Disney to air Triggerfish Story Lab short

Just under a year ago, we told you about the Story Lab, an initiative from Triggerfish Animation Studio, the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Walt Disney Company to uncover emerging South African animators.

Now it looks as though the continent-wide talent search is starting to bear fruit. On Monday, Triggerfish announced that it is releasing A Dogshow with Cat, a South African animation short that has been licensed by The Walt Disney Company.

A Dogshow with Cat is a teaser for Mike Scott’s series of the same name, which is set in the South African outback and is about the madcap antics of a sophisticated dog and his best friend, a feral, obsessive-compulsive cat.

The three-minute short is part of Disney XD FC (#DisneyXDFC), a series of football-themed shorts commissioned from leading animation talent across Europe, Africa, Latin America and the United States. A Dogshow with Cat is the only short included from Africa.

Scott is best known for his animated music videos for South African DJ duo Goldfish, which have over 17 million views on YouTube.

A Dogshow with Cat is Scott’s second collaboration with Triggerfish, following on from Moosebox, which was part of the 2013-2014 Nickelodeon International Animated Shorts Program.

The Story Lab’s continent-wide search for animated African stories received nearly 1400 entries from 30 countries across the continent. Triggerfish selected four features and four TV series for development, after input from Disney and the likes of Aardman’s Oscar-nominated co-founder Peter Lord and The Lion King writer Jonathan Roberts.

Users can log on each week to Disney XD’s Youtube Page to view the original productions.