The Purrrfect Show

KidsCave Studios’ CEO Ed Bignell on why Kitti Katz is the cat’s meow

About eight years ago, Ed Bignell set up KidsCave Studios in London to produce Robozuna, the boys action series he had created. “It was a co-commission between ITV Studios and Netflix and a pretty big order (40 x 22-minutes),” he recalls. “On the back of successfully delivering the show, we were very fortunate to have Netflix pick up our next original series, Kitti Katz. With two originals under our belts, we’re now expanding our boutique, creator-driven studio to accommodate a multi-project pipeline with a diverse slate of new projects across features, preschool and teens now that Julian Scott (Poppy Cat, The Large Family, Tiny Planets) has joined the company as COO to drive the studio’s output.”

Kitti Katz centers on the heroic adventures of three 14-year-old girls who gain the magical ability to transform between cute kittens and powerful super-cat-girls as they attempt to save the world from an evil Egyptian goddess of the underworld. “The show combines cinematic action with soapy teen storylines as they navigate the social minefield of high school, deal with romantic attentions and try to remain friends and keep the Kitti Katz together,” says Bignell, whose credits include King Arthur’s Disasters and Little Robots “Just regular teenage lives really!”

The show was created by Bignell about nine years ago. “It’s primarily targeted at girls (6 to 12 years old), but we’re hoping families and cat-crazy fans will enjoy too,” he notes. “The market was very much boys-action at the time, and I felt we needed some strong young female action heroes for a change! I like to think of the show’s visuals as vibrant ’80s neon-noir with an anime twist!”

All pre-production is handled by KidsCave Studios in London while the writers are based in Los Angeles. “We designed and managed everything up to and including the animatics and used PanelForge for our 3D storyboards,” notes Bignell. “The 3D asset creation and animation by L’Atelier Animation in Montreal using Autodesk Maya for modeling to animation, Houdini for effects, Mercenaries Guerilla for lighting, and Nuke for compositing. Post-production was, again, handled by KidsCave in London.”

Vibrant Colors and Surprising Storylines

Bignell notes that the show has been receiving a lot of positive comments on its visual style. “As we were a relatively early adopter in our pipeline of HDR, we’ve been able to exploit that potential and really punch a vibrant color palette through in the final Dolby Vision grade,” he explains. “I also feel we have a pretty unique fantasy for our audience where our heroes can double transform between a small vulnerable kitten and a larger powerful super-cat-girl. The idea being an analogy for that point in life between remaining a child and childlike behavior and the cusp of adulthood and wanting to be a powerful, more adultlike person.”

Bignell says he hopes audiences will connect and enjoy the show’s dynamic characters and storylines. “Then perhaps, they’ll get a sense that believing in and challenging yourself will help you overcome the obstacles life throws at you,” he adds. “Finally, if they feel as inspired by Kitti Katz as I was when I first saw Star Wars, that would be truly amazing!”

The producer would like the global animation community to know that the passion he and his team have for the work has resulted in two projects with real heart and soul. “We’re a strong creative and commercial partner with a track record of delivering globally appealing, hi-end content on time and on budget,” Bignell concludes. “We love to develop animation brands that are conceived and executed with a fully transmedia approach. We’re carving out a niche with our new development slate for older kids and with Julian on board, we’re also interested in taking on the right development and service work for legacy IP and I probably shouldn’t say this in Animation Magazine, diversifying into live-action!” ◆

For more info, visit kidscave.com and kittikatz.com