15/09/2025
We're on our way to Toulouse and another edition of CARTOON FORUM - this time with our very first animated special. And what a special it is...
We're delighted to announce the beginning of our collaboration with internationally renowned picture book author and visual artist, with the screen adaptation of his wonderful book, 'This Moose Belongs To Me'.
Thank you for the article in this week's ...
This is a 22-minute 2D/CG-animated adaptation of the 2012 book of the same name by author-illustrator Oliver Jeffers (How to Catch a Star, The Day the Crayons Quit).
In the special, a boy named Wilfred finds a moose that he promptly claims as his pet. Wilfred names it Marcel and tries to teach the moose how to be a perfect pet. While Marcel fails to realize he belongs to Wilfred, the boy is absolutely confident that the animal is his. His dreams of moose ownership are shattered, though, after he encounters another kid who claims Marcel as their own.
It sounds like a lighthearted story, and it is, but This Moose Belongs to Me is also an avenue for tackling some complicated, and increasingly important, topics around ownership and greed, says Colin Williams, founder and creative director of Sixteen South.
Creating a special—something families can come together and watch for half an hour—has been a career-long ambition for Williams. It took 12 years to get this project off the ground, though, since Williams knew the company needed a story that could resonate internationally, and which ideally was based on a book so it would have a built-in audience.
The studio considered a few different stories from Jeffers, but landed on This Moose because it stands out with its strong art and the sweet relationship between a kid and an unusual animal. Then, of course, there’s the compelling story that addresses universal topics.
“It’s a very apt story at the moment,” Williams says. “We love his writing because it works on all levels. It’s a story about ownership and control. [It asks] what do we really own, and what can we really control in life? The root of many of the problems we have in the world are greed, ownership and control."