BBC Children’s and Education has boarded new series, Froglets, for CBeebies and BBC iPlayer, in collaboration with Rai Kids, Italy.
‘Froglets’ is being produced by the UK’s Eaglet Pictures with Italy’s Pesci Combattenti.
The preschool show features three “irresistibly cute” wool frogs, Ziff, Pipp, and Button, who secretly live inside an ordinary family home with Mum, Dad, and their children. The moment the family leaves and the house is quiet, the Froglets pop out from their cosy hideouts and leap into a brand-new mini adventure exploring the home and discovering new things, guided by narrator Sue Perkins. Unnoticed by the humans, their joyful world is known only to one sharp-eyed observer – helpful family dog Bertie.
The original characters are created and knitted by Holger Auffenberg, recent winner of Channel 4’s ‘Game of Wool: Britain’s Best Knitter’ and brought to life by a team of top puppeteers. For the series, a bespoke technical filming setup was developed in order to film the Froglets as live action, thus avoiding the use of CGI.
The 26 x 5’ series was commissioned by Rai Kids, Italy and is an international partnership between Eaglet Pictures and Pesci Combattenti (Italy). The creator and creative director is Massimo Fenati, with Tess Cuming as Executive Producer and the director and producer of the episodes is Riccardo Mastropietro.
Creator and Series Director Massimo Fenati says: My most fun memories of when I was a child are about the days spent playing with humble objects, like a cardboard tube or an old ping-pong ball, and letting my imagination run wild to create whole worlds where these objects could be turned into a magic telescope or a tiny little planet. Nowadays children’s toys often come with a set of building instructions and very little room left for their fantasy, so I wanted to make a show that could inspire them to be as imaginative and creative as possible. And who could be best to front a show of this kind than three charming frogs made of wool? Employing the very talented Holger Auffenberg to knit them and dress them, a top team of puppeteers to animate them, an enthusiastic crew to produce it, and the voice of brilliant Sue Perkins to narrate it, made the project come together. And the fun I had making it has taken me back to my fond childhood memories.
Designer and Maker Holger Auffenberg says: Working on the Froglets was such a joyful, positive experience. I started developing the characters more or less immediately after filming for The Game of Wool wrapped, and I loved to immerse myself completely into their world and the way they interact with ours. Designing and making all their various outfits, while incredibly fiddly, was an absolute dream from a fashion perspective, as many of the usual restrictions went out of the window, and it gave me the opportunity to adapt the way I usually work to brand new dimensions – froggy style!
“It feels like a truly wholesome project to be involved with, and I think the love for the craft and the innocent charm of these green little rascals really shines through in the final product.”
Eaglet Pictures is headed up by Creative Director Massimo Fenati and Executive Producer Tess Cuming. The company focuses on animation, children’s and family programming. Eaglet’s projects to date include Channel 4 Christmas specials ‘Quentin Blake’s Clown’ and ‘Terry Pratchett’s Abominable Snowbaby’ which received a BAFTA nomination for star Julie Walters, and via sister company ‘Eagle Eye’ major 6 x 30’ BBC award-winning series ‘Quentin Blake’s Box of Treasures’ as well as ‘Piripenguins’ 52 x 11’ a new CBeebies and Rai Kids comedy ‘bridge’ series for kids.
Jon Creamer
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