‘Bottersnikes and Gumbles’ features a rich, cinematic 3D world of odd characters and strange occurrences. We needed a title sequence that set the mood and tone for the show at large, but also brought something a little special to the beginning of the episodes. Animating using a 2D approach allowed us to use a very stylised storytelling. This gave us space to explore lots of ideas in a short space of time. We couldn’t do the same if we were constrained to the more visually dense CG style of the actual show. Another crucial goal was that the titles feel sophisticated and appeal to all ages.

We had the 2D style of animation for the titles in mind for a number of years (start with the important decisions right?), and had always hoped Alex Grigg could direct. Alex had worked on the teaser animation and helped develop the show at initial stages. Darren also mentioned this 2D idea when he first met Desmond Digby, original illustrator of the books, he love this idea of course! During the development and pitching process Alex strove for a clean balance to the 3D-style of the episodes, while maintaining a unique style and tipping his hat to Desmond’s original designs.

It’s fantastic to have seen it through to final stages with an amazing crew onboard. It is a part of the show at large that we are incredibly proud of and turned out better than we could have hoped. We had an incredible amount of talented and driven people working on this titles sequence.