One of the best-loved children's books
finally makes it to the small screen this week. Raymond Brigg's Fungus
the Bogeyman has been brought to life with a mixture of live
action - Martin Clunes stars as the father of the little girl befriended
by Fungus - and computer-generated animation. "I was a huge fan of the book" says Clunes. "I remember people
having arguments about whether a bogeyman was good reading for
children. What a load of rubbish. It's a brilliant creation."
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The job of making Fungus, his wife
Mildew, his son Mould and all the other characters look right -
26 years after they were created - fell to costume designer Vin
Burnham, whose credits include the first two Batman movies.
"It might seem funny to have a costume designer for an animated
character" says Burnham, "but the animators needed a
lot of detail to make Fungus work. I did so man different sketches
and e-mailed them to the animators in Toronto, giving them details
about stitching, texture and colour. All kids have seen things
like Monsters Inc., so we need to be as authentic as possible."
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Briggs is delighted that the story
has finally made it to the screen after several failed attempts,
including one by Terry Gilliam. "I don't know why it has taken
this long, but I think this production is excellent, " says
Briggs. "The underground world, in particular, is just as
I'd imagined it."
Mark Haddon, who wrote the acclaimed book The Curious Incident
of the Dog in the Night-Time has adapted the story.
Fungus the Bogeyman Designs
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