Aria Ungerer premieres cartoon based on late father Tomi's book
'Flix', produced by Aria Ungerer, premieres today at the Dingle Animation Festival
A new cartoon by a Cork producer which encourages children to embrace difference in an increasingly polarised world will premiere at the Dingle Animation Festival today.
, a lively comedy adventure about the only dog growing up in Cat Town, is produced by Aria Ungerer and based on a children’s book by her late father, Tomi Ungerer.
Mr Ungerer, who was one of the 20th Century’s most enigmatic children’s book authors and artists, was originally from France but made West Cork his adoptive second home.
Following the publication of , he was awarded the world-renowned Hans Christian Andersen children’s book award.
"Flix is about making the best of your differences — we are all different. Everyone has something to offer,” Mr Ungerer once said.
"Flix shows us that with a sense of humour you can overcome any dogstacle."
As Ireland grapples with rising racism, increased far-right traction, and tries to soothe societal division, the message of , which also airs on RTÉ 2 from Monday, seems prescient and could not come at a more appropriate time.
While that message of tolerance and embracing difference is always important, it is particularly vital at this time, Ms Ungerer said.
“Kids are finding in their own classrooms that there are more kids from other countries with them, whether their parents came because they have jobs in Ireland or whether they’re seeking refuge in Ireland," she said.
“Some of those kids go home and hear their parents and other adults give out about refugees and immigrants.
“So something like this speaks in a very generalised way about how being different is cool, how everybody has something to offer, and I think that could help balance out some of the negative messaging kids are hearing at the moment.
"You just don’t know what kids are absorbing and what will stay there, forming their minds and views of the world. So I think we need a lot of content now to mitigate some of this very divisive language and xenophobia.”
The motivation for making the animation and the children’s book upon which it was based, was to help children navigate society and to protect them from its more reductive, negative tendencies.
“And was the first one of those books. For him, that was of central importance," Ms Ungerer said. "It’s also of central importance to me. I’m a first-generation Irish person, so I know what it’s like to be the only person in the school, except for my brothers, who have other languages being spoken at home, who eat different food, who are trying to learn all the time how to blend in and keep your head down a little bit. And at the same time, that push of wanting to express your own self, whatever that is.
"So it’s a message that makes sense to me on a personal level and I would love to be able to offer a little something to kids to make things a little bit better.”
Born in Strasbourg in 1931, Mr Ungerer grew up in Alsace in Northern France during the Second World War. The region swapped between French and German control during his childhood. In school, he suddenly had to speak German under temporary Nazi occupation before the area was retaken by France.
Ms Ungerer said that her father's childhood experience growing up through the war helped inform the messaging of Flix.
He was working at a European level to improve Franco-German relations in 1997 when he wrote the book.
“ is about that, about societies that are polarised, where there’s othering taking place. Flix as a character is an emissary, who can bridge that divide,” Ms Ungerer said.
“In the book, he becomes a politician, he creates a pollical party called the CDU which is Cats and Dogs United. He becomes mayor of both Cat and Dog Town.
“The book was about friendship between two countries, in Tomi’s case, between France and Germany.”
Animation is a growing industry in Ireland, with studios such as Oscar-nominated, Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon becoming household names.
A recent report from Fís Éireann (Screen Ireland) found that in 2021, a record €500m was spent across animation, feature film, documentary, and TV drama, an increase of 40% on the previous record set in 2019. Spending in local Irish animation alone increased by 27%.
Ms Ungerer said that animation is a very collaborative artform.
“We had a production office in Tralee, which was amazing, and there are animation studios dotted all around Ireland now. The industry has become a lot more decentralised," she said.
“Amazing animation is now being created in Ireland and Irish animation companies are internationally respected and work at a very high level globally.
“In Ireland, people are great storytellers, and animation is such a fertile medium through which to tell stories, whether that’s for children, families or adults.”
Ms Ungerer said that pleasing children was the most important aspect of the animation, which includes quirky visual detail to engage a young audience. Keeping parents and guardians happy too, with humour and good music, was also important.
“Whether they like it or not, parents often spend a lot of time listening to, if not watching cartoons, with their kids. So we’ve factored in some jokes for the parents and music that parents could enjoy as well. I think it will be a great family viewing show, as well as fun for the little ones.”
The story of centres on a little pug dog who lives with his cat mum, dad, and sister in a place that seems like it was not designed for him. The claw posts at school are of no use and the pink mice they consider a delicacy are especially disgusting.
But Flix is an outgoing dog who is willing to try anything, even if it means pretending he likes sashimi and enjoys watching laser pointers.
- Flix will screen on weekdays on RTÉ 2 and RTÉ Player at 9.20am on March 27–31 and at 8.45am on April 3–12.
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