Cutting Edge Takes Cultural Icon Dr. Seuss from Page to Screen

Bringing to life one of the world’s most iconic storybook series, Cutting Edge Sydney was recently tapped to take Dr. Seuss from the printed page and onto screens in a lively campaign for NewsCorp via agency Archibald / Williams.

Titled ‘Dr. Seuss Superbly Sensational Collection’, the combined live action and 2D animated campaign transported the Cutting Edge team back to their childhoods as they re-created four colourful and imaginative scenarios from the famous Dr. Seuss series.

With animation headed up by creative director Finnegan Spencer and animation director Ian Anderson, Cutting Edge was charged with retaining the integrity and feel of the original Dr. Seuss linework whilst making the animation move with the right gestures and nuances.

“Being entrusted to bring a brand like Dr. Seuss to life was truly an honour and having grown up with his imaginative stories, we were all excited to be animating the pages we had grown up with,” said animation director Ian Anderson.

Working with director Gemma Lee, who captured the live action component of the campaign, the animation team was careful to create a seamless transition from live action into the animated world; enlisting an aesthetic and colour palette that pays homage to the classic Dr. Seuss 60s’ and 70s’ look and feel.

“Dr. Seuss books have been animated in a few different styles over the decades, the last being 2003, and we were charged with getting it right,” said creative director Finnegan Spencer. “Our animation team has decades of experience in traditional animation and the process from rough animation, cleanup, in-betweens and final paint to compositing was a smooth process,” he added.

Providing an effortless transition into the Cat in the Hat’s animated world was critical, and one the team achieved through kick-starting the animation during a live action zoom-in, before taking over in digital. From there, it was about a traditional multiplane technique, creating depth to the illustrated backgrounds and producing a simple parallax effect.

It was also important that each of the featured characters from the series, including the Cat, the Lorax and the Wockets in Pockets, stood alone as the hero of their own animated scene, whilst at the same time, came together to feature as part of the one streamlined campaign.

Archibald / Williams creative directors Kylie Suttor and Jonny Browne said:

“The brief we had was to produce
A killer spot for Dr. Seuss
We didn’t kvedge, we didn’t hedge
We sent the brief to Cutting Edge
They brought the smarts they brought the heat
They made a spot that works a treat.”