A small London animation and family-film company behind The Snowman and the Snowdog, We're Going on a Bear Hunt and The Tiger Who Came to Tea.
Lupus Films is an independent production company in London that specialises in high-quality family entertainment. It is known for hand-drawn and digital animated films and TV specials, many of them adapted from much-loved British books. Its productions include The Snowman and the Snowdog, We're Going on a Bear Hunt, Ethel and Ernest and The Tiger Who Came to Tea. It has also made a live-action Sky Cinema film, A Christmas Number One.
Camilla Deakin and Ruth Fielding founded the company in 2002 after working together in Channel 4's arts and animation department. The name comes from the Latin word for wolf, a nod to their first production, Little Wolf's Book of Badness. Deakin has said the company adopted the working principles of producer John Coates: take on projects you feel passionate about, work with people you like, and enjoy the work. Looking ahead, she said the aim is to keep "telling well-told stories through beautifully crafted animation".
Lupus is based on Upper Street in Islington, London, in a small office up a narrow staircase behind a red front door, according to a 2022 interview. At that time the founders had six full-time staff and several part-timers. During production the team grows with freelancers to about 60 people across two productions. That headcount is from 2022, so the figures may have changed.
The Snowman and the Snowdog (2012) was seen by 11 million viewers on Channel 4. We're Going on a Bear Hunt (2016) was seen by 8 million, and The Tiger Who Came to Tea (2019) won an International Emmy Kids Award. Lupus also announced in 2020 that it had the rights to make Brambly Hedge, starting with a Christmas special. The founders describe a close, family-style atmosphere and long-term collaborators. That is their own description.
In the same interview the founders said there was a shortage of experienced crew, which they were addressing through training. A small company that expands for each project employs producers, directors, animators, designers, editors and composers. Following the studio's productions is a good way to see which crafts are used. The founders also said that the budget for The Snowman and the Snowdog was about 2 million pounds, and that nearly all the animation and rendering was done by hand, using only a little computer graphics for vehicles and After Effects for compositing. Later projects mentioned in the 2022 interview included Kensuke's Kingdom, Las Dos Fridas, Molesworth, Kiki and The Ghastly Ghoul, plus a pre-school series for a major streamer.
Website: lupusfilms.com
PURPOSE helps school and university students explore 62 sectors and over 1,000 entry-level careers in the UK, then connects them directly with employers.
Explore PURPOSE