

Skwigly.com presents the Animation One To One Podcast with Maryam Mohajer, director of the BAFTA award winning Grandad was a romantic. Based in the UK Maryam fills her work with flavour of her Iranian birthplace through visual and musical collaborations, creating work that can make you laugh and in the case of her previous work Red Dress No Straps, creates devastation drama that leaves the audience profoundly affected. Animation One to Ones are available to download and stream via your preferred podcast provider or on our YouTube Chanel - like and subscribe for more. Presented by: Steve Henderson Guest: Maryam Mohajer Edited and Produced by Steve Henderson Music and Graphics: Ben Mitchell

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Laura-Beth Cowley in conversation with Mike Rianda, director of the Sony Pictures Animation/Netflix animated feature 'The Mitchells vs. The Machines'. Mike’s animation career includes his hugely successful CalArts film ‘Work’, as well as his role as creative director and writer on Disney’s critically-acclaimed and BAFTA-winning series 'Gravity Falls'. In his new film, co-written and co-directed with Jeff Rowe and produced by Oscar winning duo Phil Lord, Chris Miller as well as Kurt Albrecht, we follow creative outsider Katie Mitchell whose hopes of a new start at her dream film school are dashed by her nature-loving dad’s insistence on one final road trip where the two might finally bond. The already-doomed venture is scuppered further by a technological uprising, with every gadget from smartphones to Furbys joining forces to capture and rid the world of humans. The Mitchells will have to work together in order to stop the robot apocalypse. Animation One-to-Ones are available to download and stream via your preferred podcast provider or on our YouTube Chanel - like and subscribe for more. Interview conducted by: Laura-Beth Cowley Guest: Mike Rianda Presented, edited and produced by: Ben Mitchell Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

The fourteenth Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com 
Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Special guests: Eric Goldberg and Lauren MacMullan (Disney's "Get A Horse!") Teri Hatcher (Disney's "Planes", Laika's "Coraline") Saschka Unseld (Pixar's "The Blue Umbrella") Special guest contributor: Aidan McAteer Guest interviewers: Thomas Anthony Coleman & Laura-Beth Cowley

Skwigly.com presents the Animation One To One Podcast with Ross Bollinger, creator of the hit YouTube show Pencilmation. With over 18 million subscribers and nearly 10 billion views for the elastic antics of pencil mate and pencil miss the success of the channel has allowed ross financial and creative autonomy on what he can do next, which has led him to create a brand new series Gil Next Door. We sat down with Ross to find out more about his work and running an animation empire on YouTube Animation One to Ones are available to download and stream via your preferred podcast provider or on our YouTube Chanel - like and subscribe for more. Presented by: Steve Henderson Guest: Ross Bollinger Edited and Produced by Steve Henderson Music and Graphics: Ben Mitchell

Skwigly are proud to present the milestone tenth panel from Visible In Visuals, an organisation pushing to make the animation and VFX industries more diverse and inclusive through honest, open conversation. Episode 10 features a chat with people instrumental in getting ViV off the ground, discussing what progress has been made and what still needs to be done. Panel: Bimpe Alliu - VFX Concept Artist Mohamed Orekan – Animator Paula Poveda-Urrutia – Line Producer Tanya J Scott - Art Director Chair: Hodan Abdi This panel was recorded in May 2021 Illustration by Mohamed Orekan

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ben Mitchell in conversation with award-winning London-based animator and director Anna Ginsburg. Following on from our first conversation with Anna in episode 2 of our podcast series Intimate Animation to discuss her Random Acts film 'Private Parts', in this episode we discuss some of the major projects she has worked on with Strange Beast in the five years since, including her viral CNN film 'What is Beauty?' (a visual overview of the ever-changing pressures on women to conform to body shape ideals), her more recent collaboration 'Typically' with Caitlin McCarthy (an animated celebration and destigmatisation of periods for Bloody Good Period and Mother) and her boldly-designed and beautifully animated Breast Cancer Now short film 'A Love Hate Relationship', playing this week in competition as part of Annecy 2021's Commissioned Films programme. Produced by Strange Beast with agency Weber Shandwick, the film conveys the different journeys, and accompanying emotions, women go on with their breasts; from pride and embarrassment as their breasts develop, to their breasts attracting attention from others, to breastfeeding and attending mammogram appointments. Animation One-to-Ones are available to download and stream via your preferred podcast provider or on our YouTube Channel - like and subscribe for more. Interview conducted by: Ben Mitchell Guest: Anna Ginsburg Presented, edited and produced by: Ben Mitchell Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

Presenting episode 102 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! 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. 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

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Laura-Beth Cowley in conversation with award-winning London-based director Elliot Dear. Elliot Dear is an almost indecently talented animator, illustrator and director. His dazzling mixed media films are consistently groundbreaking, emotive and atmospheric. Elliot’s work displays a range and skillset rarely seen. Incorporating live action, stop motion and both hand drawn and 3D animation, his films feel like a throwback to the golden age of animation, whilst managing to be utterly contemporary and cutting edge. Elliot's notable mixed-media works include the John Lewis campaign 'The Bear & The Hare' and the BBC spot 'The Supporting Act'. Having built a superb body of work as a director at BLINKINK, Elliot's latest project is another Xmas-themed animation 'All Through the House', a season two episode of the Netflix anthology series 'Love, Death + Robots'. Animation One-to-Ones are available to download and stream via your preferred podcast provider or on our YouTube channel - like and subscribe for more. Interview conducted by: Laura-Beth Cowley Guest: Elliot Dear Presented, edited and produced by: Ben Mitchell Music: Ben Mitchell Thanks to Clive Olamiju and Reed Wiles

Welcome to another episode of Animation One-To-Ones where we speak with Megan Nicole Dong, the creator of Netflix Animation's latest offering Centaurworld, which streams from the 30 July. "A war horse is transported from her embattled world to a strange land inhabited by silly, singing centaurs of all species, shapes, and sizes. Desperate to return home, she befriends a group of these magical creatures and embarks on a journey that will test her more than any battle she's ever faced before." Megan has worked in features for Dreamworks and on tv series for Nickelodeon before being scooped up by the streamer to bring us centaur world musical cavalcade of muppety mayhem with a surprise around every corner, filled with magic sparkles and merriment and action adventure. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider.  Guest: Megan Nicole Dong Presented, edited and produced by: Steve Henderson Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell Clips courtesy of Netflix

Welcome to another episode of Animation One-To-Ones, the Skwigly Podcast which puts the animation community front and centre. In this episode we're joined by two talents from Sony Pictures latest animated Feature Vivo, Director Kirk DeMicco and Screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes. The animated musical adventure features all-new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony, Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Hamilton and In the Heights. And follows a one-of-kind kinkajou, who spends his days playing music to the crowds in a lively square with his beloved owner Andrés. But when tragedy strikes it’s up to Vivo to deliver a message that Andrés never could: A love letter to the famous Marta Sandoval, written long ago, in the form of a song. Yet in order to get to Marta, who lives a world apart, Vivo will need the help of Gabi – an energetic tween who bounces to the beat of her own offbeat drum. In a world of musical films Vivo strands apart, wearing the love for music and the craft of well told family animation on its sleeve, showcasing an exciting blends of song, design and story. Prior to Writing and Directing Vivo Kirk DeMicco is best known for helming The Croods from DreamWorks. Screenwriter and Story writer Quiara Alegría Hudes is best known cinematically for Into the Heights. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider. Guests: Kirk DeMicco & Quiara Alegría Hudes Presented, edited and produced by: Steve Henderson Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

Presenting episode 9 of Animation One To One's, the Skwigly podcast that showcases the talent behind some of our favourite animation. In the latest podcast we take a trip into the multiverse with Stephan Franck, the Animation Supervisor behind Marvel’s What If...? series which is streaming now on Disney Plus. With an extensive history in animation, story creating, boarding and directing  and an equally illustrious career in comic publication Stephan is perfectly placed working alongside director Bryan Andrews and head writer AC Bradley to take the MCU as we know it flip the script, reimagining famous events from the films in unexpected ways. This is Marvel Studios’ first original animated series. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider. Guest: Stephan Franck Presented, edited and produced by: Steve Henderson Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

Presenting the second episode of 'Intimate Animation' season 4, brought to you by the online animation magazine skwigly.com Join Skwigly's Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley as they explore, discuss and interview the talents behind animation that deals with adult themes of love, relationships and sexuality. In this episode we catch up with Will Anderson, whose film 'Betty' is released online this month following a festival run including screenings at Pictoplasma, Encounters and Animafest Zagreb as well as a BAFTA Scotland win and Scottish Short Film Award at the Glasgow Short Film Festival. The film follows lovebird Bobby as he searches for his butter, his Betty and ultimately a love that has apparently melted away. Also discussed in this episode: The evolution of 'Tuca and Bertie' in its second season, BlinkInk's E4 miniseries 'Blind Love on First Date Island', Adeena Grubb's stop-mo short 'Dating is Shit', Sacha Beely/Strange Beast's animated Gillette spot 'A Song For Pubes' and Diablo Cody's inscrutable "sexying up" of 'The Powerpuff Girls'. Presented by Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley Interview conducted by Laura-Beth Cowley Produced and edited by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ben Mitchell in conversation with Marie Valade, a Quebec-based animation filmmaker whose latest film 'Lolos ('Boobs'), premiered earlier this year at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Festival. Both equally poignant and witty, the film sees a young woman drawn in ink who is forced to deal with paper breasts appearing on her chest. She must quickly come to terms with these new strange things. Her breasts lead her into increasingly unusual situations that reveal her deepest anxieties: the fear of becoming a woman, the apprehension of female rivalries, the taming of male desire, the worries related to becoming a mother and finally the fear of cancer and a loss of bearings. 'Boobs' is both a comic and dark journey that explores a woman's love-hate relationship for her body and her femininity. It highlights the powerful symbolism that breasts evoke for everyone. 'Boobs' is presently screening as part of the Toronto International Film Festival and Bristol's Encounters Festival. In 2010 Marie obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Film Animation at Concordia University and participated in the NFB's Hothouse apprenticeship program. Since then, she has collaborated on short and feature films and cultural mediation projects. Fascinated by traditional frame by frame animation techniques including pixilation, object and puppet animation and 2D animation, she likes to play with the boundaries between narrative storytelling and experimental creation. See more of Marie's work at cargocollective.com/mariev As well as continuing to work in animation Marie is co-director of Festival Stop Motion Montreal, whose 15th edition takes place September 10th-19th 2021. For more information visit stopmotionmontreal.com/

Presenting the third episode of 'Intimate Animation' season 4, brought to you by the online animation magazine skwigly.com Join Skwigly's Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley as they explore, discuss and interview the talents behind animation that deals with adult themes of love, relationships and sexuality. In this episode we meet Renee Zhan, whose film 'Soft Animals' is presently screening as part of this year's Encounters Film Festival having premiered earlier this year at Annecy. Since beginning her animation studies at Harvard University under Ruth Lingford, Renee's films also include the Sundance Jury Award-winning 'Reneepoptosis' and last year's National Film and Television School mini-epic 'O Black Hole'. Last month saw the director join BlinkInk's talent roster following her contribution to their Adult Swim 'Off The Air' episode 'Progress'. Also discussed in this episode: Encounters highlights including Animated Encounters Grand Prix winner 'Farce' (dir. Robin Jensen), Best of British Animation Award winner 'Eating in the Dark' (Dir. Inari Sirola), 'Annah la Javanaise' (dir. Fatimah Tobing Rony), 'Self Scratch' (dir. Chenghua Yang), 'Night of the Living Dread' (dir. Ida Melum), 'Trona Pinnacles' (dir. Mathilde Parquet), 'Breaking Bread' (dir. Yuan Li Elizabeth Xu), 'Jeijay' (dir. Petra Stipetic/Maren Wiese), 'Günter Falls In Love' (dir. Josephine Lohoar Self), 'Love is Just a Death Away' (dir. Bára Anna Stejskalová), 'Sweet Nothing' (dir. Joana Fischer/Marie Kenov), 'Lolos' (dir. Marie Valade) and 'Granny's Sexual Life' (dir. Urška Djukić) plus recent work from Henriette Reitz, Christa Jarrold and Future Power Station. Presented by Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley Interview conducted by Ben Mitchell Produced and edited by Ben Mitchell

The fifteenth Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Special guests: Chris Landreth - Oscar-winning director of the NFB shorts Ryan, The Spine and his latest surefire hit Subconscious Password. Chris Shepherd - director of Dad's Dead, Who I Am And What I Want, Anatole's Island and The Ringer among others.

Presenting episode 103 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! In this episode we preview event highlights from this year's upcoming Manchester Animation Festival and welcome Mikey Please and Dan Ojari to discuss their Aardman/Netflix seasonal short 'Robin Robin'. Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson Interview conducted by Laura-Beth Cowley Edited and produced by Ben Mitchell Music by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ben Mitchell in conversation with Czech filmmaker and educator Michaela Pavlátová. Having previously appeared on the Skwigly podcast strand Intimate Animation to discuss her short film work including the Annecy Cristal-winning 'Tram', Michaela's latest project is 'My Sunny Maad', a feature-length animated adaptation of Petra Prochazkova's 'Frišta'. Produced by Negativ, Sacreblue Productions and BFILM, the film tells the story of Herra, a Czech woman who moves to Afghanistan to be with her husband Nazir and his family; when their hopes to have a child of their own don't turn out as planned, the couple take in the ailing Maad, a young boy who proves to be an anchoring presence in Herra's tumultuous life. Following inclusion at this year's Annecy festival, 'My Sunny Maad' is playing at the Manchester Animation Festival and as part of the 25th edition of the Czech Centre's Made in Prague cultural festival this month.

Presenting episode 104 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! 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, Sarah Scrimgeour (Magic Light's 'Superworm') and Massimo Fenati (Eagle Eye Drama's 'The Abominable Snow Baby'). Also discussed: The recent passing of respected animation historian Giannalberto Bendazzi, MAF 2021 event highlights, podcast fanmail, this year's new 'South Park' specials and the resounding failure of Seth Rogan's 'Santa Inc.' Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson Interviews conducted by Ben Mitchell and Martyn Warren Edited and produced by Ben Mitchell Music by Ben Mitchell

The sixteenth Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Special guests: Dan Scanlon - director of the Pixar smash prequel "Monsters University" Adam Elliot - Oscar-winning Australian director of "Harvie Krumpet" and "Mary & Max" Cody Cameron & Kris Pearn - directors of "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2"

Day 1 of Skwigly's Bradford Animation Festival coverage, in which Thomas Coleman chats to legendary illustrator and honored festival guest Dave McKean

Day 2 of Skwigly's Bradford Animation Festival coverage, in which Ben Mitchell interviews Joanna Quinn on her work for the BAF 20th Anniversary ident.

Day 3 of Skwigly's Bradford Animation Festival coverage, in which Ben Mitchell interviews special guest of the festival Adam Elliot (director of 'Mary & Max' and the Oscar-winning 'Harvie Krumpet') on projects past and future.

Day 4 of Skwigly's Bradford Animation Festival coverage, in which Laura-Beth Cowley interviews Czech-born filmmaker Michaela Pavlatova on her multi-award-winning short 'Tram'

In our latest Skwigly Animation Podcast special we round up the winners of the 2022 edition of the biennial British Animation Awards that took place at London’s BFI Southbank last week. This episode features exclusive post-ceremony chats with event director Helen Brunsdon and producer Kieran Argo as well as some of the awarded attendees: Joanna Quinn and Les Mills (director and writer of "Affairs of the Art", winner of Best Short Film, Writers Award and Best Voice Performance) Jeroen Jaspaert and Matt Tea (Showrunner and director of "Pip & Posy", winner of Best Children’s Pre-School) Grant Berry and Dane Winn (directors of "The Beast", winner of Best Immersive Animation) Adrian Rhodes (Sound designer of "Zog and the Flying Doctors", winner of Best Use of Sound) Julie Lockhart (producer of "Ron’s Gone Wrong", winner of Best Long Form) Produced and edited by Steve Henderson Music by Ben Mitchell

Presenting the fourth episode of 'Intimate Animation' season 4, brought to you by the online animation magazine skwigly.com Join Skwigly's Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley as they explore, discuss and interview the talents behind animation that deals with adult themes of love, relationships and sexuality. In this episode we meet Alberto Mielgo, whose film 'The Windshield Wiper' is nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 2022 Academy Awards. The film, which premiered last year at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight, is produced by Mielgo (pinkman.tv) and Leo Sanchez (Leo Sanchez Studio) and addresses the question "What is love?" through a series of intimate, interwoven glimpses into people's lives. Mielgo's previous work includes the enthusiastically-received, Annie Award and triple Emmy-winning 'Love Death + Robots' episode 'The Witness', as well as his similarly accoladed production design work on Disney's 'Tron Uprising' with other commercial projects including work for 'Gorillaz', 'Harry Potter', 'Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse' and the video game 'Beatles Rockband'. Also discussed in this episode: More on the British Animation Awards including award wins for previous Intimate Animation guests Renee Zhan, Anna Ginsburg and Caitlin McCarthy, love and sex-themed highlights from Miyu Distribution's new YouTube channel Bang Bang, the Manchester Animation Festival's new events strand MAF Presents and the return of Cardiff Animation Festival in April. Presented by Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley Interview conducted by Ben Mitchell Produced and edited by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Steve Henderson in conversation with Director Domee Shi and Producer Lyndsey Collins from Pixar’s Turning Red. Turning Red has been delighting film fans everywhere as it tells the tale of Mei Lee (voiced by newcomer Rosalie Chiang), a young, booksmart, eager to please tween on the cusp of puberty who lives for three things, for her close nit set of friends, for the dashing boyband 4*town and for the good graces of her parents, particularly her mother Ming (Sandra Oh). Puberty and pushy parents are hard enough for anyone, but Mei's additional problem of turning into a giant red panda whenever her emotions flare up adds the additional spark to proceedings. Showcasing an enchanting blend of epic fantasy, heartwarming friendship and characterful family drama, Turning Red deserves to put the name Pixar back on the lips of film fans everywhere, you can catch it on Disney + Read the full review on Skwigly.com https://www.skwigly.co.uk/turning-red-review/ Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider. Guest: Domee Shi & Lyndsey Collins Presented, edited and produced by: Steve Henderson Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

The seventeenth (and last of 2013) Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Special guests: Richard Williams - legendary author of "The Animator's Survival Kit" and animation director of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" Ian Mackinnon and Peter Saunders - mastercraftsmen behind the puppets of "Frankenweenie", "Fantastic Mr. Fox", "The Corpse Bride" et al and founders of Mackinnon & Saunders. Jerry Beck - animation historian, co-founder of Cartoon Brew and current head of Animation Scoop and Cartoon Research Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee - directors of Disney's holiday smash "Frozen"

Skwigly are proud to present the first of a two-part series of exclusive podcast minisodes from the 2022 edition of the Cardiff Animation Festival. In episode 1 we hear from attending filmmakers in conversation with Ben Mitchell as part of the festival's Filmmaker Brunch sessions. Featured in this episode: Joanne Fisher - 'Stache and the Inner Walk' Emlyn Davies - 'Foo Fighters: Chasing Birds' Joanna Quinn & Les Mills - 'Affairs of the Art' Daniel Gray - 'HIDE' Laura-Beth Cowley - 'Crafty Witch' Paul O'Flanagan - 'Memento Mori' Callum Angel - 'The Catalyst' Presented by Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley Interviews conducted by Ben Mitchell Produced and edited by Ben Mitchell Thanks to Lauren Orme, Ellys Donovan and the CAF team

Skwigly are proud to present the second in a two-part series of exclusive podcast minisodes from the 2022 edition of the Cardiff Animation Festival. In episode 2 we hear from attending filmmakers in conversation with Laura-Beth Cowley as part of the festival's Filmmaker Brunch sessions. Featured in this episode: Jana Kattan - 'Checkpoint' Cliona Noonan - 'Soft Tissue' Alisa Stern & Scott Ampleford - 'Posted No Hunting' Sacha Beeley - 'Babeheaven: Craziest Things' Lina Kalcheva - 'Other Half' Flora Martyr - '04111311' Cleo Parker - 'The Big Top' Hoching Kwok - 'Prince Edward' Presented by Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley Interviews conducted by Laura-Beth Cowley Produced and edited by Ben Mitchell Thanks to Lauren Orme, Ellys Donovan and the CAF team

Presenting the fifth episode of 'Intimate Animation' season 4, brought to you by the online animation magazine skwigly.com Join Skwigly's Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley as they explore, discuss and interview the talents behind animation that deals with adult themes of love, relationships and sexuality. In this episode we welcome back Lori Malépart-Traversy, who has followed up her enormously successful student film 'Le Clitoris' with 'Magical Caresses' ('Caresses magiques'), a five-film series of animated documentaries that humorously present a range of testimonials and historical facts that demystify the subject of masturbation. Based on intimate accounts from Sarah Gagnon-Piché and Sara Hébert's 'Caresses magiques' book series, the series will be represented at this year's Annecy festival with episode 3 ('Sweet Jesus') playing in competition, on the heels of episode 5 ('Masturbation: A Short History of a Great Taboo')'s recent win at Sommets du cinéma d'animation for Best Educational Film. Also discussed in this episode: The upcoming premiere of previous podcast guest Signe Baumane's new independent feature 'My Love Affair With Marriage', the quiet UK return of Lisa Hanawalt's 'Tuca and Bertie', a look at Netflix's 'Big Mouth' spinoff series 'Human Resources' and Sam O'Leary's animated segments for the 'Inside No. 9' episode 'Wise Owl'. Presented by Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley Interview conducted by Ben Mitchell Produced and edited by Ben Mitchell

Presenting episode 105 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! 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

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Steve Henderson in conversation with Josh Weinstein, showrunner and co-creator of Disenchantment, which streams on Netflix. The fantastic medieval fantasy drama series from the minds of Matt Groening and Josh Weinstein has returned to Netflix for part four which sees reluctant Royal Princess Bean, Elfo the Elf and her personal demon Luci traverse their way through a world of hell, magic, dream and steam. As the show grows we’re really getting to know these characters and with each passing series the ante is upped, the jokes get funnier and the storylines get more exciting, packed. With a cast of US and UK comedians and voice over artists the show really is showing others how it is done so if you’re not already watching get stuck in! In this episode we catch up with Josh Weinstein the co-creator of the series to find out more about the writing process of Disenchantment. Watch the full interview below and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider. Guest: Josh Weinstein Presented, edited and produced by: Steve Henderson Co-edit: Aaron Wood Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ben Mitchell in conversation with Cardiff-based animator Lauren Orme. Having previously appeared on the Skwigly Animation Podcast to discuss her work as head of the Cardiff Animation Festival and its associated Cardiff Animation Nights screening events as well as her work as an animation director, Lauren joins Animation One-To-Ones to talk about the ways in which she has steered both Cardiff Animation and Picl in a more eco-conscious direction while also actively researching practical and practicable solutions for combating the increasingly concerning realities of climate change. The latest endeavour of Lauren’s is the newly-launched Planet Positive Animation Network to help animation, VFX and games companies and freelancers become environmentally sustainable and help us reach net zero sooner. For resources and to find out how you can get involved visit https://www.cardiffanimation.com/planet-positive-1

The eighteenth (and first of 2014) Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Special guests: Daniel Sousa - director of the Oscar-nominated "Feral" Amid Amidi - animation historian, author and co-founder of Cartoon Brew Jayne Pilling - animation author and British Animation Awards director

Skwigly and the LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival have partnered up for I’M FINE! – a selection of the most relevant artistic expressions about emotional burnout and creative crisis. I’M FINE! is a reflection on the emotional burnout from the best independent animation creators. In addition to animation films, the project will present a series of interviews and podcasts on Skwigly with artists who share their experiences of going through emotional burnout, as well as workshops and master classes devoted to this issue. The first podcast minisode from our filmmaker Q&A sessions features insights from Will Anderson (The Making of Longbird), Anna Mantzaris (Enough) and Margarida Madeira (Playing Death). I’M FINE! will be available on the MEGOGO media service during the LINOLEUM festival, which will be held online from 7 to 11 September. Follow the news of the project at linoleumfest.com I’M FINE! is a project by the LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival and Skwigly Animation Magazine. It is implemented with the support of the British Council within the framework of the UK/Ukraine Season of Culture.

Skwigly and the LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival have partnered up for I’M FINE! – a selection of the most relevant artistic expressions about emotional burnout and creative crisis. I’M FINE! is a reflection on the emotional burnout from the best independent animation creators. In addition to animation films, the project will present a series of interviews and podcasts on Skwigly with artists who share their experiences of going through emotional burnout, as well as workshops and master classes devoted to this issue. The second podcast minisode from our filmmaker Q&A sessions features insights from Catherine Lepage (The Great Malaise), Julia Skala (Sommerregen) and Johnny Kelly (Procrastination). I’M FINE! will be available on the MEGOGO media service during the LINOLEUM festival, which will be held online from 7 to 11 September. Follow the news of the project at linoleumfest.com I’M FINE! is a project by the LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival and Skwigly Animation Magazine. It is implemented with the support of the British Council within the framework of the UK/Ukraine Season of Culture.

Welcome to another episode of Animation One-To-Ones where we speak with Peter Sohn, the voice of Sox in Pixars latest feature Lightyear which is streaming on Disney plus now. The feature film shares the origins of the character of Buzz Lightyear in a time bending adventure as Buzz attempts to save his people from the villainous Emperor Zurg. As well as voicing robot companion Sox, Peter Sohn has played a key role in Pixar productions in the past, not only behind the microphone voicing Emile in Ratatouille and Squishy in Monsters Uni, but also behind the scenes, Directing The Good Dinosaur and he is currently working on Pixar's next feature Elemental which is due in 2023. Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to watch more One-To-Ones and subscribe to the Skwigly Podcast feed from your favourite podcast provider. Guest: Peter Sohn Presented, edited and produced by: Steve Henderson Interview Conducted by: Ryan Gaur Music and graphics: Ben Mitchell

Skwigly and the LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival have partnered up for I’M FINE! – a selection of the most relevant artistic expressions about emotional burnout and creative crisis. I’M FINE! is a reflection on the emotional burnout from the best independent animation creators. In addition to animation films, the project will present a series of interviews and podcasts on Skwigly with artists who share their experiences of going through emotional burnout, as well as workshops and master classes devoted to this issue. The third podcast minisode from our filmmaker Q&A sessions features insights from Fabienne Priess (Tick) and Jakub Krzyszpin (Inertness) I’M FINE! will be available on the MEGOGO media service during the LINOLEUM festival, which will be held online from 7 to 11 September. Follow the news of the project at linoleumfest.com I’M FINE! is a project by the LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival and Skwigly Animation Magazine. It is implemented with the support of the British Council within the framework of the UK/Ukraine Season of Culture.

Presenting episode 106 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! In this episode we meet 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, beginning on CITV this week. 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

Skwigly and the LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival have partnered up for I’M FINE! – a selection of the most relevant artistic expressions about emotional burnout and creative crisis. I’M FINE! is a reflection on the emotional burnout from the best independent animation creators. In addition to animation films, the project will present a series of interviews and podcasts on Skwigly with artists who share their experiences of going through emotional burnout, as well as workshops and master classes devoted to this issue. The fourth podcast minisode from our filmmaker Q&A sessions features insights from Anna Samo (Conversations With A Whale) and filmmaking duo Konrad Hjemli and Jakob Eiring (Pandiculation). Follow the news of the project at linoleumfest.com I’M FINE! is a project by the LINOLEUM Contemporary Animation and Media Art Festival and Skwigly Animation Magazine. It is implemented with the support of the British Council within the framework of the UK/Ukraine Season of Culture.

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ben Mitchell in conversation with Tonko House talents Dice Tsutsumi, Robert Kondo and Sara K. Sampson. The studio's latest project is 'Oni: Thunder God’s Tale', a four part animated series released today on Netflix that takes place in a world filled with the oddball gods and monsters of Japanese mythology, where one of the creature’s free-spirited daughters, Onari, is determined to follow in the footsteps of the mighty heroes of lore, but her unique powers are yet to be revealed, and her peaceful village is under the encroaching threat of the gods’ mysterious enemies, the “Oni”. 'Oni: Thunder God’s Tale' is Written by Mari Okada, with Dice taking the reins as creator and directing showrunner and Robert producing alongside Sara. With a cast including Momona Tamada, Archie Yates and Craig Robinson, the series has been be brought to life by a trifecta of high-end CG production houses Megalis VFX, Marza, and Anima working in tandem with Tonko House to create a visually compelling world and tell a story that explores broad folkloric themes alongside more universally relatable concepts such as self and cultural identity. Produced and presented by Ben Mitchell

The nineteenth Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Guest interviewer: Laura-Beth Cowley Special guests: John DiMaggio - voice artist ("Futurama", "Adventure Time") and producer of the documentary "I Know That Voice" Kirsten Lepore - animation director ("Bottle", "Move Mountain")

Presenting episode 107 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! 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

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ryan Gaur in conversation with Roy Conli, producer of Disney Animation’s Strange World. Strange World follows a family of historically great explorers, the Cades. The film focuses on three generations of men in the family. Jaeger Clade mistakenly abandoned his son, Searcher, after his lust for adventure sees him transported to the titular Strange World. Searcher himself feels a certain distance from his son, Ethan, whose interests and personality highlight the generational differences between the two. After the entire family are thrown into the pink-tinted Strange World populated by exotic animals and unknown threats, the three generations of fathers and sons are forced to find some common ground. The Oscar-winning collaboration of director Don Hall and producer Roy Conli returns after their success on Big Hero 6. Penning the script is Qui Nguyen who also has previous with Don Hall following their work on Raya and the Last Dragon. Fittingly for the themes of the film, Strange World keeps it within the established Disney family.

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Steve Henderson in conversation with the Academy Award® nominated ('The Breadwinner') Cartoon Saloon co-founder Nora Twomey, director of the animated feature film 'My Father's Dragon', out now on Netflix. Based on Ruth Stiles Gannett’s book of the same name, the film is produced by Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn of Mockingbird Pictures and Paul Young of Cartoon Saloon with a screenplay by Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) and story by LeFauve and John Morgan. From five-time Academy Award®-nominated animation studio Cartoon Saloon (The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers) and Academy Award®-nominated director Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner), comes an exquisite film inspired by the Newbery-honoured children’s book from author Ruth Stiles Gannett. Struggling to cope after a move to the city with his mother, Elmer runs away in search of Wild Island and a young dragon who waits to be rescued. Elmer’s adventures introduce him to ferocious beasts, a mysterious island and the friendship of a lifetime.

Presenting the sixth and final episode of 'Intimate Animation' season 4, brought to you by the online animation magazine skwigly.com Join Skwigly's Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley as they explore, discuss and interview the talents behind animation that deals with adult themes of love, relationships and sexuality. In the first ever live episode of Intimate Animation, recorded during the Manchester Animation Festival, we meet director Phil Wall and producer Chloe Beale of Strange Acre Studios, discussing their recently-completed BFI-funded short film 'Woodland' which tells the story of arborists Alastair and Fergus who struggle to reveal their love to the narrow-minded village community they live amongst. Also joining us is Julia Wiza to talk about her Nottingham Trent University thesis film 'Bogdanka', a tale of a young woman soon to be wed, inspired by Slavic mythology. Presented by Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley Recorded at HOME Manchester Produced and edited by Ben Mitchell Thanks to Manchester Animation Festival and the HOME Manchester tech team

Presenting episode 108 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! In this episode we welcome Oscar-winning writer/filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (famed for such films as 'Pan's Labyrinth', 'Hellboy' and 'The Shape of Water') and stop-motion industry veteran Mark Gustafson, directors of the highly-anticipated stop-motion adaptation of 'Pinocchio' that dropped on Netflix earlier this month to universal praise and admiration. Drawing on the classic Carlo Collodi tale, the musical adventure is set during the rise of Fascism in Mussolini’s Italy and tells “a story of love and disobedience as Pinocchio struggles to live up to his father’s expectations”. Also discussed: A closer look at Illumination's upcoming 'Super Mario Bros.' movie, hype and early glimpses of 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse', Oscars predictions and the lamentable dearth of animation representation in the 2022 Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time poll. Presented by Steve Henderson and Ryan Gaur Interview conducted by Ben Mitchell Edited and produced by Ben Mitchell Music by Ben Mitchell

This week marks the two-year anniversary of the Skwigly Animation Podcast. To mark the occasion we're presented a selection of early highlights originally compiled for Skwigly's promotional sampler CD distributed in 2013.

The twentieth Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Guest interviewer: Laura-Beth Cowley Special guests: Mikey Please - animation director ("The Eagleman Stag", "Marilyn Myller") Ainslie Henderson - animation director ("I Am Tom Moody") Vivien Halas - animation author & archivist ("Halas & Batchelor: An Animated History", "A Moving Image: Joy Batchelor 1941-91") Also featuring BAA Sting winner Jack David Evans Vivien Halas

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ben Mitchell in conversation with Academy Award®-nominee Richard Linklater, director, writer and producer of the Netflix film 'Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood' as well as co-producer and Head of Animation Tommy Pallotta. The film, presented in a uniquely elaborate 2D animation style that combines rotoscoping with traditional processes (brought to life by the talents of Submarine and Minnow Mountain), stars Jack Black as a man fondly narrating memories of his youth in Houston, Texas during the summer of 1969 in the lead-up to the moon landing, interweaving the enormity of mankind’s great leap and the fantasies it conjures in his young mind with comparatively mundane yet equally entertaining snapshots that celebrate the simple joys of family life and Americana. The story draws upon the personal memories of Richard himself, whose films include Slacker, Dazed and Confused, the decades-spanning Before trilogy and Boyhood as well as Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly, both of which implemented their own variations on the rotoscoping technique, owed to his ongoing collaboration with Tommy and their shared passion for implementing animation as a valid and powerful storytelling method. Having dropped on Netflix last Spring to much enthusiasm and positive reviews, the film is presently in contention for the 2023 Best Animated Feature Academy Award, following an initial struggle to be deemed eligible, a battle won that will hopefully set a new precedent for future editions of the ceremony and the industry at large. Produced and presented by Ben Mitchell

In the seventh episode of 'Independent Animation', our companion podcast series to the Skwigly tie-in book 'Independent Animation: Developing, Producing and Distributing Your Animated Films' (Taylor & Francis/CRC Press), we welcome back Sean Buckelew to discuss his latest indie animated short film 'Drone', which is released online February 5th. Produced by Jeanette Jeanenne (GLAS Animation Festival), 'Drone' takes on themes of artificial intelligence, remote warfare, the news media, social media, pareidolia and politics in its story of a Predator drone installed with an ethical AI personality that malfunctions during a crucial press event and goes rogue, embarking on a philosophical and existential odyssey as the world looks on. Written, presented and produced by Ben Mitchell Music by Ben Mitchell See more of Sean's work at https://www.seanbuckelew.com/

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ben Mitchell in conversation with Academy Award®-winning director Everett Downing Jr. ('Hair Love') and story artist/writer Patrick Harpin. The pair have recently joined forces to create and exec produce 'My Dad the Bounty Hunter', a new animated action-comedy Netflix series that drops today.The show tells the story of siblings Lisa and Sean, who, feeling neglected by their dad, stow away on his latest work trip, hoping to finally get some quality time together. They quickly learn of his secret double life as an intergalactic bounty hunter and are thrust into a series of adventures exciting and perilous. Everett Downing Jr.’s past industry experience began as a story artist at Big Idea Productions, eventually animating on feature films such as 'Ice Age' for Blue Sky Studios and numerous Pixar films including 'Ratatouille', 'WALL-E', 'Up', 'Toy Story 3' and 'Monsters University' among others. More recent projects include directing on 'We The People' and storyboarding 'Maya and the Three', both Netflix series, as well as co-directing the Oscar winning short film 'Hair Love' alongside Matthew Cherry and Bruce SmithHaving graduated from the California Institute of the Arts and cut his teeth in the industry as a Story Intern at Pixar, Patrick Harpin would go on to be a Head Writer for the Cartoon Network series 'Clarence' and storyboard for Wes Anderson’s 'Moonrise Kingdom' as well as a number of animated features including 'Ice Age: Continental Drift', 'Free Birds', 'The Emoji Movie', 'Smurfs: The Lost Village', and the 'Hotel Transylvania' franchise. Produced and presented by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Penny Whitehouse in conversation with Alex Davy, storyboard artist and director at Blue Zoo. Born in London and based in Newcastle, Alex’s work includes storyboarding for BBC Bitesize (Arcus Studios), 'Incredible Ant' (Wildseed Studios), 'Norman Picklestripes' (Factory-Create) and a range of shows at Blue Zoo including 'Millie & Lou' and the second season of 'Pip & Posy'. In 2022 Alex’s role with the studio expanded to shorts directing with her successful pitch on a short film for the charity Beyond Equality, who wanted to explore the concept of the ‘Armour of Masculinity’ or ‘Man Box’ that young men find themselves socially pressured to stay within. The resulting film, ‘Armour’, tells the story of James, a young man who feels obliged to speak and act a certain way to impress his male friends, only serving to alienate a female classmate he has a crush on. Released towards the end of last year, 'Armour' is the latest short film from Blue Zoo following such celebrated offerings as 'Daddy Christmas', 'Lynx and Birds', 'Mamoon', 'Sinking Feeling', 'Ada' and 'In Shape'. Interview conducted by Penny Whitehouse Produced, edited and presented by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly at Cartoon Movie 2023 Podcast Special, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson. Special guests: Alberto Vázquez (Decorado)Matisse González Jordán (Cursed Children) André Pereira (The Bird Kingdom) & Mark Mullery & Paul Young (Julián) Produced and edited by Steve Henderson Music by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Mel Cionco in conversation with veteran TV animation executive Rich Magallanes. Having dedicated 20+ years to creating content for children, Rich has served as lead Content Creator, Developer, Showrunner, and Executive Producer for high-profile networks such as Nickelodeon, Saban Brands, Funrise Inc., and Mattel. The youngest of five brothers, Rich grew from welfare and government food stamps to becoming Senior Vice President of Production and Animation. His childhood nurtured his creative roots to support more kids with content that ignites their imagination and teaches positive lessons, so that they too can be inspired to achieve what others might believe to be impossible. Rich’s extensive list of hit shows includes Rainbow Butterfly Unicorn Kitty, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, ChalkZone, Teenage Robot, El Tigre, Invader ZIM, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to name a few. Recently, Rich made a triumphant return to Nickelodeon as a Consulting Producer, serving to reinvigorate hit animated preschool entertainment for kids. He also was named Imagen Foundation's Most Influential Latino in Entertainment. Interview conducted by Mel Cionco Produced, edited and presented by Ben Mitchell

Presenting episode 109 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! In this episode we welcome thrice-Oscar-nominated directing duo Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, whose body of work includes the incredible NFB short films 'When the Day Breaks' and 'Wild Life', speaking about their career and their latest project 'The Flying Sailor', loosely based on real events. We also welcome back 'Turning Red' director Domee Shi to talk about the Disney/Pixar film's positive reception and road to the Oscars. Also discussed: Other Oscars contenders including 'Marcel the Shell with Shoes On' and 'Ice Merchants', reviewing short film winner 'The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse', Seth Rogan's take on 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles', the new anti-sexual harrassment initiative Keep Festive and a simpler time when The Simpsons liked to sing the blues. Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson Interviews conducted by Ben Mitchell and Ryan Gaur Edited and produced by Ben Mitchell Music by Ben Mitchell

The 21st Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Interviews conducted by Laura-Beth Cowley and Steve Henderson Special guests: Tim Searle - animation director/producer ("Warren United", "Mr. Bean") Eamonn o'Neill - animation director ("I'm Fine Thanks", "Left")

In the eighth episode of 'Independent Animation', our companion podcast series to the Skwigly tie-in book 'Independent Animation: Developing, Producing and Distributing Your Animated Films' (Taylor & Francis/CRC Press), Skwigly contributor Mel Cionco meets Tracy Butler and Fable Siegel, the creative duo behind the smash-hit indie animated short film 'Lackadaisy'. Adapted from the Eisner-winning comic series of the same name, the highly anticipated, 27-minute film was released at the end of March to much excitement following a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign in 2020. Upon its release, 'Lackadaisy' became an online phenomenon, with over 3.5 million views in its first week. Boasting an enormous roster of fantastic artistic talent, a solid cast and engaging music by Sepiatonic, the film has also caught the attention of prominent figures such as indie legend Ralph Bakshi, illustrator Tyson Hesse and director Lilly Wachowski. Interview conducted by Mel Cionco Presented and produced by Ben Mitchell Music by Ben Mitchell Lackadaisy official site: https://lackadaisy.com/

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ryan Gaur in conversation with Magdalena Osinska, director at Aardman Animations. Magdalena directed the recently released ‘I Am Your Mother’ which blends together the expansive universe of the Star Wars franchise with the look, wit and ingenuity of the much loved UK studio Aardman. The short sees young pilot Anni (Charithra Chandran), who is embarrassed by her sweet, but clingy mum Kalina (Maxine Peake), who she inevitably must team up with for a madcap family race at the academy. Along the way, their relationship is tested by the elements, their old ship, other racers...and each other!  Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 includes nine new shorts from nine studios across the globe, all with their own unique take on the saga. Watch all episodes now on Disney+. Here’s Skwigly’s Ryan Gaur in conversation with I am not your mother director Magdalena Osinska Thanks for joining us for this Skwigly one to one, you can watch these interviews on our YouTube channel or subscribe to us via your favourite podcast provider. We’re a free podcast so if you’d like to support us you can do by leaving a nice review and recommending this podcast to a friend, and if you’re feeling generous you can financially support the podcast by scrolling down to the bottom of the Skwigly homepage and clicking the support us link, all proceeds help us do the work we do across the site. Thanks again for joining us, and don’t forget for all the latest news reviews, interviews and everything else from the world of animation head over to skwigly.com Interview conducted by Ryan Gaur Presented and Edited by Steve Henderson Music by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ben Mitchell in conversation with Janet Perlman. With a solid filmography of funny, quirky animated films under her belt, including 'My Favourite Things That I Love', 'Penguins Behind Bars', 'Invasion of the Space Lobsters' and the Oscar nominated 'Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin', Janet’s work over the years has also included contributions to 'Sesame Street', the NFB’s 'ShowPeace' series and the collaborative project 'Pink Komkommer'. This week her latest NFB film 'The Girl with the Red Beret' is playing at Animafest Zagreb as part of their Time For The Masters programme, which showcases recent work by some of the biggest stars of animation. The film is a love letter to Montreal in which a girl encounters an array of colourful, extravagant characters across the city’s metro stations, set to a re-orchested take on Kate and Anna McGarrigle’s 'Complainte pour Ste-Catherine'. Interview conducted by Ben Mitchell Produced, edited and presented by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ben Mitchell in conversation with Janice Nadeau. Continuing her relationship with the National Film Board of Canada and French animation studio Folimage, Janice has recently followed up on her short films 'No Fish Where to Go' (2014) and 'Mamie' (2016) with 'Harvey', which plays in competition this week at the 2023 Annecy International Animation Festival in the Young Audiences category. An adaptation of the children’s graphic novel 'Harvey: How I Became Invisible' by Hervé Bouchard, for which she did the illustrations, the animated film version depicts a young boy who candidly recalls the spring day when his world turned upside down; a poetic examination of bereavement and coping with the loss of a parent rendered in the director’s distinctive and appealingly traditional illustrative style. A three-time recipient of Canada’s prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award, Janice currently teaches at the UQAM School of Design in Montreal. Interview conducted by Ben Mitchell Produced, edited and presented by Ben Mitchell

Presenting episode 110 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! In this episode we welcome Peter Sohn and Denise Ream, director and producer respectively of the latest Disney/Pixar feature film 'Elemental'. 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 22nd Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Special guests: Jackie Cockle - stop-motion specialist ("Bob The Builder", "Pingu", "Timmy Time") Greg McLeod of the Bros. McLeod - animation director ("365", "Marfa", "Codswallop")

Episode 1 of Skwigly's Edinburgh International Film Festival coverage, featuring retired NFB producers Marcy Page and David Verrall, along with EIFF Programmer/McLaren 2014 Artistic Director Iain Gardner.

Episode 2 of Skwigly's Edinburgh International Film Festival coverage, featuring Ross Hogg, director of 'The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat' and 'Spectators'

Episode 3 of Skwigly's Edinburgh International Film Festival coverage, featuring White Robot directors Will Anderson ('The Making of Longbird') & Ainslie Henderson ('I Am Tom Moody') on their new film 'Monkey Love Experiments'.

The 23rd Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Guest interviewer: Laura-Beth Cowley Special guests: Disney's 'Feast' - production designer Jeff Turley, producer Kristina Reed and director Patrick Osborne DreamWorks Animation SKG's 'How To Train Your Dragon 2' - director Dean DeBlois and producer Bonnie Arnold Greg McLeod of the Bros. McLeod - animation director ("365", "Marfa", "Codswallop")

In the ninth episode of 'Independent Animation', our companion podcast series to the Skwigly tie-in book 'Independent Animation: Developing, Producing and Distributing Your Animated Films' (Taylor & Francis/CRC Press), we welcome back Signe Baumane to discuss her latest indie animated feature film 'My Love Affair with Marriage', which is about to embark on its US theatrical run following a multi-award-winning festival journey. My Love Affair With Marriage is an independent animated feature film by Signe Baumane created for an adult audience. The film, a Latvian - USA - Luxembourg co-production, took seven years to make and was financed with the help of 1,685 individual donors along with grants from many arts and cultural institutions. This fall, My Love Affair With Marriage will have its North American theatrical release opening at Quad Cinema in New York City October 6, 2023. The following week the film will open on the West Coast in Los Angeles October 13, 2023. From October through December - and beyond - the film will screen at cinemas, educational and community settings around the country. Written, presented and produced by Ben Mitchell Music by Ben Mitchell Learn more about the film at https://www.myloveaffairwithmarriagemovie.com/

Presenting episode 111 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! In this episode we welcome Charles Huettner, Sean Buckelew and 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. Cast includes Wunmi Mosaku (Azi), Bob Stephenson (Sam), Sunita Mani (Ursula), Ted Travelstead (Kamen) and Alia Shawkat (Levi). The show is executive produced by Chris Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio, Shannon Prynoski, and Ben Kalina from Titmouse, Joe Bennett, Charles Huettner, as well as co-executive producers Sean Buckelew and James Merrill and Supervising Director Benjy Brooke from Green Street Pictures. 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

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Martyn Warren in conversation with Walt Dohrn, discussing the latest chapter in DreamWorks Animation’s blockbuster musical franchise: 'Trolls Band Together'.  The third film in the series continues the adventures of Poppy, played by Anna Kendrick, and Branch, played by Justin Timberlake, now a couple, and the emotional journey they embark upon to reunite Branch with his brothers, who once made up the boyband phenomenon BroZone. Trolls Band Together is steered by returning director Walt Dohrn and producer Gina Shay, and is co-directed by Tim Heitz (head of story, 'Trolls World Tour'). Dohrn’s other credits include directing roles on the first two Trolls films as well as the Shrek short films 'Donkey’s Christmas Shrektacular' and 'Shrek’s Yule Log', alongside work as a story artist, layout artist, character designer, writer and voice actor. 'Trolls Band Together' is out in UK cinemas now, with a US release to follow on November 17th. Interview conducted by Martyn Warren Produced, edited and presented by Ben Mitchell

In the tenth episode of 'Independent Animation', our companion podcast series to the Skwigly tie-in book 'Independent Animation: Developing, Producing and Distributing Your Animated Films' (Taylor & Francis/CRC Press), we catch up with Joseph Wallace whose independent stop-motion short film 'Salvation Has No Name' was released online earlier this year following a strong festival run. Having discussed the film's unique funding journey for the second edition of the book, Joseph joins the podcast to talk about some of the challenges that presented themselves during production, as well as his approaches to getting the film out there once it was done. The 17 minute short’s official synopsis reads "A troupe of clowns gather to perform a story about a Priest and a refugee but as their misguided tale unfolds, the boundaries between fiction and reality begin to fray." - what plays out is a nuanced, emotionally charged and alarmingly evergreen condemnation of xenophobia, othering, refugee crises and discrimination. Produced by Loran Dunn for Delaval Film alongside RAPT, Animation People in the Czech Republic and France’s Autour de Minuit. With support from BFI Network, the film features an all-female cast headed up by Money Heist's Itziar Ituño and Quantico's Yasmine Al Massri, with music by Kit Wilson and sound by David Kamp, a veteran of indie film sound design who also features in the second edition of the book. Written, presented and produced by Ben Mitchell Music by Ben Mitchell Learn more about Joseph Wallace's work at http://www.josephwallace.co.uk

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ryan Gaur in conversation with ND Stevenson, discussing the Netflix feature film adaptation of his Eisner-winning graphic novel 'Nimona' Released on Netflix earlier this year, the world of 'Nimona' began with Stevenson’s National Book Award-nominated and New York Times best-selling graphic novel that tells the story of the titular teen shapeshifter Nimona and her adventures as sidekick to wronged knight Ballister Boldheart. The film adaptation is directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane based on a screenplay by Robert L. Baird and Lloyd Taylor. Alongside being known for the much-loved comic series 'Lumberjanes', which picked up multiple Eisner awards, ND Stevenson initially introduced Nimona to the world as a webcomic in the early 2010s, which would ultimately see itself published and snag an Eisner of its own, among other accolades. His career in animation has included writing work on Disney’s 'Wander Over Yonder' and showrunning the acclaimed 2018 reboot 'She-Re and the Princesses of Power', while ongoing attempts to translate the world of Nimona to a feature film were stymied by delays and cancellations before finding a home on Netflix with production house Annapurna Pictures. Interview conducted by Ryan Gaur Produced, edited and presented by Ben Mitchell

In the eleventh episode of 'Independent Animation', our companion podcast series to the Skwigly tie-in book 'Independent Animation: Developing, Producing and Distributing Your Animated Films' (Taylor & Francis/CRC Press), Skwigly contributor Mel Cionco speaks with Jasmine Yang, General Manager and Development Producer at Glitch Productions. One of Australia’s largest web animation studios, Glitch Productions grew from YouTube personalities Kevin and Luke Lerdwichagul’s enthusiasm for creating comedic online content that would amass them a significant following. After shifting their attentions toward independent animation, as Glitch Productions they would go on to produce several fully-realised animated series outside of the established norms of the traditional studio system, including SMG4, Sunset Paradise, Meta Runner and Murder Drone. The studio’s recently-released CG pilot, ‘The Amazing Digital Circus’ created by indie artist and musician Gooseworx, has proved their most well-received endeavour to date, amassing a staggering 180 million+ views at the time of this podcast’s release. Described as ‘a psychological dark comedy about cute cartoon characters who hate their lives and want to leave’, the pilot has already built up an enormous and devoted fanbase and the studio have hopes for a full, eight-episode season to follow. Presented by Ben Mitchell and Mel Cionco Produced by Ben Mitchell Interview conducted by Mel Cionco Music by Ben Mitchell

The 24th Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Guest interviewer: Tom Sanders Special guests: Travis Knight - President of LAIKA on their new film 'The Boxtrolls' Yoni Goodman - Animation Director of the Ari Folman films 'Waltz With Bashir' and 'The Congress' Jesse Cleverly - Creative Director of Wildseed Studios

Presenting episode 112 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! In this episode we welcome back director Sam Fell alongside producer Leyla Hobart to discuss their much-anticipated Aardman sequel Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (out now on Netflix). We also welcome back director Robin Shaw and producer Ruth Fielding of Lupus Films to hear about their seasonal adaptation Mog's Christmas, broadcast on Channel 4 this Xmas Eve. Also discussed: Feature and short film picks for awards season, technological misadventures at MAF and the enduring legacy of last year’s holiday ‘classic’ The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse. Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson Interviews conducted by Steve Henderson Edited, produced and music by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Mel Cionco in conversation with Bret Parker and Pete Barma, discussing their Oscar-shortlisted animated short film 'Pete'. With over 25 years of experience at Pixar Animation Studios, Bret has animated on such animated feature film classics as 'Finding Nemo', 'The Incredibles' and 'Ratatouille', moving on to Animation Tools Lead on projects including 'Brave', 'Monsters University' and 'Inside Out'. Following her recent feature length documentary 'Through The Windows', Bret more recently directed the animated short Pete which has screened at such prestigious events as Tribeca and Annecy, and is based on the mid-70s gender identity journey - via Little League Baseball - of partner Pete Barma, co-writer and exec producer of the film. A simultaneously personal yet crucially relatable story of being true to oneself, and the tremendous value of familial and outside support, Pete was produced through the pair’s own Artfarm Productions, "an artist collaborative dedicated to bringing diverse stories from underepresented voices to light". Interview conducted by Mel Cionco Produced, edited and presented by Ben Mitchell

The 25th Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Guest interviewers: Julia Young and Craig Smith Special guests: Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi - Ex-Pixar directorial duo behind Tonko House/'The Dam Keeper' Lisa Hanawalt - Production Designer of the Netflix original animated series 'Bojack Horseman' Jorge Gutiérrez - Director of the Reel FX feature 'The Book of Life'

Skwigly at MOVE Summit 2024 Podcast Special, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson. Live from MOVE Summit 2024, Skwigly Editor Steve Henderson and guests shine a spotlight on Scottish animation and explore some of the stories behind the stories of project such as Musical Storyland, Dog Squad, Roots & Fruits and The Brilliant World of Tom Gates. With special guests Rhona Drummond (Eyebolls) Lucy Teire (Interference Pattern) Micky MacPherson (Plum Films) & Ron Henry (Wild Child) Produced and edited by Steve Henderson Music by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly at Anima, the Brussels International Animation Film Festival Podcast Special, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson. Live from Anima 2024, Join Skwigly Editor Steve Henderson as he meets some of the award winning filmmakers who took home awards at Brussels premiere animation event! In this podcast we meet Volker Schlecht, director of The Waiting, Wild Tale director Aline Quertain and Wander to Wonder director Nina Gantz and Director of Photography Steven Fredrickx as well as finding out more about what is described as the most welcoming animation festival around! Produced and edited by Steve Henderson Music by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ryan Gaur in conversation with Pablo Berger, director of the animated feature 'Robot Dreams'. Having premiered at Cannes followed by a warmly-received run of festival screenings across the world (picking up an Annecy cristal, Goya Award, Annie Award and a Best Animated Feature nomination at this year’s Academy Awards), 'Robot Dreams' is based on the graphic novel by Sarah Varon. Taking place in 1980s New York, the film tells the story of Dog, a lonely dog who purchases and assembles Robot, a happy-go-lucky robot, for companionship. After establishing a firm friendship and forming a uniquely heartwarming bond, the pair visit Coney Island and become separated on the beach. Thus Dog embarks on a mission to save their friendship and get Robot back. Previously known for live-action Spanish films including 'Torremolinos 73', 'Blancanieves' and 'Abracadabra', 'Robot Dreams' marks Pablo Berger’s first feature-length foray into 2D animation, having been moved by the original graphic novel some years previously. Presently enjoying a UK theatrical release via distributor Curzon, ahead of a special screening at this year’s Cardiff Animation Festival on April 28th Skwigly were delighted to get some time with Pablo to learn more about the project. Interview conducted by Ryan Gaur Produced, edited and presented by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly at Cartoon Movie 2024 Podcast Special, brought to you by skwigly.com Special guests: Mikkel Brænne Sandemose (The Polar Bear Prince), Marc du Pontavice (Lucy Lost), Patrick Imbert, Johanna Goldschmidt (The Wild Inside) and Tonje Skar Reiersen (Pesta). Presented by Steve Henderson with Ryan Gaur Interviews conducted by Ryan Gaur Produced and edited by Ben Mitchell Music by Ben Mitchell

In our latest Skwigly Animation Podcast special we round up the winners of the 2024 edition of the biennial British Animation Awards that took place at London’s BFI Southbank in March. This episode features an exclusive round table chat with some of the winners of the awards: • JuanPe Arroyo of The Line, winner of Best Animation in a Commercial for Great British Bake Off’s promotional trailer 2023 • Emma Calder winner of the Cutting Edge Award, for Beware of Trains • Camilla Deakin of Lupus Films winner of Best Feature, Writers Award and Best Original Music for Kensuke's Kingdom (dirs Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry) and Best Long Form for Mog’s Christmas (dir. Robin Shaw) • Iain Gardner winner of Best Long Form for A Bear Called Wojtek • Tanya J.Scott winner of Best Postgraduate Student Film for her NFTS short The Wolf of Custer Presented by Laura-Beth Cowley, Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Produced and edited by Steve Henderson Music by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly are proud to present the first of a three-part series of exclusive podcast minisodes from the 2024 edition of the Cardiff Animation Festival. In episode 1 we hear from attending filmmakers in conversation with Skwigly Editor in Chief Ben Mitchell and Features Writer Dr. Laura-Beth Cowley as part of the festival's Filmmaker Brunch sessions. Featured in this episode: Samantha Moore - 'Visible Mending' Greg McLeod - 'Mee and Burd' Robert Brown - 'Clowning Around' Katie King - 'Made For Duties Overseas' Faye Craig - 'Sour Days' Presented by Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley Produced and edited by Ben Mitchell Thanks to Ellys Donovan and the CAF team

Skwigly are proud to present the second of a three-part series of exclusive podcast minisodes from the 2024 edition of the Cardiff Animation Festival. In episode 2 we hear from attending filmmakers in conversation with Skwigly Editor in Chief Ben Mitchell and Features Writer Dr. Laura-Beth Cowley as part of the festival's Filmmaker Brunch sessions. Featured in this episode: Tanya J Scott - 'The Wolf of Custer' Gerald Conn - 'Inner Polar Bear' Hannah Fisher - 'Disparate Threads' Naomi Crame - 'Rainbow Junktion' Lleucu Non - 'Painkiller' Presented by Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley Produced and edited by Ben Mitchell Thanks to Ellys Donovan and the CAF team

Skwigly are proud to present the third of a three-part series of exclusive podcast minisodes from the 2024 edition of the Cardiff Animation Festival. In episode 2 we hear from attending filmmakers in conversation with Skwigly Editor in Chief Ben Mitchell and Features Writer Dr. Laura-Beth Cowley as part of the festival's Filmmaker Brunch sessions. Featured in this episode: Josh Hicks - 'Spectre of the Bear' Tova Persson - 'Offerlamm' Hoching Kwok - 'When Cicadas Sing' Gus Andrews - 'Whale Fall' Qianhui Yu - 'In My Garden' Presented by Ben Mitchell and Laura-Beth Cowley Produced and edited by Ben Mitchell Thanks to Ellys Donovan and the CAF team

The 26th Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Guest interviewer: Katie Steed Special guests: Glen Keane Peter Lord PES

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. 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 include The Man in the Lower Left Hand Corner of the Photograph, The Cat With Hands, The Separation, Invocation and Bobby Yeah, the latter picking up a BAFTA nomination for Animated Short in 2012. 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

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Ben Mitchell in conversation with Torill Kove, director of the National Film Board of Canada/Mikrofilm short film 'Maybe Elephants'. Hailing from Norway and presently based in Canada, Torill has created such films as the Oscar-winning 'The Danish Poet' and the Oscar nominated 'My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts' and 'Me and My Moulton'. Her latest film 'Maybe Elephants' is rooted in family, memory and the fallible nature of both, telling the story of three sisters whose lives are uprooted when their parents relocate them from Norway to Nairobi. The film will screen at this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival in the Short Films in Competition - Official 2 programme. Interview conducted by Ben Mitchell Produced, edited and presented by Ben Mitchell

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Steve Henderson in conversation with Inside Out 2 Director Kelsey Man and Producer Mark Neilsen. The Pixar sequel once more voyages into the mind of Riley and sees the return of joy, sadness, fear, disgust and anger as their girl enters puberty and headquarters sees the introduction of newcomers Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment and Ennui who take control of Riley launching the original emotions on an epic quest to regain Riley as she heads to hockey camp and needs the team more than ever. As the sequel dominates the box office Skwigly sat down with the duo to discuss arts styles, Easter Eggs, the future for Lance Slashblade and their loving tribute to veteran Pixar artist Ralph Eggleston. Produced, edited and presented by Steve Henderson

The 27th Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Guest interviewers: Stephen Cavalier & Fiona Stuart-Clark Special guests: Glen Keane, Disney veteran and director of the Google ATAP interactive animation project 'Duet' Graham Annable & Anthony Stacchi, directors of the Oscar-nominated 'The Boxtrolls' from LAIKA Torill Kove, director of the Oscar-winning NFB film 'The Danish Poet' and Oscar-nominated 'Me & My Moulton'

Stop Motion: A Skwigly Podcast Special featuring Osbert Parker, Joseph Wallace, Robert Morgan & Suzie Templeton, celebrating the BFI Stop Motion Season 2024. Joining Ben & Steve is guest host Justin Johnson, Lead Programmer for the BFI Southbank and one of the brains behind the incredible season showcasing the art of stop motion animation. Stop Motion: Celebrating Handmade Animation on the Big Screen takes place at BFI Southbank until 8 October 2024, with the free exhibition LAIKA: Frame x Frame open now until 1 October 2024. This special also features a bumper Stop Motion roundtable featuring some of the UK's finest stop motion talents Osbert Parker, Joseph Wallace, Robert Morgan & Suzie Templeton who go into detail about their inspirations, love for the medium and heroes as well as speaking about their own work too. This podcast special has been made possible with thanks to Justin Johnson, Richard Pickard and the team at the BFI. Presented by Ben Mitchell & Steve Henderson Guest host Justin Johnson Edited and produced by Steve Henderson Music by Ben Mitchell

Presenting episode 114 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! In this episode we celebrate the incredible talents and output of the Academy Award-nominated, BAFTA/Emmy-winning Cartoon Saloon, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Founded in 1999 by Paul Young, Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, the Kilkenny-based studio has produced such celebrated work as the feature films The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, The Breadwinner, My Father's Dragon and Wolfwalkers, shorts including Late Afternoon, From Darkness, Somewhere Down The Line and Old Fangs as well as the beloved TV series Puffin Rock. This podcast retrospective digs into the Skwigly archives to revisit interviews with directors Tomm Moore (The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, Wolfwalkers, The Prophet), Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner, My Father's Dragon), Ross Stewart (Wolfwalkers, The Prophet), Louise Bagnall and Nuria Gonzalez Blanco (Late Afternoon). Also included in this episode is an all-new interview with studio co-founder Paul Young, who made his directorial debut last year with Screecher's Reach, an acclaimed entry in the Star Wars Visions: Volume 2 series that picked up an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production as well as a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation. Presented by Ben Mitchell and Steve Henderson Interviews conducted by Ben Mitchell, Steve Henderson and Julia Young Edited, produced and music by Ben Mitchell

The 28th Skwigly podcast, brought to you by skwigly.com Presented by Steve Henderson and Ben Mitchell Guest interviewer: Nathan Wilkes Special guests: Richard Starzak & Mark Burton, directors of 'Shaun the Sheep The Movie' Daisy Jacobs, director of the BAFTA-winning NFTS film 'The Bigger Picture' Mike Mort, creator of Chuck Steel

Presenting episode 115 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast! In this episode we welcome Chris Sanders, director of the Dreamworks feature 'The Wild Robot' out in UK cinemas now and adapted from Peter Brown’s #1 New York Times bestseller. The epic adventure follows the journey of a robot—ROZZUM unit 7134, “Roz” for short — that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings, gradually building relationships with the animals on the island and becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling. Also discussed in this episode: Remembering Emma Calder, upcoming Manchester Animation Festival highlights, Cardiff Animation Festival's special presentation of Robert Morgan's 'Stopmotion', the return of Feathers McGraw in Wallace and Gromit's upcoming feature 'Vengeance Most Fowl', kvetching about 'Carol and the End of the World' and 'The New Norm', the furore around 'Velma', Mackinnon and Saunders' brilliant work on 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice', and the completion of the second Skwigly book 'Intimate Animation' (due March 2025)

Skwigly.com presents Animation One-To-Ones featuring Martyn Warren in conversation with Josh Cooley, director of 'Transformers One'. Based on Hasbro’s Transformers™ Action Figures, 'Transformers One' is the untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. In the first-ever fully CG-animated Transformers movie, 'Transformers One' features a star-studded voice cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi with Laurence Fishburne and Jon Hamm. Interview conducted by Martyn Warren Produced, edited and presented by Ben Mitchell