‘The Gruffalo’ Author Julia Donaldson on Writing Complex Stories for Kids, New Animated Adaptation of ‘Tabby McTat’
variety.comK.J. Yossman For many families in the U.K., sitting down on Christmas Day to watch the BBC’s annual adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s children’s books has become as much a holiday tradition as tinsel and mince pies.
The eleventh book to be turned into a star-studded animation by London-based production company Magic Light Pictures is “Tabby McTat,” which was originally published in 2016.
Written by Donaldson and illustrated by Scheffler, it tells the story of an unhoused busker named Fred (voiced by Rob Bryden) and his cat Tabby (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù), who earn their crust as a singing duo on the streets of a big city.
After Fred and Tabby lose each other one day, the melodic moggy finds love with a family-oriented cat called Sock (Susan Wokoma) – but he still longs to see his old friend Fred again, and soon embarks on an adventure to find him. “Doctor Who” star Jodie Whittaker also joins the cast as the narrator. “It’s the most complex [story] in a way because it is about a character who’s torn between two completely different lifestyles which can’t coexist,” Donaldson said of the tale during a press screening in London. “When I first wrote it, it was suggested to me by the publisher that I could rewrite the whole thing and it just be about two cats — I think they were worried about the homelessness thing as well — and I said ‘No, no, no.
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