Animators at Christchurch's Mona Vale behind hit TV show

Mona Vale’s Gothic-style gatehouse has played a supporting role in the international success of New Zealand’s latest hit animation TV series, Kiri and Lou.

Focusing on the friendship between two prehistoric creatures, the children’s series has just been selected in competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France this June.

Under the Christchurch City Council’s artists in residence programme, several of the world’s top animators have been living in the gatehouse in Fendalton while working on the series at leading animator Antony Elworthy’s studio in Ferrymead.

The opportunity to stay in the gatehouse follows a commitment by the Fendalton-Waimairi-Harewood Community Board to make the most of Council-owned heritage sites.

Kiwi animation series Kiri and Lou has been created in Christchurch.

Artist in residence Ian Whitlock, who is spending six months in the gatehouse while working on the TV series, says it is an “amazing place to be”.

“It was a great unexpected surprise to arrive at Mona Vale,” he says.

“It almost feels like the most amazing backyard you could ever dream of – really.”

The well-known animator and film-maker has worked on some of the most successful animated films, including Wallace and Gromit, Chicken Run, Coraline and the upcoming Shaun the Sheep 2.

Mr Whitlock believes that the artists in residence programme at Mona Vale can encourage more creative talent to come to Christchurch.

“It's an amazing thing to offer up. Certainly (living in the gatehouse) made it more possible for me,” he says. “It has made being away from family easier, in a sense. It really helped to have something so good to arrive to and feel so comfortable.”

Community Board Chairperson Sam MacDonald says that ensuring heritage buildings are sustainable brings multiple benefits to the local community and the wider city.

“The Mona Vale Gatehouse is a major asset that showcases the potential of effective restoration for a new use,” Mr MacDonald says. “By taking a fresh approach, we can open the doors to creative enterprise and business opportunities.”

Kiri and Lou – a paper and clay stop-motion musical comedy – features the songs of series writer Harry Sinclair and Don McGlashan and the voices of Jemaine Clement and Olivia Tennet.

The series, which is available on TVNZ OnDemand, has been pre-sold to China.