Podcast interview with Alison Snowden and David Fine
For our eighty-first episode of the Skwigly Animation Podcast we are thrilled to welcome Alison Snowden and David Fine of Snowden Fine Animation.
Having met at the NFTS, the pair created the Oscar®-nominated short film Second Class Mail, going on to work with the National Film Board of Canada for their short George and Rosemary and the Oscar®-winning Bob’s Birthday that later inspired the hit adult animated sitcom Bob and Margaret.
Having since worked on popular IPs including Peppa Pig and Shaun the Sheep as well as developing their own series Ricky Sprocket: Showbiz Boy, Alison and David have teamed up again with the NFB for their latest film Animal Behaviour, their first new short film in over twenty years.
Depicting a group therapy session of five animals led by a canine therapist, the film is produced by the NFB’s Michael Fukushima and will be taking major festivals by storm in the coming weeks, with official selections at Animafest Zagreb, the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Anima Mundi.
The group includes Lorraine, a leech who suffers from separation anxiety; Cheryl, a praying mantis who can’t seem to keep a man; Todd, a pig with an eating disorder; Jeffrey, a bird with guilt issues; and Linda, an obsessive-compulsive cat.
But this week’s session proves to be a challenge for the group when they’re joined by a reluctant new member: Victor, an ape with anger-management issues. As we watch him navigate his first session, we learn about each animal’s issues and how they’re trying to deal with them, but Victor just doesn’t get it. He sees the group as a bunch of self-obsessed navel gazers.
This hilarious yet emotional short deals with animal issues that are not unlike our own. Should we learn and adapt, or should others just accept our true nature?
Also discussed in this episode: Upcoming highlights from Annecy, the curious world of Disney’s early sequels, the misguided efforts of Circle 7 and the not-especially-destructive trailer for Ralph Breaks the Internet.
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