19 Years Ago, This Forgotten Stop-Motion Series Became a Cult Phenomenon That Led to a Tim Burton Masterpiece

The 1980s were defined by a toy craze that left a cultural imprint around the world. A decade later, a stop-motion animation studio in the United Kingdom would turn that craze into a cult sensation on home video. While Jim Henson and the Americans were mastering puppetry, the Brits were getting detailed with stop-motion. Cosgrove Hall had led the way with their delightfully perfect Wind in the Willows. Aardman was developing into a major animation house with Nick Park’s A Grand Day Out and The Wrong Trousers. Britain had developed an ecosystem of animators, model makers, puppet builders, and small studios. Two Cosgrove Hall veterans, Ian Mackinnon and Peter Saunders, formed their own puppet-making company at the beginning of the ’90s. While they would go on to some Oscar-nominated projects, one of their earliest was less prestigious. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t beloved.

In the early 1980s, everyone had a Cabbage Patch doll. They were an institution. Created by Xavier Roberts, the dolls came with birth certificates, cherub faces, and an insane street value. They were must-have items, causing a run on stores during the Christmas season. They served as a proto-example of the demand for collectables and toys like Pokémon cards, Beanie Babies, and Tickle Me Elmo. In the early ’90s, Cabbage Patch Kids owner Original Appalachian Artworks chose a small British studio to collaborate on a series of home video specials for BMG. Famous Flying Films was brought on board without a significant body of work behind it. Famous Flying Films brought on Mackinnon & Saunders to create workable stop-motion puppets that channeled the toyline’s signature look. They somehow went on to make one of the best stop-motion series ever made.

The Cabbage Patch Kids Film Festival

The Cabbage Patch Kids had five video specials from 1995-1999 following the adventures of a group of kids as they go to school, build clubhouses, make movies, and, oh yeah, break out in song and dance. Composer Dave Cooke’s songs were incredibly catchy. One song in particular became a phenomenon of its own. Rosie O’Donnell added “They Think I’m Crazy (A Little Preparation)” to the soundboard next to her desk so she could sing along with it on her talk show. The promotion was completely organic, with Rosie simply loving the specials and the song.

The Screen Test, the third in the series, was released on September 30th, 1997. All three specials, The New Kid, The Clubhouse, and The Screen Test, were released as the Cabbage Patch Kids Film Festival box set. The stories were fun, sometimes silly, but always earnest romps through the neighborhood. The characters seemed like fully formed kids, and the stakes were big, but still realistic for the age group. And the animation was just flawless. Famous Flying Films could animate up to 6 seconds a day on the 25-minute short films. The videos sold well enough to commission more specials, but the studio could only make one a year. There would be two more specials released: Saturday Night, which took the kids to a dance, and a Christmas Special in 1999.

The work was hailed at the time as some of the best of British stop-motion animation, with contemporary reviews calling it “expressive, near-perfect.” After working on The Cabbage Patch Kids, Famous Flying Films would create The Koala Brothers, a modestly successful show. Mackinnon & Saunders would soon become a legendary puppet house, working with Tim Burton on Mars Attacks and then, almost more importantly to their reputation, they would design over 200 puppets on the Oscar-nominated Corpse Bride. They would also work on Fantastic Mr. Fox for Wes Anderson and with Guillermo del Toro on Pinocchio. Ian Mackinnon himself had already been nominated for an Oscar for his short The Sandman in 1993, right around the time they were working on The Cabbage Patch.

The Cabbage Patch Kids specials were released on DVD, but have never been made available on streaming. There are currently a number of VHS scans, complete with commercials, available on YouTube. But only seek them out if you’re prepared for an infectious amount of peppy music, endearing humor, and heart. And remember Rosie O’Donnell as a warning: “They Think I’m Crazy” will earworm into your brain and make a home. The entire show went harder than it had any right to. Not necessarily a thought one has when thinking of the Cabbage Patch Kids, but the shorts speak for themselves.

Got a favorite stop motion movie? Tell us about it in the comments below.