Sugar Bear upgrades

Toronto-based TOPIX Computer Graphics and Animation’s 30-second spot for Kraft Foods’ Golden Crisp cereal (known as Sugar Crisp in Canada) and Ogilvy and Mather, New York, marks the first time a u.s. Golden Crisp television spot has used computer animation.

Directed by Harold Harris, ‘High Tech House’ follows the antics of the dastardly and dashing Sugar Bear in his perennial pursuit to partake in a Golden Crisp breakfast.

For the spot, which will begin airing in the u.s. this month, topix created the computer-generated 3D background and enlisted The Animation House’s head animator, Lesley Headrich, with additional animation credit going to Harry Rasmussen, who handled cel animation.

In ‘High Tech House,’ just as Granny is about to enjoy her nutritious and delicious Golden Crisp breakfast without ‘that pesky Sugar Bear,’ her security cameras pick up Sugar Bear on the premises, setting off a series of alarms and transforming her house into an electronic fortress and her kitchen into surveillance central (think Sliver).

Unfazed, Sugar Bear infiltrates Granny’s house via the electrical wiring of one of the cameras. Once in, Granny activates a laser beam force field around the Golden Crisp, only to be transported into one the television screens as Sugar Bear reflects a laser beam at Granny with a spoon.

At topix, digital ink and paint was performed by Patti Jones, Matthew Payne and Janice Walker on Cambridge Animation’s Animo system and final compositing was done by Harris and Aaron Weintraub using Softimage’s Eddy and Discreet Logic’s Flint. cgi animation was by Frank Falcone, Derek Fullerton, Michael Halley and Keith Huggins. Sylvain Taillon produced for topix.

Animation House credits go to producer Jeanine Toole, executive producer John Burtcher, creative director Bob Fortier and production manager Paul Sutcliffe.

For o&m, Annie Loring produced, Fred Lind performed art director duties and Frank Jacobson wrote the spot. JL