An animated approach to a global film career WORDS | MARTINE CUSACK
F rom steering clear of the spotlight at a film premiere in France to launching a new chapter with his first children’s book, Old Boy Antony Elworthy (10695) is no scene stealer. However, his award-winning animation work in movies and television continues to light up global screens, capturing a massive audience around the world. A creepy Coraline , a gothic Corpse Bride , a Welsh fireman named Sam, and a feisty dinosaur called Kiri and her best friend Lou – all have been crafted by Antony. Away from his Christchurch studio, he has been sharing the stage this year with some of the biggest names in his field at the Annecy Animation Film Festival, presenting a new film, Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! Co-directed by Antony, the colourful claymation movie tells the story of Lou and Kiri, who are “swept into the greatest adventure in prehistory”. It is the first feature-length adaptation of the BAFTA-nominated children’s show Kiri and Lou – a multi-award-winning series with a massive fanbase. While literally shaping the latest release, Antony has also managed to squeeze in another ‘production’ – his first children’s book, The Strange and Unlikely Tale of Montgomery, the Mysterious Bird of Mystery . Initially planning a career in architecture, the Julius House Old Boy (daughters of Bishop Julius married into the Elworthy family) switched to design and illustration.
“I became interested in animation and especially stop-motion, which is the technique of repeatedly photographing an object, and moving it by small degrees between pictures,” he explains. “When the images are played at film speed, you have the illusion of movement, and all sorts of magic can be created in this way. “I worked on several TV shows in the United Kingdom and Europe. Then, just as computer- generated animation started taking over much of children’s television production, there was a resurgence in stop-motion animated feature films. In 2004, I joined my first film crew, working on Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. Since then I have worked as an animator or animation director on about a dozen films, including Coraline , Kubo and the Two Strings , Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs , and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio . “Many have been quite successful, but, for some people, my most recognisable work will always be the Welsh classic, Fireman Sam .” Returning to Christchurch in 2017 with wife Jane and four boys, Antony became involved in developing Kiri and Lou , alongside writer/ director Harry Sinclair and producer Fiona Copland. Setting up a studio in Ferrymead, and “with a team of local and international animators and compositors, we made 104 episodes”. Set in a prehistoric New Zealand forest, the show screens in multiple countries, including on the BBC in the UK and on Nickelodeon in the United States.
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