Spring Pictures (UK) has announced a new co-development deal with Little Moon Animation (Ireland) based on Richard O’Neill’s catalogue of works.
Following a successful trip to Kidscreen Summit 2023 in Miami, the UK production house Spring Pictures and Irish CG animation studio Little Moon Animation have announced that they are joining forces to develop a family animated TV special (26 minutes)
TALES FROM THE WAGON. The film will take young viewers and their families on magical adventures through the rich, vibrant and colourful world of Romani stories and legends.
TALES FROM THE WAGON is written by the British Romani author and storyteller Richard O’Neill
based on stories that have been passed down in his family for generations.
José Ucha (My Little Pony: A New Generation) and Eoghan Garvey (Fia’s Fairies) are attached to direct. The development is supported by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland. Lucie Wenigerová of Spring Pictures and Vanessa Robinson of Little Moon Animation are the producers.
On bringing the project to screens, author and project creator Richard O’Neill says: “As a storyteller,
to work with a team like this to bring my Romani tales to audiences through film is simply a dream
come true.”
The 26-minute film will feature CG animation. Co-director José Ucha says: “What I love about this
project is the idea of exploring how stories and spoken words are fundamental to our human
condition – they reflect who we were, who we are, and who we will be.” Ucha says. “It’s a very
strong, powerful, and yet innovative topic to create a resonant family animated film.” Eoghan Garvey,
co-director, agrees saying, “Connection through storytelling is what this project is about and to have
a chance to convey Richard’s rich heritage through the magic of animation is something that both
excites and inspires me.”
The project is currently in development. Lucie Wenigerová of Spring Pictures and Vanessa Robinson
of Little Moon Animation will be attending Annecy Festival in June 2023 and MIPCOM in October
2023 to secure pre-sales. They can be contacted via lucie@springpictures.co.uk and
vanessa@littlemoonanimation.com
About the filmmakers:
Richard O’Neill – Writer
For decades, the Romani storyteller Richard O’Neill has been a champion of the traditions and
heritage of the Travelling people, celebrating their creativity, vibrancy, resourcefulness and resilience through story. Described as one of Britain’s best loved storytellers and the Romani Hans Christian Andersen, his dedication to the art of Romani storytelling and bringing it into the mainstream has earned him numerous awards including a National Literacy Hero award.
Richard’s picture books are published internationally receiving awards in the UK and the USA. The
Lost Homework and The Can Caravan have both featured in the Empathy Lab list (2021 and 2023)
and The Lost Homework was used during the Covid lockdowns as part of the UK schools’ efforts to
build learning bridges between school work and home work. His stories have been relayed orally, in
schools, libraries and festivals including the Hay Festival, as well as by canals and campfires across
the UK and mainland Europe, creating wonder, laughter and hope and connecting audiences young
and old, alike.
José Ucha – Director
Storyteller, director, writer. Born in Cádiz, the last 20 years have been devoted to animation, being
involved in the creation, development, writing, production, and direction of over 900 episodes of 20
finished animated projects. That has involved a creative nomadic life working and learning from
talented studios and artists from all around the world. Bernard (Best Animation in Anima Mundi
2004, Finalist Best TV Series Annecy 2005), Suckers (Kids’ Jury Best Series Mipcom 2009), Canimals (Kids’ Jury Best Series Mipcom 2009), or Invizimals are some of those works. In 2021, he completed his first feature as writer and director My Little Pony: A New Generation for Hasbro/eOne/Boulder Media – Top 1 globally for several weeks on Netflix, and later in the Top 25 of the most-seen movies of the year worldwide. He’s currently developing, writing, and consulting for several projects and studios.
Eoghan Garvey – Director
Dublin native Eoghan Garvey has 14 years experience working in 3D animation across Emmy Award
winning television projects for clients such as Axis Studios, Brown Bag Films/9StoryMedia, Nickelodeon, Disney Jr., BBC, Amazon Prime. He most recently directed Fia’s Fairies (26×5’ for RTEJr, 2022) and is currently in production as Director on The Scavengers (20×11’, RTEjr, 2024). Eoghan has previously worked on an Oscar Award nominated short film, a feature film for Hasbro and most recently a feature film for Axis Studios. Credits include Vamperina, Doc McStuffins, Octonauts, Granny O’Grimm, My Little Pony: A New Generation (Netflix) and Axis’ 3D feature film Scrooge: A Christmas Carol (Netflix).
Lucie Wenigerová – Producer
Lucie is a Bafta-nominated producer. Her most recent project is the impact documentary Leaving to
Remain (dir Mira Erdevički), featuring three empowered Romani protagonists as they embark on a
journey to empower others. The film will be released in cinemas in the UK by Verve Pictures in spring 2023. Lucie worked as associate producer for acclaimed British director Sally Potter on two of her
features, The Roads not Taken and Yes. She is also co-producer on Sally’s recent short, Look at Me,
starring Javier Bardem and Chris Rock. Lucie produced the fiction feature Strawberry Fields (BBC/Film London) and the Mist family programmes for Five. Her animation short, Sap (dir Hyun-Joo Kim), was nominated for a Bafta and won multiple awards at international festivals.
Vanessa Robinson – Producer
Dublin based Vanessa Robinson is the co-founder of Little Moon Animation and the series’ creator of Fia’s Fairies and The Scavengers. She is in the role of Creative Producer and works to oversee all
aspects of development and production. Vanessa previously wrote 9 episodes of Fia’s Fairies (2022)
and is currently writing on The Scavengers (RTEjr, 2024). Prior to starting Little Moon Animation,
Vanessa has 9 years 2D and 3D animation production management experience across Emmy Award
winning shows for Brown Bag Films/9StoryMedia, Disney Jr, Nickelodeon, Amazon Prime, BBC and
RTE. Credits include Peter Rabbit, Stinky & Dirty, Doc McStuffins, Watership Down and Peek Zoo.