Ludo Studio, the Brisbane-based animation studio behind Bluey, has partnered with Mad Ones (producers of Jimpa) and creator Samuel Leighton-Dore to launch development on the animated sitcom WILLY.
The series, co-created by Leighton-Dore and husband Bradley Tennant, follows Wilbur “Willy” Davis, a queer teenager living on a banana farm in pre-smartphone, dial-up-era Far North Queensland. Confronting questions of identity, religion, and masculinity, Willy retreats into a vivid imaginary world populated by neurotic mentors including a desexed housecat voiced by Reuben Kaye and a talking portrait of the Virgin Mary, voiced by Judith Lucy.
The pitch trailer
Ludo Studio is developing the series alongside Mad Ones and Sad Man Studio, with support from Screen Australia. A pitch trailer set to Nick Ward‘s “Control” has been released ahead of Leighton-Dore‘s pitch at the Annecy Animation Film Festival, where he will present the proof-of-concept to international buyers as part of the first-ever Australian film delegation supported by Screen Queensland.
Under development
“Working on the WILLY proof of concept with Ludo Studio and Mad Ones Films has been a bit like reliving puberty — fun, challenging, exciting, vulnerable, and ultimately a bit horny,” said Leighton-Dore and Tennant in a joint statement. “We wrote these characters with Judith Lucy, Anne Edmonds, Danielle Walker and Reuben Kaye in mind, so to have their voices bring our story to life has been such a career highlight.”
Chloe Hume, Head of Development at Ludo Studio, added: “Samuel and Bradley are brilliant creative talents with a strong vision for the series, so we are looking forward to finding other partners to join us.”
The creative team includes producer Liam Heyen (Jimpa), executive producers Daley Pearson (The Strange Chores), Charlie Aspinwall (Bluey), and Cyna Strachan (Jimpa). Tennant, also the series’ production designer, draws on his upbringing in Ayr, Queensland, to inform the show’s visual style.
WILLY has been developed with assistance from Screen Australia.