Strange Hill High is the brand new animated series from CBBC, FME and Altrincham’s Factory Transmedia.
Using a brand new form of animation, invented specifically for the show by Kat Van Henderson, the show is a wonderful mix of Japanese vinyl puppetry, CGI and just a little stop motion, which essentially adds to produce something magical that neither kids nor their parents have never seen the like of before.
The incredible looking show launched last week at the spookily pristine Ordsall Hall, which we found lurking quietly in the middle of Salford, as if it knew it would be needed just for this.
Showrunner Josh Weinstein flew into Manchester especially for the occasion on a particularly dreary Wednesday in May. Fortunately it transpires that he absolutely loves bad weather, which I can only put down to it being a novelty when you live in L.A.
Reactions to the show have so far been exactly as we hoped. It’s a charming, witty, dual level comedy animation of the incredibly high standard you’d expect from the showrunner behind The Simpsons and Futurama. It’s fabulous that it’s commissioned out of Salford and made in Altrincham and I have everything crossed that from its launch on Wednesday 8th May it will fast become the hit show it deserves to be.
As big as The Simpsons? You just never know….
