Spreading Love in Fluffytown
Producer Chapman Maddox tells us all about the charming new British preschool show Love Monster. By Ramin Zahed
Producer Chapman Maddox tells us all about the charming new British preschool show Love Monster. By Ramin Zahed
Awhole lot of people seem to have fallen for Love Monster, a new animated series that generated one million requests on BBC’s iPlayer during its first three weeks. The 54 x 7-minute show, produced by Boat Rocker Studios, BBC Children and China’s UYoung, follows the adventures of the only monster in Fluffytown as he learns important lessons about kindness, love and empathy from his friends.
Exec producer Chapman Mad
dox (Danger Mouse, Dick Figures: The Movie), Boat Rocker Studios’ VP of development and production, first found out about the property from a literary consultant who brought Rachel Bright’s books to his attention. “From our first meeting with Rachel, she was incredibly collaborative and provided us so much background to the world of Love Monster. A couple of producers from the BBC and I ended up going down to Rachel’s family’s cabins (made by hand!) in Dorset for a few days and together came up with all the characters and developed the world of Fluffytown. We then brought on Sindy Boveda-Spackman as the development writer to create the bible based on our ideas and write the first two scripts. That’s how the series was born.”
The producer says he was quite impressed by Bright’s illustrations and art style. “Her work is so distinctive and unique within the children’s book world, it just immediately attracts your eye when you see it,” he explains. “When you read the Love Monster books, you can’t help but fall in love with him as a character and the way his little mind works. Rachel has a tremendous skill of telling heartfelt stories in a funny and quirky way, which also deeply resonate emotionally for kids of all ages.”
The series is animated in the U.K., where the work is shared between Karrot Animation (Sarah & Duck) in London and A Productions in Bristol, with some pre-production work done at UYoung. The production uses the popular animation tool CelAction to bring the images to life. According to Maddox, about 80 people work on the series all together. “Love Monster is the first show I have worked on that is really for everyone, no matter age, gender, nationality, etc.,” he adds. “He is such a universal character, because at his core — and at the center of the series — he is all about solving problems with love, which we all can relate to. My second most-loved thing would be the unbelievably talented people I have had the pleasure of working with across the entire production. They are the best!”
However, Maddox admits that working in the seven-minute format was a bit of a challenge for him. “Fitting a cohesive story and lots of comedy into this time frame is always a challenge when you have such great characters, but we pulled it off (I hope).”
When asked about the state of animation in the U.K., Maddox responds, “As a fan of animation, we are obviously in an exciting time with so much animation getting made and the larger entertainment industry seeing the importance of the children’s industry. However, with an abundance of content for audiences to choose from, it’s even more competitive for new series to generate that connection. I think we all have to be more creative in the ways in which we promote and engage audiences with our shows to sustain interest and connectivity.”
For now, Maddox is just happy that Love Monster has captured the attention of so many viewers in such a short time. “Honestly, I hope audiences laugh and that it makes them smile during their day,” he adds. “Deeper than that, I hope it helps kids (big and small) grow a little more confident in their own ability to deal with life’s issues with love and humor.” ◆
‘This is the first show I have worked on that is really for everyone, no matter age, gender, nationality, etc. He is all about solving problems with love, which we all can relate to.’ — Exec producer Chapman Maddox