Simon's Cat
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| Simon's Cat | |
|---|---|
 The front cover of the Simon's Cat book. | |
| Genre | Physical comedy |
| Created by | Simon Tofield |
| Developed by | Simon's Cat Ltd. |
| Directed by | Simon Tofield |
| Voices of | Simon Tofield |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 35 to date |
| Production | |
| Running time | Varies, usually 1–3 minutes per episode |
| Production company(s) | Tandem Films, ChannelFlip |
| Distributor |
YouTube Walt Disney Animation Studios |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel |
Internet: YouTube Disney Shorts |
| Picture format | 240p / 360p / 480p / 720p WMV / FLV / MOV |
| Original run | 4 March 2008 – Present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Simon's Cat is an animated cartoon and book series by the British animator Simon Tofield featuring a hungry house cat who uses increasingly heavy-handed tactics to get its owner to feed it.
In January 2009, it was announced that Simon's Cat would be published in book format.[1] Canongate released the title on 1 October 2009 in the United Kingdom. It was later released in many other countries[2] and additional titles in the series were subsequently published.
In June 2012, Walt Disney Animation Studios began releasing shorts of Simon's Cat.[3]
Additionally there is a Simon's Cat cartoon strip in the Daily Mirror.[4]
Production
The series is animated with the Adobe Flash software. The pictures are drawn using an A4-size Wacom Intuos 3 pen and tablet.[5]
Creator Simon Tofield revealed that his four cats—called Teddy, Hugh, Jess and Maisie—provide inspiration for the series, with Hugh being the primary inspiration.[5][6]
Characters
- Simon's Cat: The titular character. His antics, often in the quest for food, vex his owner Simon. He loves cat food but also enjoys birds, mice, and fish out of Simon's koi pond. A significant amount of the humour in the book comes from his efforts to capture birds, mice, and fish. Simon's cat has not been officially named, though writer Simon Tofield says that Simon's cat is based on his own cat, Hugh.[7]
- Simon: The long-suffering owner of the cat.
- Simon's sister's dog: A dog that first appears in the video "Fed Up," in which he is fed underneath the table by a family. The dog also appears in the book and loves to play fetch.
- The Bird: A bird who appears in "Snow Business." It provokes Simon's cat into a snowball fight. The bird also appears in various other episodes as a squeak toy ("Santa Claws," "Hidden Treasure", "Cat Nap").
- The Hedgehog: A hedgehog that lives in Simon's back garden. Simon's cat loves to annoy the hedgehog by impaling objects such as apples, leaves, and tennis balls onto its prickles. The hedgehog also has children. The hedgehog appeared exclusively in the book until the release of Cat Chat on 7 October 2010.
- The Garden Gnome: A garden gnome similar to the one broken by Simon's cat in "Let Me In." The gnome is seen holding either a fishing rod or a net. Simon's cat often tries to get the gnome to help in his schemes to catch food. The cat considers the gnome a friend, apparently unaware that it is an inanimate object.
- The Bunny: A rabbit that lives in Simon's garden who can literally run circles around the cat.
- The Kitten: In October 2011, Simon brought home a new member of the family who, in spite of his tender age, appears to be considerably smarter than his adult counterpart.
Books
Main series
- Simon's Cat: In His Very Own Book (2009)
- Simon's Cat: Beyond the Fence (2010)
- Simon's Cat In Kitten Chaos (2011)
- Simon's Cat vs. the World (2012)
Compilations
- The Bumper Book of Simon's Cat (2013) - A collection of highlights from the first three books, plus unreleased content.
Mini books
- Feed Me! (2011)
- Wake Up! (2013)
- Play Time! (2013)
Episodes
| No. | Title (Simon Cat in) | Original YouTube airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Cat Man Do" | March 4, 2008 |
| Cat goes to extreme measures to get Simon out of bed in the morning. "Cat Man Do" won the "Best Comedy" award at the British Animation Awards 2008.[8] | ||
| 2 | "Let Me In!" | March 4, 2008 |
| Cat goes to great lengths to get through the glass rear door until Simon comes to let him in. | ||
| 3 | "TV Dinner" | July 15, 2008 |
| Cat just won't leave his master alone for a second as he attempts to watch television. The episode was shown on BBC2's The Culture Show on 15 July 2008[9] before being released on YouTube.[10] | ||
| 4 | "Fed Up!" | December 8, 2008 |
| A lesson in over-consumption goes to an eagerly overeating dog and the family as they drop scraps to eat at the dinner table. The original title was "Simon's Sister's Dog in: Fed Up!"; it did not feature the cat. It ends with a message from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. | ||
| 5 | "Fly Guy" | July 24, 2009 |
| A game of Cat and Fly has undesired results for Simon. | ||
| 6 | "Hot Spot" | September 28, 2009 |
| Cat has to find a way to get under the warm glow of his master's drawing lamp. It was released shortly before its book's release. | ||
| 7 | "Snow Business" | February 10, 2010 |
| A day of play turns cold when Cat discovers that it is snowing. It is the first appearance of the bird. | ||
| 8 | "The Box" | August 18, 2010 |
| Leaving an empty box unattended around Cat will produce undesired results. | ||
| 9 | "Cat Chat" | October 7, 2010 |
| The last thing this hedgehog wants for a gabbing partner is a cat with a low attention span. (It is the first animated appearance of the hedgehog character.) | ||
| 10 | "Lunch Break" | November 12, 2010 |
| Cat's clever move of pulling the tablecloth out from underneath the dishes could use a little work. | ||
| 11 | "Santa Claws" | December 10, 2010 |
| Cat's Christmas gives him new trees to climb and new ornaments to paw at. | ||
| 12 | "Sticky Tape" | February 28, 2011 |
| Cat meets a new, transparent adversary. | ||
| 13 | "Hop it" | April 21, 2011 |
| Cat tries to "Easter" into a new routine. | ||
| 14 | "Hidden Treasure" | June 16, 2011 |
| A game of catch the ball turns into a treasure hunt when Cat's ball hides itself in the gaping darkness beneath the refrigerator. | ||
| 15 | "Cat & Mouse" | September 2, 2011 |
| Cat messes around with the computer mouse. | ||
| 16 | "Double Trouble" | October 7, 2011 |
| Cat gets a new hungry flatmate. (This episode marks the first appearance of the kitten.) | ||
| 17 | "Cat Nap" | November 23, 2011 |
| The kitten nuzzles in on a sleeping cat. | ||
| 18 | "Fowl Play" | December 14, 2011 |
| Cat has plans for Christmas dinner. | ||
| 19 | "Shelf Life" | March 14, 2012 |
| The cat causes mischief when walking along a shelf. | ||
| 20 | "Tongue Tied" | May 25, 2012 |
| The cat meets a frog. | ||
| 21 | "Window Pain" | July 9, 2012 |
| Cat and kitten thwart Simon's attempts to clean a window. | ||
| 22 | "Ready, Steady, Slow" | August 4, 2012 |
| The cat and friends cheer on a snail race. | ||
| 23 | "Springtime" | October 4, 2012 |
| The cat scales to new heights in search of supper. | ||
| 24 | "Fetch" | October 29, 2012 |
| The cat plays a disastrous game of fetch with an eager dog. | ||
| 25 | "Nut Again" | November 23, 2012 |
| The cat is tormented by a playful but malicious squirrel. | ||
| 26 | "Icecapade" | December 7, 2012 |
| The cat tries to catch a fish trapped under a frozen pond, only to be thwarted by the kitten. | ||
| 27 | "Feed Me" | February 4, 2013 |
| An impatient kitty can't wait to be fed. | ||
| 28 | "Screen Grab" | April 12, 2013 |
| The cat and kitten are both intrigued and terrorized by a large TV. | ||
| 29 | "Flower Bed" | June 14, 2013 |
| The cat waits impatiently to be fed while Simon plants a flower garden. | ||
| 30 | "Suitcase" | August 2, 2013 |
| A creative cat exceeds the baggage allowance. | ||
| 31 | "Mirror, Mirror" | September 13, 2013 |
| A cautious cat is challenged by a familiar adversary. | ||
| 32 | "Scary Legs" | October 25, 2013 |
| An attention-seeking cat spins a web to catch his owner's attention. (A Halloween Special episode) | ||
| 33 | "Christmas Presence (Part 1)" | December 7, 2013 |
| A festive feline goes looking for a Christmas treat. | ||
| 34 | "Christmas Presence (Part 2)" | December 17, 2013 |
| A crafty cat plans a Christmassy trick. | ||
| 35 | "Smitten" | February 3, 2014 |
| A love struck cat tries to impress his Valentine. | ||
Awards
Simon's Cat has won many awards from various festivals.
| Episode | Award | Category | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cat Man Do | British Animation Awards | Best Comedy | March 2008 |
| Cat Man Do | Festival international des Très Courts | Prix Animation | 2008 |
| Cat Man Do | Leicester Short Film Festival | Best Animation | 2008 |
| Cat Man Do | Bradford Animation Festival | Special Jury Prize | 2008 |
| Let Me In | Animae Caribe | Most Outstanding Animation | September 2008 |
Other awards:
- Simon's Cat series, 'The Blockbuster' Award (October 2008)
Bibliography
- Simon Tofield (2009). Simon's Cat. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84767-481-4.
- Simon Tofield (2010). Simon's Cat: Beyond the Fence. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-1-84767-484-5.
- Simon Tofield (2011). Simon's Cat in Kitten Chaos. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-0-85786-078-1.
- Simon Tofield (2012). Simon's Cat: Feed Me!. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 978-0-85786-277-8.
Notes
- ↑ "Canongate buys Simon's Cat"
- ↑ List of countries that released Simon's Cat in his very own book
- ↑ Plumb, Alastair (2012-06-26). "New 'Simon's Cat' Episode, 'Window Pains', Arrives Online (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
- ↑ Simon's Cat: The Daily Mirror cartoon strip
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Does Simon have a cat in real life? He has three cats - Hugh, Maisie and Jess. **UPDATE!** He now has 4 cats!
- ↑ "Simon's Cat is revealed!". Your Cat magazine. 29 August 2008. "Simon, who works for London-based Animation Studio Tandem Films, explains that the films are based on three of his cats, all moggies."
- ↑ Interview with Simon Tofield (text and video)
- ↑ British Animation Awards 2008 list of winners. (2008) British Animation Awards website
- ↑ BBC2's Culture Show blog discussing the showing of 'TV Dinner'(24 July 2008)
- ↑ Tandem Films' blog entry reporting the showing of 'TV Dinner'. (16 July 2008) Random Tandem blog.
External links
- Official website
- Simon's Cat's channel on YouTube
- Simon's Cat on Facebook
- Simon's Cat on Twitter
- Tandem Films
- Simon's Cat at the Internet Movie Database
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