CBBC and CBeebies Controllers Cheryl Taylor and Kay Benbow have commissioned a dialogue-free, two minute animated film called ‘Poppies’, as a BBC Children’s tribute of Remembrance.
During the week of Remembrance 2017, you will be able to watch the full video on the CBeebies website here. It is also available on BBC iPlayer until 19 November.
Why?
Such a tribute was a ‘first’ for BBC Children’s. Given our young audience, war is something of a difficult area. However, it was a viewer’s letter to our Scheduling department that really got us talking about the possibility of marking this special day. We felt that the time was right to actively involve our viewers in the act of Remembrance.
How?
‘Poppies’ is a beautiful, atmospheric and ethereal piece which sees war as experienced by the animal inhabitants of a WW1 battlefield. Conflict is implied in changes of tone - in music, colour and emotion - as we transition from peace to war and return once more to peacetime. The ending is both poignant and quietly hopeful.
‘Poppies’ is set to a breath-taking and evocative score composed by Nottingham-born (and Oscar-winning) Steven Price (Gravity, Fury) and recorded by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. The watercolour style is very soft and tactile. The hand-drawn animation of the rabbits adds to the gentleness of the piece. While the tone changes as the darkness of war prevails, we hope that the friendly feel of the animals will undercut any fearfulness the audience might have felt. Our intention is to engage even our youngest viewers to quietly focus for two minutes, while older viewers will be more aware of the context and deeper meaning of the film.
Poppies will be broadcast simultaneously on the CBeebies and CBBC channels and websites at 11am on Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th November. A behind the scenes film explaining the context of Poppies for parents and caregivers has been commissioned as a companion piece.
