Made in Manchester: Puppets from Oscar-nominated Pinocchio crafted in Altrincham studio
Video report by Granada Reports journalist Zoe Muldoon
This weekend some of the biggest stars in the world will be out in force in Los Angeles for the 95th Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars.
One of the films up for the 'best animated movie' award is Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, a dark, reimagined tale of the fabled wooden boy.
But did you know that the puppets in the film are actually made in Manchester?
Animation studio Mackinnon and Saunders made the original puppets for the film at their workshop in Altrincham.
The company's co-director Peter Saunders said: "We first became involved in the Pinocchio project in 2008.
"So we were actually one of the first companies to get on board."
The film has already picked up a number of awards this season, including most recently, the award for 'best animated film' at the BAFTAs on Sunday 19 February.
The 'Manchester puppet-makers' were thanked by the film's co-director in his acceptance speech.
A lot of painstaking work goes into making the puppets, from moulding and sculpting to costume design and painting.
Work began on the film back in 2008, when Mackinnon and Saunders made some early prototypes, but the stop-motion technology wasn't ready until a few years ago.
The puppet had to have the aesthetics of a traditionally hand-sculpted model and the organic quality of being carved from wood, but also a state-of-the-art jointed steel skeleton to achieve the range of expression that the directors and script demanded.
Lead painter Paul Davies said the most challenging thing about working on Pinocchio was replicating the paint on each puppet dozens of times.
He said: "It was over a period of two - three years that we did 15 Geppettos and 21 Pinocchios... so having to paint the puppets exactly the same was always tricky."
Head of Costume at Mackinnon and Saunders, Amanda Thomas, was tasked by Netflix to make a tuxedo for Geppetto to wear to the BAFTAs, turning him from a carpenter into a cool dude.
She said: "Netflix told us that they did want a tuxedo.
"And I had to make him a little sticky roller, because he's going to the BAFTAs and the black fabric picks up every bit of fluff!
"It would be wrong to put Pinocchio in a tux, because he doesn't wear clothes anyway, so he just had a bow tie."
These latest awards are nothing new for the team.
The puppets for Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox were all painstakingly crafted by Mackinnon and Saunders.
Pinocchio's director Guillermo Del Toro says the "Manchester puppet-makers" are the best in the world.
"It would be nice, wouldn't it!"
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