Bardel‚s Vancouver-based toon house Bardel’s first proprietary in-house production, The Christmas Orange nabbed four Leo Awards sweeping the animation category at this year’s event. The animation awards include Best Animated Progam or Series, Best Musical Score, Best Direction and Best Children’s and Youth Program where it was up against live action and animated programs.
Director Ian Freedman, Executive Producers Barry Ward and Delna Bhesania, Producer Cathy Schoch and Musical Composers Brian Carson and Ari Wise attended the event (left to right in photo) and were thrilled that their first broadcast production has been so well received.
Christmas Orange tells the story of a young boy who awakes on Christmas morning to find that instead of the 600 toys he has requested, his gift from Santa is one single, simple orange. He is outraged and decides that there is only one thing to do – sue Santa! The story unfolds with humor and drama as Anton discovers the meaning of that one sweet orange.
“It is an honor to receive an award such as this and I am very proud of my crew and the tremendous effort they put into the film,” says Freedman. “I have long maintained that fruit has been overlooked in the world of animation and hope to move into more exotic food groups with future projects.”
The Christmas Orange is based on the book of the same title by Canadian writer Don Gillmor and features whimsical watercolor illustrations by Marie-Louise Gay. The book received the 1999 Governor’s Award nomination. For this production Bardel Entertainment Inc. developed a technique combining Flash animation and traditional 2D animation that pays homage to Gay‚s unique water color styling and allowed the entire production to be produced in Vancouver.
The Leo Awards were established in 1998 to celebrate excellence in British Columbia’s film and television world. The awards ceremony took place on May 9 and 10 at the Westin Bayshore Resort & Marina in Vancouver, Canada.
