Jingle Jangle: Animation Reference By Framestore

Jingle Jangle: Animation Reference By Framestore

Jingle Jangle: Animation & VFX

Written and directed by David E. Talbert, produced (and featuring music by) John Legend and featuring a star-studded cast which includes Forest Whitaker, Madalen Mills, Keegan-Michael Key, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, Ricky Martin and Hugh Bonneville, the film called for a deft mix of storybook wonder, intricately-crafted CG characters and touching emotional resonance – needs that made Framestore the perfect creative partner. 

The magical tale follows the escapades of toymaker Jeronicus Jangle (Whitaker), and saw Framestore collaborating closely with director David E. Talbert from early concept art through to final VFX and the film’s distinctive credits and segue sequences. The team was also tasked with orchestrating a whimsical choreography and creating a fully digital 18th century and CG-snow filled town, complete with a factory, and toy store. “Framestore came on board early on. They helped me develop the two fully CG characters and flesh out the ideas so I could see them on screen – the movement, the mechanics and the theory behind how they would come to life.” says director David E. Talbert.

Working under overall VFX Supervisor Brad Parker, VFX Supervisor Carlos Monzon (Paddington) led Framestore’s 350+ VFX shots, key to which were two magical toys: charismatic yet nefarious matador Don Juan Diego and the ultra-cute Buddy 3000. “Getting the chance to work on these characters from initial drawings to their walking, talking final iterations really spoke to the toymaking theme of the film,” says Monzon. “Because we wanted Buddy and Don Juan to be living, breathing toys the design work was painstaking and incredibly intricate, with the team labouring over the characters’ inner workings and how the materials with which they were engineered would interact and operate if they magically came to life. In a way it’s funny: working on a fantastical, magical film like this means you have to really double down on your logic and your engineering prowess because you want to ensure the audience is going to be fully immersed in David’s wonderful world.” 

Framestore’s highly-skilled art department was in the unique position of conceptualizing the characters for the film, which have remained true to their original designs and then handed over to the VFX teams. “Their craft became an indispensable guide for our artists; they created some incredibly complex, detailed assets and developed hundreds of mechanical gears for both characters,” says Monzon. The story lives within two worlds – reality and a stunning miniature storybook, imagined and designed by Framestore’s team in London.

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