Wander to Wonder

In Nina Gantz’s strangely haunting animated short, there was once a children’s television show called Wander to Wonder.

It was a familiar setup; a plink-plonking theme tune, a friendly old man speaking directly to the camera, and a trio of small furry creatures having semi-educational adventures. In this case, those creatures were played by tiny people (like The Borrowers) in costumes who are bereft after the series’ creator and presenter (Neil Savage) has died. Not only that, but his body is lying rigid on the studio floor. This unexpectedly affecting tale sees the trio of diminutive performers – Mary (Amanda Lawrence), Billybud (Terence Dunn) and Fumbleton (Toby Jones) – attempting to keep their programme going.

All portrayed in beautifully intricate stop-motion puppet animation, the film oscillates between the contents of a grainy VHS and the happenings of the real world. In the former sections, the audience sees an old recording of an episode of the show, interspersed with moments in which Mary has taped over what went before. She is recording their attempts at new instalments – with a now decrepit set, with flies buzzing past the camera and Toby Jones’ Fumbleton exposing himself while delivering a bravura performance of the Yorick speech from Hamlet.

Surreal and dark, it may be, but Wander to Wander is ultimately a film about endurance and grief. The world around the threesome is slowly decomposing, while means of sustenance are running perilously low – they are down to the last jar of pickles and rationing accordingly. Mary reads through letters that used to come from children who loved the show and she watches old videos. Their desire to make new episodes is tinged with the tragedy of a desperate attempt to hold on to what is now gone – in their own hermetic world and their connection to the larger one outside – and instances of spiralling madness allude to their prior reliance on their benign benefactor. To survive, they might need to break free; not to forget what they’ve lost, but to forge a brave new path in its absence.

Director: Nina Gantz
Cast: Toby Jones, Amanda awrence, Neil Savage, Terence Dunn
Producers: Stienette Bosklopper, Maarten Swart, Nina Gantz
Screenplay: Daan Bakker, Stienette Bosklopper, Simon Cartwright, Nina Gantz
Cinematography: Steven Frederickx
Music: Terence Dunn
Sound: Loic Burkhardt
Production: Circe Films, Kaap Holland Film (Netherlands), Beast Animation (Belgium), Les Productions de Milou, Pictanovo (France), Blink Industries (UK)
Venue: Venice Film Festival (Orizzonti – Shorts)
In English
14 minutes