George Ezra sings original theme for C4's We're Going on a Bear Hunt

2 November 2016

Acclaimed British singer-songwriter George Ezra has written and recorded the theme song for Channel 4’s much anticipated adaptation of the classic storybook We’re Going On A Bear Hunt for Christmas this year. The 23-year-old, whose debut album Wanted On Voyage was one of the UK’s best-selling of 2014, has penned a distinctive, sweet song called Me & You for the film’s soundtrack. Me & You marks the first time that George has composed a bespoke song for film or television

Speaking at Abbey Road Studios, where the film’s score was recorded, George Ezra said: “Growing up this story was one of my absolute favourites and my mum read it to all of us for many years. In fact she still reads it to her class at school. But this animation is so much more than just a Bear Hunt and I cannot wait for everybody to see it this Christmas. Ho Ho Ho.”

The original score for We’re Going On A Bear Hunt is composed and conducted by the multi-award-winning Stuart Hancock (Atlantis, Crazyhead) and was recorded at Abbey Road Studios with City of London Sinfonia. The 53-piece ensemble was joined by 50 young singers from the London Youth Choir.

Stuart Hancock, composer, said: “It’s been a real thrill to create the music score for We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, and I’ve loved helping tell its story and capture all the new emotions that the animators have brought to it. Recording with City of London Sinfonia and London Youth Choir has been a blast and I can’t wait for the world to see this at Christmas!”

John Hay, C4’s Head of Specialist Factual and Liz Lewin, Commissioning Editor, C4 Drama, who both commissioned the film for Channel 4 said: “Stuart and George have added another layer of magic to this already gorgeous adaptation, and we're honoured that they've come on board.”

The official We’re Going On A Bear Hunt soundtrack featuring George Ezra’s Me & You will be available from Friday, 23rd December .

This Christmas, Channel 4’s half hour film will expand the universe of the much-loved book for a truly festive family treat. Olivia Colman (Broadchurch, The Night Manager), Pam Ferris (Matilda, Call the Midwife) and Mark Williams (Harry Potter, Father Brown) will breathe life into the brand new characters of Mum, Grandma and Dad respectively. Michael Rosen, who wrote the best-selling book, will play the Bear.

Based on the hit bedtime book written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury and produced by Lupus Films, makers of Channel 4’s hugely-popular The Snowman and The Snowdog animation, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt follows the intrepid adventures of siblings Stan, Katie, Rosie, Max, the baby and Rufus the dog, who decide one day to go on an adventure in search of bears.

Coming up against a host of obstacles the family ventures through whirling snowstorms, thick oozing mud and dark forests on their ambitious quest. But when Rosie and Rufus become detached from the rest of the party it looks like bear-hunting might not be such fun after all...

Made with exquisite, hand-drawn animation, the film is set to enchant a whole new audience with its story of perseverance, optimism and a love of nature.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is produced by Ruth Fielding and Camilla Deakin with Norton Herrick as executive producer for Herrick Entertainment and Helen McAleer and Julia Posen as executive producers for Walker Productions. Joanna Harrison and Robin Shaw are co-directors. It was commissioned for Channel 4 by Jay Hunt, Channel 4 Chief Creative Officer, Beth Willis, Head of Drama, John Hay, Head of Specialist Factual and Commissioning Editor, Drama Liz Lewin. It is a Lupus Films Production in association with Bear Hunt Films, Walker Productions and Herrick Entertainment for Channel 4 Television Corporation.

ENDS

 

About George Ezra

George Ezra is an acclaimed 23-year-old English singer-songwriter and musician. His debut album, Wanted On Voyage, was released in June 2014 and featured the global hit single, Budapest, which achieved platinum status in both the UK and the US, and a second UK top 10 single, Blame It On Me. It was the third best-selling album of 2014, and the 10th best selling album in 2015, in the UK, selling a total of 3 million albums worldwide. George Ezra has been nominated for 4 Brit Awards, MTV Music Awards, Q Awards and the Ivor Novello Awards. His song Me & You marks the first time he has agreed to write and record a song for film or television.

 

About composer Stuart Hancock

Stuart Hancock is a multi-award-winning composer and orchestrator, creating music for all visual media as well as for the concert hall. He was the winner of the prestigious Jerry Goldsmith Award for Best Composer in 2013 for his body of work, and won a BASCA British Composer Award for his large-scale community song-cycle Snapshot Songs in December 2015. Stuart has had seven soundtrack albums released, the most recent being his epic score to the BBC fantasy adventure series Atlantis. Alongside his orchestral scoring duties on We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, Stuart is currently completing a soundtrack of grungy electronica for the brilliant new E4/Netflix comedy horror series Crazyhead (from Misfits creator Howard Overman) which airs from late October. Future projects include writing a youth opera for W11 Opera all about female pirates in Elizabethan times, to be staged in London in December 2017.

 

About Lupus Films

Lupus Films is a London based production company set up in 2002 by Camilla Deakin and Ruth Fielding to produce high quality films and TV series for children and families. They specialise in animation, using a wide range of techniques from traditional hand-drawn to 2D digital and CGI, and also produce live-action drama and factual entertainment. Lupus Films’ productions have been shown in the UK on the BBC, Channel 4, Five, ITV, S4C, Disney and Cartoon Network and in over 150 territories worldwide. In 2013 Lupus Films received a prestigious British Film Institute Vision Award and the company’s first feature film, Ethel & Ernest, is due for release in cinemas in late 2016.

 

About Walker Productions

Walker Productions develops Walker content for other media platforms with current on-air projects including Henry Hugglemonster for Disney Junior, CBeebies’ Tilly and Friends, CITV’s Fleabag Monkeyface and Hank Zipzer for CBBC. Walker Productions Walker Productions are part of the vibrant, international Walker Books Group that includes Walker Books UK, Candlewick Press in America and Walker Books Australia.