Was the very first episode to go into production. It was also based on the book Mr. King's Machine by Genevieve Cote and Andrew Sabiston worked incredibly hard in staying true to the book. I made it a point to storyboard the first episode in order to set the tone, visually/compositionally. I tried a few things which I abandoned on subsequent episodes. (Such as Mr. King jumping up into his thought bubble.) I also cut the majority of the leica in order to give Rob Hornsby, my editor, a clear idea of the pacing which I believe/hope was helpful.
Though it was a long time ago I do remember how magical it was to hear our cast all together. I knew there were some who weren't sure that we cast everyone correctly (Jim) but upon hearing them I think we couldn't have imagined anyone else in their roles.
There were a lot of firsts with this episode. Music, sound effects, technical accomplishments (the animated textures), animation, backgrounds, the opening credits etc... and usually a series takes a few episodes to find its groove but I have to say, with a few exceptions, Mr. King's Machine hasn't felt out of place with any other episode.
Concert
One of my favourite episodes is Mr. King's Concert, written by Andrew Sabiston. The inspiration for this story came from some of Genevieve's sketches showing Mr. King holding a drum mallet like a conductor's baton. The original idea was for Mr. King to want to help the group with their song eventually trying to conduct them. There was something about the original premise that I kept bumping up against even though most of the group was liking the direction. It really came down to what message I wanted to get across and I was really set on the idea of how playing a small instrument can be vital in a big song. This was to appeal to all the kids out there that either weren't confident enough to play or didn't get to pick the instrument of their choice. There was also a moment early on where the concert was to be for the rest of the group of animals inhabiting Kaleidoscope Woods. This also felt a little jumbled and I wanted to avoid having such a large cast in our second episode. (It also felt a little generic.) I think this was my first attempt at thinking well outside the box to problem solve a story. What could be more whimsical than playing a song for the stars? And what better song to play than (royalty free) Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star? In the end Mr. King still tried to help the group by wanting to play bigger and bigger instruments only to realize that the little triangle was the perfect instrument and the biggest help.
Turnip
This was a wonderfully fun story idea from Genevieve that I believe was originally intended as a fourth book in her Mr. King Series. With a strong GMO message the theme itself revolved around patience. Some fun facts...
This is the first episode to feature the lovable, though technically problematic Rolo and his prickly pout.
The Little Big Hill that Mr. King plants his Turnip on is based on two hills that existed across the street from my childhood home..the Big Hill and the Little Hill. (Now that I'm older they both look kinda little.)
The episode was animated by the last group of 3 animators that made up our crew and as it was the last episode in Show 1 they did not have a lot of leeway when it came to finishing on time. They came through big time however, even in spite of Rolo's technical issues.
It was also our first "Seasonal" type episode and it was no coincidence that it played on Thanksgiving weekend.
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