Last May I was contacted by a studio in Woodland Hills, California called Moonscoop to come work for them as a character designer on a series of DVD movies based on Zhu Zhu Pets toys. Zhu Zhu Pets? I had been oblivious to their existence, despite the fact that the Christmas before they had been THE “it” toy. Turns out that they are cute little electronic hamsters that roll around the ground squeaking, laughing, and bumping into things. They sounded a little bit like animation artists.
So, I jumped into the project with all four paws working closely with fellow character designer Stephen Silver (known for Disney’s Kim Possible designs). The two of us worked on adapting the toy characters into personalities that would help tell the story that lay before us all under the guidance of our director, Bob Doucette.
This past Wednesday the first trailer for The Quest for Zhu was released online. The film will be released on DVD in the fall through Universal. Hopefully as it gets closer, I can show you some of my actual drawings created in the planning of the movie. For now, here is the very short official teaser of what is to come for little hamster-loving kids everywhere (batteries not included):