Back in the ’80s, when animation was relegated to Saturday morning slots, auteur artists working in television were considered ‘sellouts.’

The stigma no longer applies. After years of animating popular shorts for the National Film Board and Channel 4 in Britain, David Fine and Alison Snowden have crossed the invisible line dividing indies and commercial houses, working under Nelvana’s production umbrella to write and create Bob and Margaret, a new primetime tv series for Global Television, Comedy Central in the u.s., and Channel 4 in Britain.

Fine says that independent animators working in Canada long ‘pooh-poohed tv series work because it was generally seen as kids’ animation.’

But when Fine and Snowden’s short Bob’s Birthday won an Oscar in 1995, they were pursued by several companies interested in developing their characters into tv series.

‘The timing for this series was perfect,’ says Michael Hirsh, co-ceo of Nelvana, who signed the duo after their original deal with Universal failed to materialize. With a Channel 4 sale guaranteed, Hirsh quickly financed the rest of the series within four weeks.

Now more and more cable webs such as Comedy Central are interested in animation that spans demographics.

In part, what distinguishes Bob and Margaret is its fresh approach and unique design. Whereas u.s. creators often ape Michael Judge (Beavis and Butt-head) or John Kricfalusi’s (Ren & Stimpy) raw style, Nelvana wisely tapped into Fine and Snowden’s kinder, gentler, satirical approach.

Bob and Margaret is literally an animation sitcom. It is based on a horribly normal British couple who elevate the mundane to sublime comedy. And like its live-action counterparts Seinfeld and Mad About You, it employs humor of the every day.

‘Audiences are used to wacky extreme people,’ says Fine. ‘The first thing everyone said about this show was that the characters were vulnerable and realistic.’

Fine and Snowden hands-on

Because it is writer-driven, Bob and Margaret has been compared to the popular primetime animated hit, The Simpsons. But there is a major difference between the two shows.

The Simpsons is written by a team of writers; Bob and Margaret is primarily scripted by the animators – Fine and Snowden – themselves. As a result, the timing and gags are better executed than in most shows.

The series works, in part, because it was born from a single vision, from a talented pair of animators who can write and storyboard as well as draw.

Although Nelvana has been producing animation for over 25 years, its core team of layout and posing people had to adjust to this auteur approach.

‘We wrote the scripts, directed the voices, and stuck our nose into everything,’ says Snowden. ‘They’ve never met the likes of us before.’

The tension palatable in the studio has eased now that the show is a hit on Comedy Central, and is selling very well in the European market. To the surprise of many, Bob and Margaret is holding its own next to the very popular primetime series South Park. The 1.3 million viewers who tune in to the animated kids-in-the-hood stay with Comedy Central to watch Bob and Margaret.

Auteur toon slates expanding

After years of licensing established literary properties for kids, the success of Bob and Margaret has already had an in-house effect on Nelvana.

It’s throwing more development resources into more sophisticated concepts.

In addition to signing Snowden and Fine, the company has lassoed Richard Condie, animator of the popular nfb shorts The Big Snit and La Salla, and is developing the series Dr. Fegg with former Monty Python writer Michael Palin.

Bob and Margaret’s big splash in the u.s. is encouraging news for smaller Canadian companies which have long been pushing their own creative ideas.

In Ottawa, Funbag Animation Studios has self-financed shorts such as Old Goat, Sargeant Balls of the Arctic and Jerry’s Insane Fish. Bardel Animation in Vancouver funded its own short, Thorax the Conquerer, and Vancouver’s International Rocketship, which has a long track record for underwriting short films including the raunchy compilation, Pink Komkommer, is in production on three shorts including Kiyoshi Kohatso’s Flyes.

On the feature film front, Vancouver’s Delaney and Friends has been working on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Montreal’s Cine-Groupe is in preproduction on a sequel to the cult film Heavy Metal, originally directed by Ivan Reitman.

But not everyone is rushing to cover the adult market. Montreal’s Cactus Animation, which is producing the kid/teen cgi show Xcaliber, is considering developing new shows, but to date has nothing on the drawing boards.

‘The coming of channels such as Teletoon with its primetime slots is opening a whole new area in programming,’ says Cactus’ Andre Belanger.

Suzanne French, vp Alliance Animation, says her company is still focusing primarily on animation for kids.

‘Most projects are still financed as coproductions,’ says French, who says that it is difficult to find adult animation shows that span the cultural borders. Shows targeting adults do not have the same merchandising potential.

Most of the primetime animation proposals that come across her desk these days originate from sitcom writers who think it’s trendy to pitch them as animation ideas.

‘There is a certain naivete that exists when it comes to adult animation,’ adds French. Not only must the writing be ‘superb,’ she quickly points out that the u.s. cable networks generally work only with people with solid track records, and order patterns at Channel 4, the broadcaster that triggered Bob and Margaret, are very small.

Licence fee sticking points

Finally, broadcasters are still locked in a licence fee range appropriate for Saturday morning cartoons but not for shows intended for primetime.

Marv Newland, founder of Rocketship and a fixture on the Vancouver animation scene, does not think independents should hold their breath waiting for the network knock.

In 1994/95, Rocketship produced two cbs specials based on Gary Larsen’s Far Side comics – shows that definitely rank as adult entertainment. Despite the cult status appeal of his projects, his series and shorts rarely air on Canadian television, despite the addition of the new Canadian cartoon channel.

‘There’s been lots of development interest from cbc, Telefilm and BC Film for The Rocketship Show [a one-hour tv special],’ says Newland. But to date, no broadcasters have come on board. In the short term at least, animation for kids will continue to be the bread and butter of commercial houses.