Full English

24 October 2012

012 has been the year of all things British. The Olympics, the Jubilee... We've been celebrating our great nation non-stop it seems. Ok so we've proved we can have fun and party with the best of them but really, it's not very us.

So to remind ourselves just how we do things ‘properly', meet the Johnson family - the Dad, Edgar, his long suffering wife Wendy and their three kids the unhinged Dusty, middle child Jason and the moody goth teen Eve. Also in the mix is the evil and horny Ken, Edgar's father in law and boss - a multi-millionaire confectionary mogul who despises Edgar. Ken's only friend is a large green imaginary figment of his imagination called Squidge who makes him do very bad things.....

Welcome to Full English, Channel 4's brand new animated sitcom - on the surface it's about a quintessentially English family. But at its heart it's a satirical look at our popular culture, our celebrities, our monarchy, our economy, our country today. It's unashamedly rude, puerile and silly, in the tradition of British comedy but it also tells hilarious stories around identifiable characters.

Created, produced and written by brothers Harry & Jack Williams, for their boutique television production company TWO BROTHERS PICTURES, the show is made using hand-drawn animation, with all the characters and sets created by the artist Alex Scarfe - each frame is individually drawn before being scanned into a computer, which gives it a realistic depth. This work is done by Rough Draft Studios (the company behind Futurama, The Simpsons Movie). Every image is designed and meticulously overseen by lead designer and producer, Alex to ensure the show feels distinctly British.

Anarchic, fast-paced, often surreal and laugh out loud, Full English aims to prove that the Brits can do animation to rival the long running US imports.

The show was commissioned Acting Head of Comedy Nerys Evans and is produced by TWO BROTHERS PICTURES in association with Rough Draft  Studios.

 

 

Introducing The Johnsons....

EDGAR

The man of the house though Edgar can hardly be called a man. Resents his wife and family and would always rather be somewhere else. Voiced by Richard Ayoade.

Richard said on voicing Edgar: "It's a more nasal Nelson Mandela, and a couple of white supremacists I used to hang out with. He (Edgar) looks identical to me and I thought I was playing Wendy."

 

WENDY

Sorts everyone in the family out and is probably the only thing holding them all together. Voiced by Rosie Cavaliero.

Rosie said: "It was a case of trial and error really. I saw the image of Wendy at the very first meeting as Alex Scarfe had already designed all the characters for the animation. So it was a question of finding the right voice for her look. I seem to remember starting out quite extreme with a rather squawky exaggerated suburban voice which we eventually toned down to sound more realistic and less cartoony. I like Wendy, she has a difficult time with a pretty useless husband, kids, not to mention, insane father. She means well and is definitely open to new experiences as you will see when she and Edgar make a list of all the things they have wanted to do but never have. It is very rude! She loves her family though and is definitely long suffering. She is quite kinky in private and will get up to some shocking exploits!"

 

DUSTY

Really too old to be living at home with his parents but not capable of living on his own - he's weird, excitable and unpredictable. Voiced by Kayvan Novak.

Kayvan said: "After doing different voices on TV for the last 6 years they were literally the only ones I had left."

 

JASON

The middle child - blissfully ignorant of everything including his own sexuality. Voiced by Kayvan Novak.

 

EVE

Moody teenage goth with an eating problem and great dreams of being a rock star. Voiced by Daisy Haggard.

Daisy said: "It was one of the silly voices I do and based on an irritating teenage girl I hear on the bus near my house! I love teenagers!!"

 

KEN

A multi-millionaire and an evil, horny businessman who has no friends.Edgar's father-in-law and boss. His arch nemesis is Richard Branson. Voiced by Ollie Maltman.

Ollie said: "On seeing the initial drawing of Ken, my immediate thought was: ‘Here's a suave, conniving, shyster of a man, he ought to have the voice to match.' What with the gap in his teeth and his moustache I was also reminded of Terry Thomas, but quickly decided that would be too obvious. After reading the pilot I became fixated on doing a voice similar to that of Patrick Stewart and it just seemed to work. He just had the right amount suavity and authority; he can purr at the ladies and yell at fools (which in his eyes is just about everyone)."

 

SQUIDGE

Ken's only friend. A large green balloon-like figment of his imagination.

 

Britain's Got Bloodmonkey - episode one

Come meet the Johnson family - a quintessentially English family with Dad, Edgar, his wife Wendy and their three kids Dusty, Jason and Eve. Not forgetting Edgar's father-in-law and boss Ken.

Eve decides to enter her band, Bloodmonkey, into Britain's Got Talent. They're not very good. But thanks to a misunderstanding, Simon Cowell thinks her parents are dead, and the sympathy vote looks like it might propel her all the way to the final (where she'll be up against an asthmatic girl in a wheelchair who plays the violin). Meanwhile, Edgar and Wendy go away for their anniversary, but unknown to them their eldest son Dusty has stowed away as a surprise. And Ken attempts to rekindle an old romance with Her Majesty the Queen - invoking the jealousy of his imaginary friend.

 

 

Created by: Harry Williams, Jack Williams & Alex Scarfe

Written by: Jack Williams & Harry Williams

Lead Character/Background Designer: Alex Scarfe

Executive Producers: Harry Williams, Jack Williams & Alex Scarfe

A Two Brothers Pictures Production in association with Rough Draft Studios.