***PLEASE NOTE THIS PODCAST WAS RECORDED IN LATE 2016. PLEASE ACCEPT OUR APOLOGIES FOR OUR RIDICULOUS LATENESS IN RELEASING IT.***

Ben Bocquelet is an animator, director, writer, and producer. He is best known as the creator of the multi award-winning and hilarious kids animated series, ‘The Amazing World of Gumball’ (2011-onwards).

We sat down with Ben to discuss his rapid rise to success, starting with the fact that he was a latecomer to drawing. He tells us that his graduation film, ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ (2003), which helped him get a junior position at Studio AKA in London. After a few years there he found himself at Cartoon Network Development Studio Europe, where he helped develop other people's series proposals. Ben describes what it was like to find out that his own series concept, ‘The Amazing World of Gumball’ was the first to be commissioned at the development hub.

We discuss the distinct aesthetic of the series, which partly comes from the use of layered animation techniques and photographed backgrounds, as well as assembling dozens of distinct characters, many of whom started as discarded elements from old unsuccessful commercial pitches.

Ben Bocquelet links:

Twitter
https://twitter.com/benbocquelet

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/ben_bocquelet/

‘Hell’s Kitchen’ (2003) Dir. Ben Bocquelet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot5fVxvwmlo

Gumball Wikia Page:
http://theamazingworldofgumball.wikia.com/wiki/The_Amazing_World_of_Gumball

Studio AKA:
http://www.studioaka.co.uk/

‘Hells Kitchen’ (Future Shorts film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot5fVxvwmlo

EMCA school
http://www.angouleme-emca.fr/fr/index.asp

City Hunter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Hunter

Fist of the North Star
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fist_of_the_North_Star

JCBC (Production company)
http://www.jsbc.fr/en/

Philippe Andre
http://www.independ.net/directors/philippe-andre/

Spike Jonze
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spike_Jonze

Chris Cunningham
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Cunningham

Pictoplasma
http://pictoplasma.com/

Up The Resolution
http://www.uptheresolution.co.uk/

Saschka Unseld
http://www.saschkaunseld.com/

Pinky Malinky
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinky_Malinky

Cartoon Network
http://www.cartoonnetwork.co.uk/

Powerpuff Girl Movie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Powerpuff_Girls_Movie

Bob Camp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Camp

Pixar
https://www.pixar.com/#incredibles-2-home

Daniel Lennard
http://theamazingworldofgumball.wikia.com/wiki/Daniel_Lennard
Mr Bean
https://www.youtube.com/user/MrBean

Antoine Perez
http://theamazingworldofgumball.wikia.com/wiki/Antoine_Perez

Adventure Time
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_Time

CRCR
http://www.crcr.fr

Studio 4c
http://www.studio4c.co.jp/english/

Tyler the Creator
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler,_the_Creator

Becky and Joe
http://beckyandjoes.com/

Spaced
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0187664/