Marking its 20th anniversary this year, Red Star 3D has established itself as a notable feature of the U.K. animation landscape. The studio produces for feature film (such as the BAFTA-long-listed The Amazing Maurice), television and attractions, offering script-to-screen production services from its Sheffield studio.
We recently caught up with the studio’s Co-Founder, Creative Director & Producer Ben Smith about Red Star 3D’s two decades of accomplishments, the state of animation in the United Kingdom and what’s next for the industrious CG studio.
Animation Magazine: Can you tell us a bit about your background and when you founded Red Star 3D?
Ben Smith: I did a degree in Electronic Imaging at the University of Bradford in the early ’90s, then after a brief spell at Framestore working on the movie Lost in Space, founded Red Star with Jan Rogowski 20 years ago in 2004. Jan passed away very suddenly in 2022, but with my core team of Haris Ahmad, Jerome Boutroux and Sophie Vickers, we’ve built on his legacy to keep building Red Star into one of the U.K.’s few feature animation studios.
How did the studio become involved with animated film production?
Initially, Red Star’s projects predominantly focused on TV commercials and corporate graphics, but we found an opening creating “4D” films for visitor attractions such as theme parks and museums — where the seats move and the audience get splashed with water, etc. We did about a dozen of those, but we always really wanted to make movies; so we pushed and pushed and eventually put together the first feature, called Stardog and Turbocat, which I wrote, directed and co-produced. Our film credits now include Terry Pratchett movie The Amazing Maurice and BBC1 Christmas Special Tabby McTat for Magic Light Pictures.
Can you tell us about some of the studio’s current projects?
We’re currently in production on an unannounced project for Magic Light Pictures.
How does the new U.K. tax credit impact animated film production?
Until recently, animated film producers saw very little point in setting all or part of their project up in the U.K. Other countries such as Canada, Germany, France, Spain and Ireland had generous government subsidies that would cover a substantial proportion of a film’s cost, whereas the U.K. lagged behind with 25% tax credits (on up to 80% of the cost) and scarce public funding. So, it simply didn’t make much economic sense to make feature animation in the U.K. when you were better off elsewhere.
That changed on 5th April 2024, when the new U.K. Independent Film Tax Credit came in. Under this new scheme, qualifying U.K. films under £15 million [US$18.6M / €17.5M] can benefit from a 40% tax break (again, on up to 80% of the cost) which is a massive jump and competes with international subsidies. Suddenly, the U.K. is a very compelling destination to set up your animated film; and we haven’t even mentioned how we have world-class talent and a host of thriving studios yet!
Do you see it making a big impact on the number of animated projects produced in the U.K. in coming years?
Hopefully! When I first attended the Cartoon Movie event in France about 10 years ago, I was shocked to discover there’s a thriving feature production industry in Europe, with studios producing low- to mid-budgeted animated features intended for domestic and international markets. By contrast, in the U.K. there was basically Aardman making movies and nobody else. Brexit killed U.K. access to European funding, but the new tax break suddenly makes the U.K. attractive as a co-pro partner again. Hopefully we’ll see U.K. studios being a bigger part of more co-productions, and more features developed and led by U.K. studios.
What are some of the other big animated co-pros Red Star has in the works?
We’re talking to numerous producers about being part of projects they have in development; but as a studio we also develop our own projects, some of which we can discuss.
We developed a film called The Last Dinosaur, which is now a co-production with Fabrique d’Images in Luxembourg, with whose help it has been awarded funding from the Film Fund Luxembourg. It will be directed by Federico Milella and is aiming to go into production in 2025.
I have also written the script for another film we’re co-developing with Wave Pictures of Belgium, called The Bee Team, which focuses on a group of insect characters who all have disabilities. We’re aiming to launch sales on it later this year.
What are your biggest challenges in the months/years ahead?
Red Star are perfectly positioned to benefit from the Independent Film Tax Credit, which is specifically for independent U.K. feature films budgeted below £15M. This is the kind of budget range we’re used to working with, and which we’ve successfully proven we can deliver on projects like The Amazing Maurice. So we’re expecting to become very busy over the next few years as more projects consider production in the U.K..
The challenge will always be securing the talent that can do the amazing work necessary to bring these off, but I am very proud to say we have an excellent reputation in the animation community and amongst our former employees, who love working with us and hopefully will want to work with us again.
What is your take on the global animation scene as we embark on the Cannes/Annecy markets in coming months?
It’s still a turbulent time, with the streamers reigning in their ambitions as that market realigns itself. Meanwhile we’re still feeling the effects of the actors’ strike particularly on the workforce, with a lot of people still out of work. But this good news on the feature film front shows us that the government is listening to the needs of the industry, and that UK film is still valued and in demand by audiences.
Visit redstar3d.com to learn more.
