South African directors celebrate animation Tabby McTat, which has wowed the world and gone on to win an International Emmy for the Kids: Animation category!
Global (26 November 2024) — South African animators were thrilled when they learned that their contributing work on the international hit ‘Tabby McTat’ was up for an International Emmy award.
Directed by Cape Town-based Jac Hamman and Sarah Scrimgeour, the adaptation from the bestselling Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler picture book quickly drew global attention. In fact, it was the most-watched animated feature from UK broadcasters during the 2023 festive period; ushering in over 8.6 million views!
Soon thereafter, it was no longer a pipe dream to imagine that Tabby McTat could take its place in the Animator’s Hall of Fame. Earlier this year, this sentiment proved correct. Tabby McTat won the Animation Preschool category at the BANFF World Media Festival as well as the Audience Award at the New York International Children’s Film Festival! The animation was also nominated for a Rose d’Or Award in December and Royal Television Society and Venice TV awards.
When the work was officially nominated for the coveted iEmmy, there was a sense of justified confidence that the animation could take home the gold—and so it did!
Last night, the iEmmys awarded the best of the best in televised entertainment beyond the United States, where Tabby McTat was up against strong contenders, including ‘Mystery Lane’, ‘Sharkdog’ and ‘Wake Up, Carlo!’.
Despite the excellent contenders in the Kids: Animation category, Tabby McTat beat them out, to the delight of all those who worked on the story and many South Africans.
“Growing up you always dream of winning one of these awards but it seems so impossible,” director Jac reflected. “You don’t imagine as a South African you can reach that level so It feels great to win after all the hard work. We’re very proud of the team.”
This makes the second iEmmy win with South African roots in a row for the category, thanks to The Smeds and The Smoos’ win (Daniel Snaddon and Samantha Cutler) last year.
About Tabby McTat
Produced by Magic Light Pictures, the 25-minute short film stars BAFTA nominees Rob Brydon (Gavin and Stacey) and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísú (Gangs of London) as Fred and Tabby, with Critics Choice Super nominee Jodie Whittaker (Doctor Who) as the narrator.
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The story tells a tale of a friendship between a cat with an affinity for music and Fred the busker who make a dynamic duo on London’s streets. But, when Fred is rushed off in an ambulance one day, Tabby is left alone and forced to navigate a new life without Fred until the two find their way back to each other.
Shares Jac: “It felt like it was quite a mature message, about how you can grow apart from a friend, and how relationships change, and about a child having to leave their parents’ home to start their own family. It’s very moving and I was excited to see how we could turn that into a film and push those emotions. I liked the idea of a parent watching the film with their child and that they might just pull them in and squeeze them all the tighter because of those themes about the temporariness of relationships and how they change.”
Behind the Scenes
Jac and Sarah directed a team of over 80 for over a year and a half; remotely—a victory all its own.
Of this, Sarah shares:
“There are about 80 people that worked on Tabby McTat, staggered over about a year and a half. We did it all remotely, except for one very brief trip to Sheffield for a quick meet and greet with some of the supervisors. When you look back at making the earlier Christmas specials at Triggerfish in Cape Town, where we got to spend every day with the team, you really realise what a luxury that’s become post Covid.”
You can catch Tabby McTat on Showmax.
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