Oscar nominee and BAFTA-winning British actor Helena Bonham Carter (“The Crown”) will narrate animated Christmas special “Quentin Blake’s Clown” for U.K. broadcaster Channel 4.
Inspired by the eponymous book by one of Britain’s best-known authors/illustrators, Quentin Blake — who illustrated Roald Dahl books — “Quentin Blake’s Clown” is a half-hour animation bringing to life the adventures of a little toy clown, thrown away with a load of old discarded toys, as he goes on a journey to find a new loving home for himself and his friends.
Created with traditional hand drawn animation techniques to capture the unique style of Quentin Blake’s artwork, the program will be part of a long and established tradition of Channel 4’s animated Christmas specials such as “The Snowman,” “The Tiger Who Came to Tea,” and “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.”
The show is produced by Eagle Eye Drama, the production company launched in 2019 by the team behind global drama brand Walter Presents.
Accompanying the program will be a short making-of feature with contributions from Blake, Bonham Carter and the key animators and executives, giving insight into the creative process.
Blake said: “‘Clown’ has always been one of my favorite characters, and it’s wonderful now to see him off the page and running about on his own.”
Commissioned by Channel 4 head of drama Caroline Hollick, and supported by a grant from the BFI’s Young Audiences Content Fund, the program will be directed by Luigi Berio (“Genova Sinfonia della Città”) and executive produced by Massimo Fenati, with Eagle Eye Drama’s Jo McGrath and Walter Iuzzolino overseeing the project as joint creative directors.
Hollick said: “We’re delighted that this Christmas, Channel 4 will show this enduring tale of a box of once much-loved, now discarded toys and Clown’s impassioned journey to find them all a new home. Quentin Blake’s unique style of drawing has been delightfully realised in animation form by the extremely talented team at Eagle Eye Drama.”
International distribution will be handled by New Regency.