PVP Media’s Francois Trudel Introduces Us to the Colorful Gnomes of ‘Woolly Woolly’

Earlier this month, a playful group of “tightly knit” gnomes began their adventures in the preschool show Woolly Woolly across Canada’s TVOkids. Prodouced PVP Media and Normaal Studio in Paris, the 26 x 22’ and 52 x 11’ series is based on the popular Mochimochi Land brand created by Anna Hrachovec, who also serves as creative consultant for the series.

We had a chance to speak with the show’s executive producer Francois Trudel of PVP Media to find out more about this charming show:

Animation Magazine: Congrats on delivering such a wonderful children’s shows. Can you tell us a little bit about the origins of this gnome-tastic proect?

Francois Trudel: I was approached by Anna Hrachovec’s agent, the creator of Mochimochi Land (MML), who pitched me one of her books during the 2017 Ottawa International Animation Festival. I immediately fell in love with the world and the characters of MML. I quickly engaged in further discussions with Anna’s representatives to eventually secure a license deal in order to create the animation series. We (PVP Media and Normaal) then pitched the series at Cartoon Forum 2018 and a little more than one year later we were very fortunate to have the support of France Télévisions, TVOkids, Radio-Canada and Knowledge Network as commissioning partners/broadcasters. Their input and collaboration throughout the development and production were truly outstanding. The CMF, CNC, Quebecor Fund, TV5 and VRT are also sterling contributors to the funding of the series.

How did you work together with Normaal to bring the show to life?

After securing the license deal, I contacted our friends at Normaal Studio in Paris. The idea was to produce the first 100% knitted stop-motion series inspired by the universe and characters of MML. Normaal had already produced a beautiful stop-motion series titled Hello World. Therefore, they were the perfect partner for this new endeavor! Our common objective was to create a series with the notion of imaginative play, with totally new characters and environments that respect the look, style and feel of MML.

Emmanuel Linderer, the show’s director, then reimagined this universe to appeal to a four- to six-year-old audience, bringing in new elements and wonderful ideas. We were also very grateful to have Anna involved as a creative consultant to ensure that we respected the authenticity of her work with MML.

Where is the animation produced and how long did it take to make the first season?

The animation was mostly fabricated in France (Normaal Studios) and we also migrated 22 episodes in Quebec City (Happy Camper Media) for animation only. It took almost four years to produce the series from development to final delivery.

The series was produced in Blender. Can you tell us how you came to use this free, open-source software?

With the COVID pandemic, we had to consider an alternative solution to the initially planned stop-motion. Indeed, assembling on-site filming teams would have become impossible if new lockdowns were imposed. Blender is an open-source software that Normaal had already used for its series Ella, Oscar & Hoo, also directed by Emmanuel Linderer. Accustomed to it, the teams tested this tool, which proved to be highly effective.

The biggest challenge was maintaining the “wool and stop-motion” aesthetic, which, in my opinion, was beautifully achieved. We would also like to warmly — fitting for a wool-based show — thank the Blender Foundation and its community for their incredible work, their mindset, and their invaluable support.

What do you love about this show?

Its unique, distinctive and beautifully crafted art direction. That we were also able to recreate the wool texture and stop-motion animation feel with 100% CGI tools. That we stayed true to the MML look and feel of the characters and backgrounds. That the music is treated as a character by itself, in total support of the storytelling and the different “moods” of the characters. And lastly, that the storytelling is based on imaginative play!

As TVOKids commission editor pointed out, “At its heart, Woolly Woolly celebrates imaginative play, an essential developmental tool that nurtures creativity, problem-solving, and social skills in young children.”

What are the biggest challenges?

Right in the middle of the COVID pandemic, it became obvious that producing a 100% knitted show in stop motion was not possible anymore. It was simply too risky on so many levels: health, budget, pipeline etc. So, we had to reengineer the entire pipeline and redevelop all the assets. That was an enormous task, especially in the context of the pandemic, which explains mostly why it took almost four years to complete the production. And it goes without saying that sustaining the production financially during all those years was also quite challenging. But thanks to the trust and support of everyone involved, we prevailed!

What did you hope audiences will take away from your wonderful family show?

We hope that our young viewers will be very much entertained whilst learning and developing new skills through imaginative play and great stories! Let’s have some Woolly Woolly fun!!!

Woolly Woolly is available to stream in Canada via the TVOkids YouTube channel, TVOkids.com and Smart TV app. Find more ways to watch at woollywoolly.tv.

For PVP Media, François Trudel and Vincent Leroux are exec producers, Trudel is producer, Nicolas Dalpé is the production director and Kirsten Hurd is TVO Kids exec producer.