Be more Zog!
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s adorable orange dragon takes flight in a new series.
BBC
- Robin Parker
The animated adaptations of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s children’s books by Magic Light Pictures for the BBC have become a Christmas institution, with 13 to date and at least two more due over the next two years. But one in particular holds a special place in producer Vici King’s affections. “My middle son was nervous starting school and would bring Zog home with him each week,” she recalls. “The book spoke directly to him. Like Zog, he wasn’t necessarily the best at things, but he kept trying. Zog gave him confidence to be braver, to be himself.”
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Now, the orange dragon is the first of Donaldson and Scheffler’s characters to land its own spin-off series, alongside friends Pearl and Gadabout. Donaldson was initially reluctant but gave her blessing after sensing a particularly emotional response to the second Zog special, 2020’s Zog and the Flying Doctors. “We felt it had an important place in children’s lives during the pandemic, with this trio of misfits caring for one another,” says King.
These books don’t speak down to children – they look directly into their eyes
Vici King
With a 52-episode order from CBeebies, the team expanded Zog’s world with a mix of comedic, dramatic, domestic and adventurous stories, guided by Donaldson’s request that it should not shy away from the fact that the world can sometimes be a risky place.
“These books don’t speak down to children – they look directly into their eyes,” says King. “Axel’s artwork has bright colours, but it’s not sanitised. You have to sit with difficult feelings. Our series deals with things going wrong in that same joyful way.”
The 10-minute episodes are faster paced than the lushly languorous specials, but still slower than a typical pre-school animated series. “It’s about finding the space to watch the characters thinking things through or feeling something.”
Animators make the characters “sing”, King says. “It’s an extremely technical job, but they’re also making us believe these models are real. Zog feels like a complete person to me: he’s empathetic and lets his emotions be seen and felt. It’s our motto: ‘Be more Zog!’”
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Zog begins on CBeebies next month
Authors
Robin Parker
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