Festive Animation - Church of England

The Brief

The nativity story is one of the most loved and enduring tales, known to both adults and children around the world. The Church of England created their own illustrated nativity book for young children, The Grumpy Owl and the Joy of Christmas, a fresh, warm festive animation retelling of the Christmas story. Written by Christopher Poch and Jonathan Maltz and beautifully illustrated by Jago, the book follows a grumpy barn owl who wants nothing more than to be left alone, until news of a very special baby begins to stir something unexpected within him.

So when The Church of England approached us about adapting this charming story into a six-minute festive animation, we were absolutely delighted. With Christmas fast approaching, we got to kick off the festive season in the best possible way, by helping bring a heart-warming story to life for families and children everywhere.

Our Response

We were fortunate to build on an already strong foundation. Jago’s whimsical, expressive illustrations already carried so much warmth and character, and our goal was to honour that visual world while translating it into motion. We began by mapping out how each scene could unfold on screen in a way that remained faithful to the book yet made the most of the storytelling possibilities of festive animation.

Our first step was to develop a storyboard that captured the pacing, emotional beats, and visual cues of the original illustrated narrative, while adapting it for animation. From there, we moved into animation and style tests to determine exactly how these beloved characters should move and retain their personality.

One of the biggest challenges with digital animation is that it can sometimes look a little too smooth and clean and not quite in keeping with the tactile charm of handmade illustration. It was essential for us to preserve the warmth and subtle imperfections of the book’s artwork. To achieve this, we experimented with a range of techniques: reducing the frame rate, layering animated textures, and giving character movements a slightly jittery, organic feel. These details helped emulate the sense of traditional paper-based festive animation, but with the flexibility and speed of digital production.

This balancing act was crucial. We wanted the characters to feel lively and engaging, especially for young audiences, while avoiding anything overly processed or slick.

Once we had the visual language and animation style locked in, it was time to bring the full six-minute story to life. We refined compositions, adjusted framing, and added movement where it enriched the storytelling, all with a focus on staying true to the spirit of the original book that had already captured so many hearts.

Style Development

Storyboard Development

Behind The Scenes

Final Animation

What our client Said

“Producing our first ever animated video was a scary proposition and uncharted territory for us as an agency. Working with The Animation Guys they put us at ease, listened to our ideas and made the process come to life. They’re genuinely decent, honest and hard-working people that ultimately produce first-class animation videos. We couldn’t be happier with our final product and no doubt will return to them for a follow up video at some point! Fully recommend.”

Beth Hellowell

Managing Partner @ Signify Digital