A Bright Light in the Animation Landscape

Magic Light Pictures founders Michael Rose and Martin Pope discuss the 20th anniversary of their acclaimed production company.

Connoisseurs of quality, meticulously crafted animation are familiar with the wonderful, award-wining specials produced by U.K.-based Magic Light Pictures. Beginning with The Gruffalo in 2009, the boutique production company has been delivering top-quality animated productions for the small screen with astonishing frequency.

Chico and Rita (2010), The Gruffalo’s Child (2011), Room on the Broom (2012), Stick Man (2015), Revolting Rhymes (2016), The Highway Rat (2017), Zog (2018), The Snail and the Whale (2019), Superworm (2021), Pip and Posy (2021) and The Smeds and the Smoos (2022) are among Magic Light’s charming projects. We had the chance to chat with the company’s talented founders and managing directors Martin Pope and Michael Rose about the work of their Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning company:

Animation Magazine: Can you tell us about the history of Magic Light Pictures?

Martin: Michael and I became friends in the early 1990s when I was producing my first feature film and Michael was a program buyer at Channel 4.

While I continued running my own business making feature films and TV dramas, including the BIFA and Evening Standard award-winning Lawless Heart and the Sundance hit Touch of Pink, Michael joined Aardman in Bristol as Head of Development before becoming joint producer of the third Wallace & Gromit short film, A Close Shave, and setting up Aardman’s feature film arm, executive producing Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit

In 2002, Michael moved back to London and saw my film The Heart of Me at the Closing Gala of the London Film Festival. We got back together over coffee, and realized the possibilities of working together.

Michael: We talked a lot about what we wanted to do. We realized that we had very different skill-sets and experiences, but by joining forces we could build something really special. We were sufficiently different that we’d complement each other. And we shared the belief that what matters is not the technique you use, whether animation, live action or any kind of hybrid, but the stories you tell and the passion they’re told with.

Martin: I think we were standing on Wardour Street when we came up with three ideas which formed the bedrock of our business plan: make live-action films first, develop animation and if we could find the right property, build that into a lasting brand. So even at the beginning and even though we didn’t know our exact next steps (or even sometimes where the rent was coming from) we already had the idea of a trajectory and where we wanted to go.”

Take us through the process of finding The Gruffalo and securing the rights for it please. Michael: Night after night, at home I was reading The Gruffalo to my daughter, and it was brilliant. Martin was feeling it as well. Martin: I remember when Michael first came in and said, have you been reading this? We’d both been reading it to our children, and we were able to think about how absolutely loved it was.

Michael: We were sure it was the ‘one’ and that we could create a classic special. We also felt that the story and character had sufficient richness and depth to launch a wider brand, but inevitably it took a long time to get the rights — four years in all from 2003 to 2007. The Gruffalo was already a huge publishing success and we had to convince Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler and publisher Macmillan that we were the best partners to bring it to screen.”

Martin: Many companies wanted it, some as a series, others as a feature film, but we wanted to stay true to the book and determined that it was perfect as a half-hour Christmas special. There are various moments where I can remember Michael saying confidently, “We’re going to produce it for BBC One on Christmas Day,” and my heart was pounding, thinking, how on Earth are we going to pull that off? Happily, from my time working at the BBC we managed to find the right way to reach that vital Christmas Day slot.

Looking back, what might you have done differently?

Michael: I often wonder if there were opportunities when we could have gone a bit faster, whether it’s in developing a project or a series. But we’ve always been focused on doing the right thing and staying true to our values. We want The Gruffalo to be seen in half a century’s time as a classic brand, like Beatrix Potter or Paddington. So, everything we’ve done has always been with the long-term interests in mind. The Gruffalo occupies such a special pace in the hearts and minds of our young audience; if we are sometimes cautious, it’s because we needed to get it right.

Martin: Maybe sometimes we were a bit cautious. Maybe we could have managed the risks and the worry about those risks differently. But actually it all paid off — as we’re still here, celebrating our 20th anniversary and growing the company with a wonderful team and hopefully still delighting our audiences.

What is the best advice you can offer for people starting out in animation?

Michael: Think about the audience. If you want to make something, who are you making it for? Who’s going to watch it and where are they going to be watching? It can be something commercial, it can be something avant-garde, but you have to set off knowing your audience.

Martin: Yes, and it’s such a long process and so complicated, you have to think about why you’re doing it. What is the thing that gets you up every morning? Will making this animation reach the people you want and make them feel and understand what you’re expressing?

When you look back on the past 20 years, what are you most proud of?

Michael: I’m proud that we’ve built a business that is known for wonderful films, which have an incredibly high quality threshold. Some of them are enduring classics, viewed again and again, which deliver an incredible pleasure to our family audiences. But above all, I’m proud that we’ve built a company with wonderful values underpinned by integrity and quality and desire to delight audiences. I feel those values cascade through our work and through all the people who work with Magic Light.

Martin: I’m very proud of our team. I think there are people here who are doing great work. Also, of course it makes me proud when we get comments from parents who are happily amazed their kids have watched one of our films every day for two months, or where a film has really helped and connected with a child. It’s just amazing to be making things which families really embrace. Even just this weekend I was looking at my local cinema, thinking, what shall I go and see? And there is The Gruffalo and Zog playing as a double-bill in my local cinema, every day of the weekend. How great is that? ◆

For more info, visit magiclightpictures.com.

Mexican animation is getting a nice shoutout this year at Annecy Festival as the country of honor, and this well-deserved spotlight is happening at the right time in history. In the past 10 years alone, Mexico has produced the same number of animated feature films and TV shows as the total of all the previous 50 years put together. Today, Mexico experiences a healthy combination of original intellectual property, work-for-hire studios, schools and festivals that foster collaboration.

“The goal of the Mexican delegation at Annecy is to display the artistry and capabilities of the Mexican animation industry, to find new co-production partners for the studios and showcase our heritage,” says Jordi Iñesta, co-founder of Guadalajara-based Latin American animation festival Pixelatl.

Among the many examples of the past decade’s exponential growth are studios such as Mighty Animation, which started out as a small venture between six friends and currently employs over 400 artists across multiple projects. Before 2014, only one Mexican short, Hasta los huesos (Down to the Bone) directed by René Castillo, was part of the official selection at Annecy Festival. Since then, dozens of films and projects are featured at the event each year.

Trailblazing Collaborations

This year’s Annecy Festival includes a spotlight on Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires, an original animated feature-length film that places the DC superhero against the backdrop of the history of Mexico and immerses fans around the world in the exciting culture of