Half-hour 'Carnival of Animals,' directed by Siri Melchior and animated by Passion Pictures, strings all 14 of Camille Saint-Saens' sections into one story for the first time, over hand-painted watercolor backgrounds.
PBS Kids has set November 16 for Carnival of the Animals, a half-hour 2D special that tells its whole story without a word of dialogue. Camille Saint-Saëns' suite does the talking, played by Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and recorded live at the Hollywood Bowl.
The special opens with a short introduction narrated by the famed conductor's 15-year-old son, Martín Dudamel. The setting is a colorful town of animals in the last hours before a carnival parade. Floats are going up, the dancing is being practiced, and then Big Lion's crown goes missing. A young hero takes off after it, through breakneck chases, mischievous chickens, wild donkeys, dancing tortoises, a prancing elephant, and hapless penguin pianists.
Saint-Saëns wrote 14 sections, one for each animal or setting, and PBS Kids says this is the first time they have been strung into a single story. Without dialogue the music does the guiding, moving young viewers through stylized landscapes, shapes, and patterns, and the comedy is all physical.
The look is whimsical 2D over hand-painted watercolor backgrounds with real tactile texture, and orchestral instruments turning up in the world as props. Passion Pictures Animation is animating; its Australian arm produced The Lost Thing, which won the 2011 Academy Award for best animated short film for co-directors Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann. Siri Melchior (Not a Box, Rita and Crocodile) directs.
"Music has a beautiful way of opening the imagination and helping us see the world with fresh eyes," said the elder Dudamel, who completes his tenure as the LA Phil's music and artistic director this month. "That is why 'Carnival of the Animals' has remained so beloved for generations. Sharing this project with my son Martín has filled it with even deeper meaning for me, because together we are inviting young people to discover the joy, humor, and wonder that live inside this extraordinary music."
The special treats melody, rhythm, and instrument as the voice of a character, and carries an arts curriculum built for children ages two to eight. Five live-action digital shorts run alongside it, one of them featuring Gustavo Dudamel, introducing LA Phil and Youth Orchestra Los Angeles musicians and the instruments that voice several of the animals on screen.
Carnival of the Animals is produced by Silver Creek Falls Entertainment (Weather Hunters, Not a Box) in association with the LA Phil. Dete Meserve and Debbie Crosscup are producers, and Gustavo Dudamel executive produces. It debuts on PBS Kids and PBS stations.
Source: PBS KIDS
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
