Michael Rose | 'The Gruffalo' and Adapting with Integrity
All Lit Up! A Podcast for the Creative IndustriesShow Notes
In episode 6 of All Lit Up! we're talking to MICHAEL ROSE, cofounder of Magic Light Pictures. the studio behind THE GRUFFALO and CHICO AND RITA. Join Michael and Gilly as they discuss finding the perfect IP to adapt and how to go about securing the rights. Plus, hear Michael and Gilly discuss the Nick Park Oscar winning short, Creature Comforts.
Creature Comforts Nick Park's 1989 Academy Award® winning short film, Creature Comforts features a series of interviews with the animals in an English zoo. Used to open spaces and sunnier climates, they comment on accommodation, diet and of course – the English weather! The short film premiered in 1989 on Channel Four as part of a series called Lip Synch. The series was ground-breaking, using real recorded voices with animated characters. Later Creature Comforts also went across the pond to the USA where the unique format was used once again to tell real-life stories from people in America. Watch Creature Comforts here!
MICHAEL ROSE Michael Rose is joint CEO and co-founder of Magic Light Pictures. Michael began his career programming and running independent cinemas in Plymouth and Bristol before moving into television, where he spent four years at Channel Four as a buyer of international programming. In the mid-1990s, Michael joined the renowned Aardman Animations as Head of Development. There, he played a key role in growing the studio, launching its feature film division and serving as Executive Producer on hit films Chicken Run and the Oscar-winning Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, both produced with DreamWorks. Earlier in his Aardman career, he produced Nick Park’s Oscar-winning A Close Shave, as well as two other Oscar-nominated shorts, Humdrum and Wat’s Pig. His television credits there include Rex the Runt and the pioneering web series Angry Kid. He has won two individual BAFTA awards for his producing work. In 2003, Michael founded Magic Light Pictures with fellow producer Martin Pope. Since then, the company has built a worldwide reputation for creating distinctive, high-quality entertainment for children and families. Michael has produced a string of successful productions including The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, Zog, Revolting Rhymes, The Snail and the Whale, Chico and Rita, Pip and Posy, and most recently Tabby McTat. The company oversees not only production, but licensing, global distribution and marketing. Its work has been nominated for four Oscars, and won five Baftas, five International Emmys and two Children’s and Family Emmys. Beyond animation, Michael’s producing credits include feature films Wild Target, starring Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt; Sparkle starring Stockard Channing, Bob Hoskins and Shaun Evans; and wildlife documentary One Life, narrated by Daniel Craig. In 2024 Michael was awarded the OBE for services to animation.
All Lit Up! is a Lighthouse Studios production. Follow the studio on social media to stay up to date with all news and the latest episodes.
Instagram: @lighthousestudiosire LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighthousestudios
More from All Lit Up! A Podcast for the Creative Industries
On this episode of All Lit Up! Deborah Thorpe joins host Claire Finn to trace an unlikely path; from co-founding the global fashion online retailer, ASOS to falling in love with a kids book called Isadora Moon and turning it into the hit TV series we know and love. Deborah shares why she believes a story of self-acceptance resonated so deeply with audiences at the time, what the word 'brand' actually means in the kids space and the joy she feels for animation as a medium with limitless possibilities. Along the way, she reflects candidly on a tough market and the discipline of self belief before sharing her favourite short film, one she turns to when she's feeling low and needs to bound, bound and rebound! This one's full of heart, empathy, and wisdom - enjoy! ____ All Lit Up! is a Lighthouse Studios production. Visit lighthousestudios.ie or follow the studio on social media to stay up to date with all news and the latest episodes. Instagram: @lighthousestudiosire LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighthousestudios
In this episode of All Lit Up, host Gilly Fogg sits down with the talented Joe Kady (a.k.a. Mummy Joe) the self-taught online creator behind the wildly popular Kid Vampire series. Joe studied computer science, then went to Maine to build wooden sailboats before boredom and isolation sparked a whole new creative life. He tells Gilly how he makes his content with just an iPad, microphone, and Premiere, and why he was determined to end Kid Vampire cleanly rather than exploit its success. You'll hear how a silly voice became something deeply personal, drawn from his experience as a first-generation American, and why he trusts his own instincts when it comes to fan suggestions. Joe's short film pick is Kid Vampire itself — the full movie. Settle in and get all lit up!
This week on All Lit Up, Managing Director Claire Finn steps in as host to welcome writer, comedian, TV host and activist, Martin 'Beanz' Warde to the Lighthouse Library. Martin unpacks what it meant to grow up a gay Traveller in a small Irish town, how creative storytelling is in both his blood and his name, and how he considers which projects to work on next. He shares how his play (soon-to-be short film) The Dead House, was inspired by the sight of men laughing at a funeral and why he thinks comedy is the best way into hard subjects. Plus, hear an exclusive scoop on a new project Martin is working on with Lighthouse Studios... In a conversation that ranges from the nomadic history of Irish Travellers through how the nickname 'Beanz' came about to the sound of rain on a tin roof, Martin closes with a reading of an original piece written to a 1963 photograph of his grandparents' wagon, Home. ____ Martin Beanz Warde is a multi-disciplinary artist and a prominent voice in today’s Irish media. As Ireland's first gay Traveller comedian, he uses his platform to advocate for human rights, most recently as the TV presenter of RTÉ’s sustainability docuseries The End of the World with Beanz (2024-). As a comedian, he’s worked with Des Bishop on Joy in the Hood (2005) and toured Ireland with his stand-up show Gomey Feen (2019). As an award-winning journalist and photojournalist, he writes for The Irish Times and the Examiner and has opened two exhibitions on Traveller identity and experiences - Through Our Eyes at Photo Museum Ireland and The Mincéirí Archives with the National Museum. As a writer and performer, he sold out his one-man show The Dead House (2023) at its opening run in Dublin Theatre Festival, and has just wrapped production on the short film adaptation. With a BA in Sociology and Politics from NUI and an MA in Journalism from University of Limerick, Martin is also highly-sought-after TV and radio guest. ____ All Lit Up! is a Lighthouse Studios production. Visit lighthousestudios.ie or follow the studio on social media to stay up to date with all news and the latest episodes. Instagram: @lighthousestudiosire LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighthousestudios
Emmy winning Foley artist Ellen Heuer talks performance, animation, and the emotional cost of a career spent making movies sound real. Ever wondered who makes the sound of a kiss, a footstep, or a spaceship snack floating in zero gravity? On this episode of All Lit Up, host Gilly Fogg is joined by Ellen Heuer, an award-winning Foley artist with over 45 years of experience bringing Hollywood's biggest films to life through sound. From her home in LA, Ellen takes you from her surprise start as a dancer-turned-Foley-artist to unforgettable stories from working with David Lynch, Pixar, and the team behind Apollo 13. You'll hear how she built sounds for Ratatouille, The Incredibles, and Cars, and get an honest look at the physical and emotional toll of decades spent performing for the screen. Ellen also shares two short film recommendations; including the sound-driven animated short (and 2026 Oscar Nominee) Butterfly. Settle in and press play.
In S2 E01 of the All Lit Up! podcast, we're chatting to animation legend, Tom Bancroft, about how challenges can lead to opportunities; the importance of self assessment; and his drive to make sure "young Tommy" gets his hopes and dreams met. Tom lays out how frustrations can drive growth and fuel passion projects - though not always without a cost. Gilly and Tom also discuss how breaking into the animation industry differs now vs then and how to balance nostalgia with modern advances. In this not-to-be-missed launch of season 2, we also welcome the return of the Short Film segment as Gilly and Tom discuss his recommended watch "The Cat Came Back" by Cordell Barker (1988). Watch The Cat Came Back