Deanna Cooney and Peter Rowsthorn have joined the Pencilhead cast as Lizzy and Pencilhead.

by MATTHEW EELES

Pencilhead and his colourful cohort of stationary friends are set for their biggest adventure yet with the announcement of a new 13-minute short film, Safari So Good.

Based on the educational online series and colour books, Pencilhead’s Kids Club, Safari So Good is written by Ian McFadyen and will  follow Pencilhead and friends as they travel through a secret portal to visit a safari park, meeting all the surprising animals, drawing them, and learning surprising facts along the way.

The Pencilhead crew will be voiced by Peter Rowsthorn (Pencilhead), Ian McFadyen (Blade and Andy), Mark Mitchell (Narrator and Arnold), Michala Banas (Carol), Deanna Cooney (Lizzy), Sally-Anne Upton (Cassie) and Gina Williams (Maarli) with animation by Aaron Welch of Perth company, Red Bird Creative.

Peter Rowsthorn and Deanna Cooney record their voices at The Backlot Perth.

Ian Hale of HALO Films will be executive producer on Safari So Good.

“As executive producer on this exciting animated film I’m incredibly excited to release the film through Western Australia’s own HALO Films and bring not only the wonderful characters to life, but the amazing voice actors who are excited to take them to the world,” says Hale.

Pencilhead’s Kids Club launched online in 2021 with OG Yellow Wiggle Greg Page guiding the drawing tools to cooperate to find creative solutions to their problems. The Pencilhead gang teaches virtues like cooperation, encouragement friendship, and skills including drawing, singing, and safety.

The Pencilhead crew.

Meet the cast and crew!

Peter Rowsthorn Pencilhead

I’m so happy that I’m going to be playing Pencilhead in Pencilhead’s Kids Club. This show is going to inspire young children to draw. I love it!

Greg Page Live Action Host

I’m excited to be involved in Pencilhead’s Kids Club as the host of Pencilhead’s Squiggle Club. Pencilhead’s is a great idea. Children love to draw, they love to be creative, and this gives them something to be creative with away from technology.

Sure, it involves them watching and learning through technology, but they can put into practice everything they learn, plus see the results of their own creativity, all with one great brand: Pencilhead and all of his friends.

Ian McFadyen Blade & Andy

A lot of people know me as a writer/producer on the Comedy Company (many, many years ago), but before that I was working in educational theatre and educational television. On the ABC I produced a couple of important series which ran for many years. The Magic Bag, which was a junior literacy series, and Infinity Limited, which was a junior science series.

I’ve written quite a bit of animation for kids, but this is special. Pencilhead and friends, Pencilhead’s Kids Club, is a magnificent project that teaches kids the basics of art. Not only teaching them how they can draw and paint but teaching them that they can draw and paint.

There’s a terrific team working on this, of highly qualified people, very creative people who have come up with a concept that is entertaining and fun but will also teach kids a lot of really important things.

As someone who loves to do art, I know how valuable art is. Art not only teaches kids fine motor skills, but it also teaches them about shapes, it teaches about colours, and it teaches them how to see, so this is a very exciting project and i might even get to be maybe a couple of the characters on it such as Andy the Brush, or little Blade the Pencil Sharpener who keeps things neat and trim.

This is a fantastic project! I’m looking forward to working with this terrific creative team.

Mark Mitchell Narrator & Arnold

Let me start at the beginning. A whole lot of really visionary, funny, intelligent, and highly stylish people got together and decided to create the final comment in terms of children’s television as it relates to pencils. And that was how Pencilhead’s was born.

It’s going to be a fantastic show. It has educational merit (of course) but for the most part it’s fun – it’s sheer fun – and isn’t that what kids need? I’m so pleased to be involved in it!

I’ve been involved in a lot of children’s television over a long time. I was in Around the Twist and Genie from Down Under, and always the resident villain for the Children’s Television Foundation. I even played the resident Greek couple for Comedy Company. Most recently I was Trevor in The Flamin’ Thongs.

I am really looking forward to Pencilhead’s. I love the people who are involved, I love their vision, I love their creativity, I love their inspiration, and I’m sure you will too.

Michala Banas Carol

I have the privilege of being the voice of Carol the Crayon in the Pencilhead’s Kids Club.

I think it’s going to be a really fun project. i think it’s really important that kids have a creative output in their lives. it’s not something all kids get to have. But with Pencilhead’s Kids Club it’s going to be really accessible and affordable for people to just get their kids drawing and expressing themselves creatively, so I’m really, really proud to be part of that. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Deanna Cooney Lizzy

I am an actor, a presenter, voiceover artist, and a teacher, and I have the super-duper, big honour of playing Lizzy the Ruler in Pencilhead’s Kids Club.

As an actor, I’ve had two big dreams for my whole career: the first is working in children’s television (because I mean who, wouldn’t want to, really?); and the second thing that I’ve wanted to do for quite a long time is voice an animated character. And now I get to do both! It’s really, really exciting!

I burst into tears when the guys called and offered me the role – I just was so overwhelmed for a moment – but pretty soon afterwards, I got bonkers-excited! And that excitement just continues to grow, the more I find out about the program, and the people behind it, and everyone who’s involved: they’re all really clever and really smart and very focused on making sure that your kids learn, and grow, and get to play in a really non-judgmental space.

As a teacher, that’s really important to me.

I teach adults and kids how to express themselves creatively and communicate really, really effectively, and it’s really important that they have a space that is inclusive, and open, and allows them to explore safely. And that’s what Pencilhead’s Kids Club does: it’s a totally judgment free zone.

And I know that you, and your kids, are just going to love it just as much as I do.

Sally-Anne Upton Cassie

I am so excited to be a part of Pencilhead’s. It’s just such an exciting project to be asked to be a part of.

Just imagine, when I first got asked one of my biggest joys is walking into stationary shops, because you get a new pen, a pencil, a ruler – all of that – it’s all positive and new, and you always feel like you can create, and anything’s possible. Now just imagine if all those inanimate objects of the pencil, and the ruler, and the rubber, and the pencil sharpener – all of them – come to life.

And where do they go at night to sleep? In the pencil case! And that’s what I’m going to be: the pencil case!

It’s an exciting project! Yes, it’s educational, but it’s also a lot of fun!

I’ve worked in a lot of different things over the span of my career, with children and Genie from Down Under. I also was so lucky to get Mrs Bubble in Oliver, working with all those children in the musical. And also Mary Poppins, so I’m really excited about Pencilhead’s. And so should you.

Gina Williams Maarli

I am thrilled to be joining the Pencilhead’s Kids Club as Maarli the Charcoal. Maarli is the Noongar word for “black swan”, and I love that we are going to get to share language in this incredible, beautiful, magical way.

I am looking forward to so many woohoo-moments with you as we journey together as part of the Pencilhead’s Kids Club!

Safari So Good is currently in production.

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