Crazy Cool

Prendergast has been painting and sculpting since he can remember,but the high point of his career has been as animation assistant for the award-winning 2009 clay-animated movie,Mary and Max . He also made animation music videos and worked on television series. Mary and Max and,Ron The Zookeeper ,a 2007 project of his,were showcased at the workshop. “The response has been overwhelming. The students here are like sponges,wanting to absorb so much,” he says.

Prendergast is on an Indian animation tour that will cover Mumbai,Pune and Ahmedabad. He is spreading the word on stop-motion animation and clay animation,which he admits is a niche around the world but is experiencing something of a “renaissance”. “There was a massive boom in animation recently,but at this point it’s in decline. Stop-motion animation is witnessing a rise in interest because audiences want to see something different.” He quotes examples of animation films like Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) and Rango (2011) to underpin his point. “In Rango ,the characters were ugly! I loved it!” he chuckles. “It dealt with serious issues like depression,alcoholism and drinking,but it’s no longer aimed at just the young. The commercial possibilities are immense and it is embracing adults.”

Prendergast works out of his production house called Oh Yeah Wow in Australia . “We did not want to promote ourselves as a boring company,” he laughs at the raised eyebrows. “We are a bunch of crazies,this is how we are. We want to work with musicians as opposed to banks. When you have an interesting name,the clients too are interesting. I believe life is too short,and I do not want to do boring stuff.”

Prendergast is currently working on a short film that has been his passion project for the last five years. Also in the works is a musical project that will have animated characters as band representatives,on the lines of the English band,Gorillaz. “For me it’s all about spiriting life. I love the amount of energy in India,there is so much happening everywhere,” he says of the tour. “It is like visual orgasm!”