Juniper Junction

Juniper Junction is a stop-motion animation film which was made by the same team who subsequently produced the Cyril and Daisy railway films.

It was made between 2007 - 2010. Peter Strange and I (Paul Rhodes) wrote the story, created all the sets, figures, lighting, animation and undertook the filming and sound production. The voices were created by Edward Lyon and Lizzy Mackness. Film editing was done by John Richards. Costumes were made by Julie Jones and smoke effects were added by David Harwood.

The film was made in a shed 12ft x 8ft - too hot in summer and too cold in winter, especially around the feet. The entire project was animated, including the Gauge 1 tinplate trains. The film achieved only modest success, but was an important step for us to develop our ideas about the kind of films we enjoyed making, and our style of humour.

As you can imagine we are both admirers of Oliver Postgate and Ivor the Engine in particular. The Cyril and Daisy films, also featured on the You Tube channel, used live action with no special effects and characters who cannot move. Unlike Juniper Junction, which had smoke added digitally, all the smoke in the Cyril and Daisy films was produced by a smoke machine during the filming.

All our films have been a joy to make and we hope that this, at least, is evident in the outcomes. We hope that you enjoy it.