Wigtown duo, The Bookshop Band, have created the soundtrack for joy-filled animated short Robin Robin, the first-ever full blown musical from Aardman which has been released on Netflix.
Beth Porter and Ben Please, who moved to the town in the Machars from Bath five years ago, not only composed and performed the music and songs but also coached the film’s stars.
The 30-minute animated short tells the tale of a small bird with a big heart.
Raised by a family of burglar mice, Robin sets out on a big adventure to steal a Christmas sandwich so they can all enjoy a real festive feast, but faces mortal danger on the way.
Beth said: “We’ve worked on short animations before but this is by far the biggest project of its kind we have ever taken on.
“One of the wonderful things is that music we composed and recorded here in Wigtown is now going to be part of millions of people’s Christmas entertainment all over the world.”
The Bookshop Band, who are well-known for the literature-related songs they write and perform, gave each character its own musical identity – Robin’s appearances are accompanied by a recorder, the cat by a bass clarinet and the magpie’s theme is a muted jazz trumpet.
Much of what audiences will be listening to is pure Bookshop Band, though the husband-and-wife team brought in a full choir for the finale.
Ben is the brother of one of the film’s directors, Mikey Please, and this is their 10th professional collaboration.
Robin Robin was released on Netflix in November for the Christmas season – see the main trailer at: youtube.com/watch?v=Khyk6VEvJ18
