主播大秀

With The Snail And The Whale arriving on 主播大秀 One on Christmas Day, we spoke to illustrator Axel Scheffler, Martin Pope and Michael Rose, Managing Directors of Magic Light Pictures, to find out what goes into transforming a much loved picture book to the screen.

What attracted you to the story of The Snail And The Whale?

Michael Rose: We started off with the Gruffalo 10 years ago, and The Snail And The Whale has always been a classic of Julia’s and Axel’s work. We spent many years looking at it, we’ve loved reading it to our own children over the years. It’s a wonderful story about a snail that wants to see the world and hitches a ride with a great humpback whale.  She finds that however small she is, she can make a huge difference.

Martin Pope: It’s an extraordinary book, fantastic illustrations and a brilliant story. Why wouldn’t we want to do it, it’s one of the great works?

How long does the production of the films take?

MR: It’s about 18 months from start to finish. So, after we’ve developed the script, we spend about six months storyboarding and developing everything we need to start animation, then from there it’s about a year’s production process. So currently, we’re working on Zog And The Flying Doctors for next year.

Were there any challenges in bringing the book to TV?

MR: Technologically, water in animation is very complex, the film that we’ve made, we couldn’t have made ten years ago. Tech has developed in such a way that we could realise the water in the way we wanted it done.

Axel Scheffler: I always find it interesting to see my characters from a different angle. I can mostly only draw a two-dimensional side view and I'm full of admiration for the skills of the animators to make the characters three dimensional and I love the landscapes they create.

How do you think people will react to The Snail And The Whale, as it’s coming at a time of Blue Planet and more environmental awareness?

MR: It’s a piece of entertainment, but I still think there are environmental themes in it and we do want young children and young families to be able to think about and appreciate the wonders of the ocean.

MP: I think that our stories are also about empowering young people. Zog was about empowering young women, thinking about changes in the world. And The Snail And The Whale is all about the things you can do if you’re small.

What changes were made when translating the book to TV?

AS: The translation into a different medium always requires a different approach to the story and the pictures. So, I feel the aesthetics of the film are quite removed from my illustrations, though they obviously serve as the inspiration for the animated version.

MP: We don’t change anything, what we do is we work with the story to take it even further. It’s a different medium, it has to sit on screen, so it’s different. On TV, it has to work dramatically, but because of what Julia writes and the way we work with it, it’s about exploring those different moments. There should never be a moment when anyone watches one of our films and thinks that the story is different, we want young people to go from the film to the book and back again, enjoy them both and feel they’re very closely related.

MR: We’ve always want to be faithful to Julia’s text and so much story comes from Axel’s illustrations and it’s the combination of the two together that make the works what they are. So, when we’re developing the films, we’re always looking for the story that’s between the lines in order to make the most satisfying, dramatic film.

MP: Yeah, it’s a half-hour film, it has to have a dramatic structure and that’s slightly different from a picture book, but it’s still about finding the right moments to fit into the film.

Why do you think that the books are so popular?

MP: They’re brilliant. It’s hard to do, it looks incredibly easy but it’s incredibly hard to do and Julia’s writing makes everyone who reads it feel like they are brilliant at reading, it’s great when you feel like a hero to your child. The illustrations also provide this incredibly rich world.

MR: There’s something about the combination of Julia’s text and Axel’s illustrations, which together create this special experience. I think children love being in those worlds, parents love reading them, there’s just something very special about them. That’s why we’ve been very privileged to have been working on them for ten years.

AS: Thank you. I remember being right at the end of the UK, in Cornwall not long ago and a little girl came into a café wearing a Gruffalo jumper. It’s nice to see that children love the books and characters so much.

Watch The Snail And The Whale on 主播大秀 One and 主播大秀 iPlayer on Wednesday 25 December at 2.30pm.