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Tales of the Riverbank

Director

John Henderson

Creature Designer

Kate McConnell

Tales of the Riverbank, is based on the long running TV series, featuring real animals, and narrated by Johnny Morris.

Developing the concept into a theatrical feature film presented a daunting challenge, but eventually it was agreed to use puppets for the characters, and Asylum Models & Effects were chosen to create our ‘hero’ animals. From the original designs, brilliantly created by Kate McConnell, through the complex build process and installation of the animatronics, the Asylum team produced work of the highest quality.

The characters were modelled to look very animal like, with just a hint of human characteristics. In the hands of the puppeteers, they literally came alive, capable of giving a real performance.

The move away from 3D animation, currently so fashionable, and to use puppets was a bold decision, but the final result proved it was a great decision. To quote the director, John Henderson who has worked on the legendary puppet show Spitting Image. “These puppets are quite the best I have ever worked with, Asylum are fantastic model makers”.