| Former name | Orange Eyes Limited (2008–2019)[1] |
|---|---|
| Founders | |
| Subsid | Stirling Animation Studio |
| Homepage | magiclightpictures.com |
| Foundation | 2003 (age 23) |
| Location | London, England |
Magic Light Pictures Limited is a British independent film and television production company based in London, England. The company was founded in 2003 by producers Martin Pope and Michael Rose.
Productions
Since 2009, Magic Light Pictures has produced thirteen half-hour animated specials based on the best-selling children's story books by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler: The Gruffalo (2009), The Gruffalo's Child (2011), Room on the Broom (2012), Stick Man (2015), The Highway Rat (2017), Zog (2018), The Snail and the Whale (2019), Zog and the Flying Doctors (2020), Superworm (2021), The Smeds and the Smoos (2022), Tabby McTat (2023), Tiddler (2024) and The Scarecrows' Wedding (2025). Overall, their productions have won more than 40 awards, including two Children's BAFTAs[2] and the Prix Jeunesse,[3][4] and have been nominated three times for an Academy Award for Best Short Animation. Their most recent production, The Scarecrows' Wedding, premiered on BBC One during Christmas Day 2025, and was watched by more than 8.7 million viewers. They are currently producing an adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's The Smartest Giant in Town, due for broadcast on BBC One over Christmas 2026.
Their other productions include the Oscar-nominated[5] Revolting Rhymes (2016), a live-action/animated short based on The Velveteen Rabbit (2023), a preschool animated TV series called Pip and Posy (2021), and feature films including the Oscar-nominated[6] Spanish-language animated feature Chico and Rita (2010), a comedy thriller starring Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt called Wild Target (2010), the British English version of a Danish-language animated feature called Terkel in Trouble (2006), and a romantic comedy feature starring Shaun Evans and Stockard Channing called Sparkle (2007).
Filmography
| Title | Year | Co-produced with | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terkel in Trouble (English UK dub) | 2006 | A. Film Production | Animated feature |
| Sparkle | 2007 | Isle of Man Film | Romantic comedy |
| Glorious 39 | 2009 | BBC Film Quickfire Films Screen East Content Investment Fund Talkback Thames UK Film Council | Thriller |
| The Gruffalo | Studio Soi | Animated short | |
| Wild Target | 2010 | CinemaNX Isle of Man Film Matador Pictures | Black comedy |
| Chico and Rita | Fernando Trueba PC Estudio Mariscal | Animated feature | |
| The Gruffalo's Child | 2011 | Studio Soi | Animated short |
| One Life | IM Global BBC Earth Films | Documentary | |
| Room on the Broom | 2012 | Studio Soi | Animated short |
| Stick Man | 2015 | Triggerfish Animation Studios | |
| Revolting Rhymes | 2016 | ||
| The Highway Rat | 2017 | ||
| Zog | 2018 | ||
| The Snail and the Whale | 2019 | ||
| Zog and the Flying Doctors | 2020 | Giant Creative | |
| Superworm | 2021 | Blue Zoo Animation Studio | |
| Pip and Posy | Animated TV series | ||
| The Smeds and the Smoos | 2022 | Animated short | |
| The Velveteen Rabbit | 2023 | Samson Films Red Knuckles Studio | Live Action/Animated Short |
| Tabby McTat | Red Star 3D | Animated short | |
| Tiddler | 2024 | ||
| The Scarecrows' Wedding | 2025 |
Awards and nominations
| Production | Ceremony | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Snail and the Whale | British Academy Children's Awards[7][8] | Best Director | Magic Light Pictures | |
| Best Animation | Magic Light Pictures | |||
| The Highway Rat | 46th Annie Awards[9] | Best Animated Special Production | Magic Light Pictures | |
| Rose d'Or[10] | Children and Youth | Magic Light Pictures | ||
| Revolting Rhymes | 90th Academy Awards[11] | Best Animated Short Film | Jakob Schuh Jan Lachauer | |
| British Academy Children's Awards[12] | Best Animation | Jakob Schuh Jan Lachauer Martin Pope Michael Rose | ||
| 6th International Emmy Kids Awards[13] | Kids: Animation | Michael Rose Martin Pope Magic Light Pictures | ||
| Stick Man | British Academy Children's Awards[14] | Best Animation | Production Team | |
| British Animation Awards[15] | Best Use of Sound | Adrian Rhodes Magic Light Pictures | ||
| Best Voice Performance | Martin Freeman Magic Light Pictures | |||
| Best Long Form | Jeroen Jaspaert Daniel Snaddon Magic Light Pictures | |||
| Room on the Broom | 86th Academy Awards[16] | Best Animated Short Film | Max Lang Jan Lachauer | |
| British Academy Children's Awards | Best Animation | Max Lang Jan Lachauer Magic Light Pictures | ||
| International Emmy Kids Awards | Kids: Animation | Max Lang Jan Lachauer Magic Light Pictures | ||
| The Gruffalo's Child | British Animation Awards[17] | Best Long Form | Johannes Weiland Uwe Heidschötter | |
| British Academy Children's Awards | Best Animation | Johannes Weiland Uwe Heidschötter Magic Light Pictures | ||
| Chico and Rita | 84th Academy Awards[18] | Best Animated Feature | Fernando Trueba Javier Mariscal | |
| The Gruffalo | 83rd Academy Awards[19] | Best Animated Short Film | Jakob Schuh Max Lang | |
| 62nd British Academy Film Awards[20] | Best Short Animation | Michael Rose Martin Pope Jakob Schuh Max Lang | ||
| Prix Jeunesse International[21] | Prix Jeunesse 7-11 Fiction | Magic Light Pictures | ||
| Prize of the Children's Jury 7-11 Fiction | Magic Light Pictures |
Licensing
Magic Light Pictures runs a licensing programme and carries ranges in Sainsbury's, Debenhams, John Lewis, Waterstones, and M&S, among others.[22] Launched in 2009, the programme has markets in Germany, Australia, Scandinavia, New Zealand and the USA. Products available in The Gruffalo brand include plush, stationery, homewares, games, toys and apparel.[23]
Magic Light has won five Licensing Awards[24][25][26] for their branded apparel, furniture and Forestry Commission trails.
Brand partnerships
Magic Light Pictures has several award-winning brand partnerships with organisations including Chessington World of Adventures Resort,[27] Forestry Commission England[28] and Arla milk.[29]
The Chessington World of Adventures Resort currently hosts the Gruffalo River Ride Adventure, themed hotel rooms, an arena dedicated to the films and characters, and a food outlet. In March 2019 Chessington launched a Room on the Broom attraction with specifically themed hotel rooms.[30]
Since 2014, The Forestry Commission has worked with Magic Light on providing free, self-lead trails based on the Gruffalo brand family on over 20 sites around the UK, as well as offering Gruffalo orienteering, Gruffalo sculptures in several forests, and an augmented reality app, The Gruffalo Spotter.[31]
2019 marked the 20th anniversary of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's Gruffalo book and 10 years since the premiere of the animated special on BBC One. As part of the celebration, Magic Light partnered with the Royal Mint to release a set of commemorative silver and gold fifty pence collectors' coins, and with the Royal Mail to release a set of bespoke Gruffalo stamps.[32]
Apps
Since 2013, Magic Light Pictures has developed a range of mini-game and augmented reality apps based around the Gruffalo brand family.[33] Room on the Broom: Games and Gruffalo: Games were both nominated for a Children's BAFTA in the Interactive Adapted category in 2014 and 2015 respectively.[34][35]
The Gruffalo Spotter app, launched in early 2017, is an augmented reality app that works alongside the Forestry Commission trails, where users can follow a set of clues and signs to locate animated characters from the book and take photos with them. The app was nominated at the 2017 BAFTA awards in the Interactive category.[36]
References
- ^ "Magic Light Pictures Limited overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House. 2008-04-16. Archived 19 February 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
- ^ "Children's in 2013 BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Archived 9 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
- ^ "2010". prixjeunesse.de. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
- ^ "'The Gruffalo' Wins Special Prix Jeunesse International Award". Animation World Network. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
- ^ "Revolting Rhymes heads to the Oscars". BBC. 2018-03-03. Archived 5 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "The 84th Academy Awards | 2012". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 7 October 2014. Archived 17 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "Winners announced: 2022 BAFTA Children & Young People Awards". bafta.org. 2022-11-27. Archived 5 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
- ^ "'Dodger', 'The Snail and the Whale' Lead BAFTA Children and Young People Awards Nominations". Variety. 2022-10-25. Archived 29 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
- ^ "46th Annual Annie Awards". annieawards.org. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "News". www.rosedor.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "2018". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived 10 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "Children's Awards Winners 2017". www.bafta.org. 2017-10-18. Archived 5 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "'Revolting Rhymes' Wins International Emmy for Best Kids' Animation". Animation World Network. Archived 15 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "2016 Children's Animation | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Archived 20 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "British Animation Awards (2016)". IMDb. Archived 16 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "The 86th Academy Awards | 2014". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 7 October 2014. Archived 17 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ Zahed, Ramin (2012-03-19). "'Gumball', 'Gruffalos' Child' Win British Animation Awards". Animation Magazine. Archived 11 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "The 84th Academy Awards | 2012". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 7 October 2014. Archived 17 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "The 83rd Academy Awards | 2011". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 7 October 2014. Archived 16 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "2010 Film Short Animation | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Archived 17 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "2010". www.prixjeunesse.de. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ Langsworthy, Billy. "Magic Light Pictures on 15 years of The Gruffalo". Licensing.biz. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "Official Gruffalo Shop". Gruffalo. Archived 16 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "2011 Winners | The Licensing Awards". www.thelicensingawards.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 January 2017. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "2013 Winners | The Licensing Awards". www.thelicensingawards.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ Burke, Jade. "Licensing.biz People Awards 2017: Winners revealed". Licensing.biz. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "The Gruffalo at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in 2017". Chessington World of Adventures Resort. Archived 16 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "Gruffalo". Forestry Commission. Archived 28 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "Arla BIG Milk Gruffalo". Arla Foods UK. Archived 15 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "Room on the Broom - A Magical Journey - new for 2019 at Chessington World of Adventures Resort". Chessington World of Adventures Resort. Archived 16 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "Forestry Commission". www.forestry.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
- ^ Andrews, James (2019-02-14). "Gruffalo 50p coin to launch - when it goes sale and how much it will be worth". Daily Mirror. Archived 16 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ Dredge, Stuart (28 August 2014). "Oh help! Oh no! It's a Gruffalo Games app for children". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
- ^ "2014 Children's Interactive: Adapted | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Archived 16 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "2015 Children's Interactive: Adapted | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Archived 16 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
- ^ "2017 Children's Interactive | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Archived 16 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2019-02-15.