The Animated Brambly Hedge

HIT Entertainment, a company that develops animated film versions of established children's classics approached HarperCollins to see if there was any possibility of animating Brambly Hedge. The question had come up in the past but had been shelved because no one seemed able to achieve the high degree of perfection that Jill would require. It was not that she was against the idea of film in principle, but she wanted to see the essence of the books truly captured and be convinced that everyone working on the project would respect her ideals and share her desire for authenticity.

Peter Orton, the managing director at HIT, and Kate Fawkes, his executive producer, presented their ideas to Jill. They wanted to make four separate films of the first four books, and as they spoke it became clear that they had grasped the particular qualities of Jill's work and had spent time finding the most appropriate film makers and techniques. From their point of views, they recognized that their potential audience already knew the books inside out. They had to find a way to animate Brambly Hedge that would be true to the original work and not disappoint readers, whether they be children or adults.

One of the first decisions they had to make concerned the kind of animation. Should it be model or cel? Cel animation, the method most usually associated with children's features, requires that everything is drawn by animators, either by hand or with the aid of computer techniques. Model animation has a completely different quality but can be very effective because it is three dimensional.

They decided that model animation was the most suitable medium and proposed Cosgrove Hall, a studio in Manchester responsible for the highly successful THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS. The chosen team headed by producer Jackie Cockle had the necessary skills to create a rich and believable world and would enjoy the challenge of Brambly Hedge.

Jill agreed. She had always felt that if a film were to be made, she would prefer to see the mice presented as models. She was anxious about cell animation and not convinced of the wisdom of using other artists to recreate her work. Then when she met Bridget Appleby, who would be artistic director of the film, she was doubly convinced.

Here was a kindred spirit. Bridget too had a special feeling about the natural world and already knew Jill's books. She suggested that model animation, used in conjunction with Jill's own drawings, was the solution. Instead of using the illustrations simply as reference for the animation, they could become part of the film. Bridget explained how she would use a multi-layered technique called decoupage to give them a three dimensional feel so that when seen in context with the model mice, there would be no sudden impression of a flat background.

Describing her technique later, Bridget said, 'I decided to make the sets look a bit like a giant pop-up book. I'm glad I didn't know at the start the number of sets that would be needed - it turned out to be fifty-seven!'

By the end of the meeting Jill felt a lot happier, especially since she would be closely involved with the films at all stages. Jackie and Bridget went back to Manchester to organize two minutes footage so that Jill could see for herself just how Bridget's proposal would work. The same piece of film would then be shown at the forthcoming trade fair in Cannes to interest British and foreign television companies in the series.

The first book to be animated was WINTER STORY. It was screened at Christmas time 1997 and achieved phenomenal viewing figures. Since then further stories have been animated all of which have been equally enthusiastically received and sold internationally in many markets.

Brambly Hedge Videos are available from the Gift Shop.

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