If you’re a fan of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s Thunderbirds, then you may want to sit your kids down in front of Miikshi, streaming now in Canada on TVOkids and worldwide on YouTube.
The educational show, which includes plenty of affectionate nods to 1960s Supermarionation, is produced by Toronto-based Gazelle Animations, a company formed to create entertainment with the magic of puppetry, model miniatures and animation.
Miikshi follows the adventures of a shy but genius sheep scientist who saves the world one day at a time… quietly.
Here’s a trailer from Gazelle Animation…
It should come as no surprise to learn that the company’s clients and production partners include Anderson Entertainment and Century 21 Films, the BBC, CBC Kids, ITV, Shaftesbury, and TVOKids.
From cramped beginnings in the tiny back room of a pizza shop (where pizza orders were literally passing through shots!), Gazelle Automations now sees projects through from concept and fabrication to production, VFX and finishing.
Not content with Thunderbirds homage, the company recently released a beautifully executed mini-sode of Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Animated Series, a Filmation-styled adventure that not brings the TNG cast back as seen in the SF show, in the style of the much-loved Star Trek – The Animated Series.
In a behind the scenes feature, animator Justin T. Lee explains how the project was created to look like a Filmation show, complete with the kind of gaffes seen in ST:TAS, right down to what he believes to be cigarette ash on some film cels creating those mysterious black dots!
• Check out Gazelle Animations here on YouTube
With thanks to Frank Garcia
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Animation, Digital Media, downthetubes News, Other Worlds, Star Trek, Television
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