
Stop motion animation specialists Screen Novelties, have produced and directed the upcoming, one-hour NBC TV special Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas, on behalf of the company's client Warner Bros. Animation. The new special marks the biggest project in the eleven-year history of Screen Novelties.
Mark Caballero
The show will air on NBC on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 8 p.m. An irreverent mashup of the beloved feature film Elf and the hit Broadway show Elf: The Musical, the special will star the voice talents of four-time Emmy Award winner Jim Parsons as Buddy. Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas combines the humor and spirit of both the beloved 2003 holiday film, which drew glowing reviews and earned $173 million at the domestic box office, along with the hit Broadway production. The special is an all-new retelling of Buddy's delightfully absurd, yet heartwarming story, and blends the look and feel of the classic stop-motion animated Christmas TV specials of yesteryear with the sharp sensibility of the modern-day classic holiday film.
Seamus Walsh
Based on a script penned by Warner Bros. Animation in early 2014, Screen Novelties co-founders Mark Caballero, Seamus Walsh and Chris Finnegan set to work designing the cartoonish world of Elf, including characters, sets and props. The talented design team included Craig Kellman (Characters,) Dan Krall (Visual Development,) Kyle Arneson (3D Environments,) and Rob Ronning & Robin Walsh (Characters Fabricators.) In March, the company broke down the script, created story boards and planned the animation, and from April to June, built the puppets and sets that would be featured within Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas.
The Screen Novelties team, comprised of up to 50 crew members at its peak, shot the show frame-by-frame over the course of four months (July - October,) producing a wonderfully charming and handmade miniature world. Multiple exact copies of each puppet were created to allow concurrent shooting on multiple environments and stages.
Screen Novelties Co-Founder Mark Caballero said, This was a very intense and amazing project for us, as we had a very talented crew working very hard to make this project look its very best. But we also had a great deal of fun here because it was such a lighthearted and absurd story. We enjoyed creating these stylized Elf' characters, each with his or her own personal style, to help get the story across in a simple, whimsical way.
Screen Novelties founders left to right Mark Caballero, Seamus Walsh, Chris Finnegan
Adds Screen Novelties Co-Founder Seamus Walsh, When we are working with puppets, we, as animators, get to become the actors' ourselves. We are in control of the expressions, emotions and dynamism of the puppet characters as they perform in each scene of the show. We like to think that our approach to stop motion animation is engaging and presents a lot of personality, spirit and heart. We've learned that you don't need a zillion dollars to do something funny!
We're a versatile shop that can handle a broad range of styles, whether it be for a TV show, commercial or feature film, says Screen Novelties Co-Founder Chris Finnegan. But we get most excited when people approach us for our house style.' We like to think we have a signature look and feel to our animation.
Founded in Los Angeles in 2003 by Mark Caballero, Seamus Walsh and Christopher Finnegan, Screen Novelties was launched with the goal of bringing the whimsy and dynamism of classic TV cartoons into the realm of modern-day, stop motion animation. Their Echo Park studio is filled with fabric, feathers, foam and glitter, and is home to a talented group of freelance animators, sculptors, designers, photographers and digital artists.
The co-founders of Screen Novelties cite numerous film and animation legends as their spiritual inspirations. These include Ward Kimball, Rankin/Bass, Jay Ward, Jim Henson, Ray Harryhausen, Bob Clampett, and Don Martin from Mad Magazine.
Screen Novelties' entertainment industry clients to date have included Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney, Hallmark, FOX, Warner Bros. Animation, NBC andParamount, while brand clients have included Nike, Honda, McDonalds, Kelloggs and Ray-Ban. Company projects have included A Spongebob Christmas Special, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, The Flintstones: On the Rocks, The Oscars Flight Parody, and even a special restoration of Ray Harryhausen's legendary The Tortoise and the Hare short animated film. Please see: http://screen-novelties.com/
###
Most recent headlines
14/03/2025
BURLINGTON, Mass. Avid has expanded its executive leadership team (ELT) with the appointment of three experienced executives: Tom Sharma as chief technology off...
14/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. TVU Networks, a pioneer in live video production and a leader in cloud-based media solutions, is marking its 20th anniversary at the 2025 NAB ...
13/03/2025
(L-R) Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, and Juliette Lewis attend the premiere of Opus at Eccles Theatre in Park City. (Photo by...
13/03/2025
Spotify took center stage at the London Book Fair this week, reaffirming our commitment to the audiobook market and showcasing our impact on the publishing indu...
13/03/2025
At Spotify, we work every day to lift up new voices, giving creators the opportunity to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, our in-house publishing ...
13/03/2025
Every time airborne law enforcement (ALE) teams fly, they expect their equipment to perform. Whether airborne units are conducting support for ground teams, bor...
13/03/2025
Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...
13/03/2025
On Sunday March 2, stars across the film industry gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards. Production Sound Mixer Paul Sandweis...
13/03/2025
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications will feature its new StageLink family of smart edge devices, Smart Audio and Mixing Engine (SAME) and Virtual Smart Pan...
13/03/2025
TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...
13/03/2025
DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...
13/03/2025
FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...
13/03/2025
CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...
13/03/2025
he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...
13/03/2025
MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...
13/03/2025
Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...
13/03/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...
13/03/2025
SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...
13/03/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...
13/03/2025
TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...
13/03/2025
Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions.
...
13/03/2025
Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content Feature marks Rokus first women's league-branded zone within service By Bra...
13/03/2025
Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew...
13/03/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size ...
13/03/2025
IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036;...
13/03/2025
NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical...
13/03/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive...
13/03/2025
Sky Business, Sky's B2B division, providing connectivity and content to busi...
13/03/2025
Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark ...
13/03/2025
We asked the questions, analysed the answers and now we're excited to share the results of the fifth edition of the ICG Marketing Survey.
Our 2025 survey p...
13/03/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 13, 2025 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a breakthrough in video streaming innovation with the launch of new origin capabilitie...
13/03/2025
Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025
Haivision's video wall systems, ISR technology, and DoDIN APL-certified video distri...
13/03/2025
Company Leads the Way with New Software-Based Production Platform, 12G Switcher,...
13/03/2025
A new Apple Immersive concert experience, Metallica, is coming to Apple Vision Pro this Friday, March 14. Filmed in Mexico City during the sold-out second-year ...
13/03/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...
13/03/2025
This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...
13/03/2025
What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...
13/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...
13/03/2025
Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library.
Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...
13/03/2025
AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...
13/03/2025
PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
12/03/2025
More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report
NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...
12/03/2025
GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...
12/03/2025
BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....
12/03/2025
LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...
12/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....