With the release of NZ-made Spike Milligan adaptation Badjelly, Liam Maguren highlights some of Aotearoa animation studio Mukpuddy’s shows that have led to their biggest creation yet.
Badjelly: Season 1
It seems appropriate—inevitable, even—that a massive adaptation of Spike Milligan’s Badjelly the Witch would come from the tiny country that loved it the most. With Badjelly now hitting our screens, Aotearoa animation studio Mukpuddy may very well make the dark-n-silly fantasy tale world famous with their star-studded 13-episode show.
The great Miriam Margolyes leads a stacked voice cast as the titular witch, aided by Kiwi legends Rhys Darby, Rose Matafeo, Cohen Holloway and Kura Forrester as well as and British comedy heavyweights Joe Wilkinson, Jo Brand, Roisin Conaty, James Acaster, and many more. Powered by some of the best NZ-made animation the country’s ever produced, Badjelly magnifies the legacy of Milligan’s creation by breathing new life into it.
But this spell wasn’t conjured overnight. For Mukpuddy founders Ryan Cooper, Tim Evans, and Alex Leighton, their decades-long journey building New Zealand’s answer to Nickelodeon has seen the studio produce a wealth of uniquely Kiwi shows—each containing seeds that grew into their Badjelly behemoth.
The Barefoot Bandits (2016)
The studio’s first “big” series, The Barefoot Bandits dunks the classic kids-on-the-loose adventure format into a creamy onion dip of New Zealandness. Set on a small island called Ngaro, the show centres on young residents Tane, Fridge and Riley—voiced by Tammy Davis, Josh Thomson and Laura Daniel respectively—as they investigate strange goings-ons in their hometown such as a glow worm war, a WereKunekune, and toxic fertiliser that brings vegetables to life.
A grassroots Goonies lasting three seasons, The Barefoot Bandits hits the all-ages sweet spot with a certain style of silliness that appeals to both kids and adults who don’t take themselves too seriously. That style of humour would remain a fixture in Cooper, Evans, and Leighton’s future shows, including Badjelly.
Jandal Burn (2019)
NZ comedy veterans Pax Assadi and Kura Forrester voice best mates Kev (a kiwifruit) and Puku (a kiwi bird) in this slacker comedy series. Comparisons to Cartoon Network’s Regular Show are unavoidable, and probably welcomed wholeheartedly, with bite-sized episodes relishing in sitcom storylines showing off the duo’s love for lounging about doing nothing productive and achieving the bare minimum at the jandal store that somehow employed them.
Jandal Burn is Mukpuddy’s most off-the-wall show. The scripts are Seinfeld-ian in their meaninglessness. The comedy often slants towards audiences who partake in a certain substance. The character designs, like a shoe sales agent with a literal broccoli head, borders on the insane. It’s the type of odd-brain nonsense that parallels perfectly with Milligan’s mind.
The Adventures of Tumeke Space (2021)
We caught glimpses of Māori galactic voyager Tumeke Space in The Barefoot Bandits, with one “lost episode” essentially acting as a pilot for this five-episode series. With a loveably easy-going hero in the Glen-Paul Waru-voiced Tumeke, and an insecure, pink-coloured villain who looks a lot like a certain figure in NZ history, Cooper, Evans, and Leighton’s love for both Star Wars and Billy T James couldn’t be more apparent.
Potentially Mukpuddy’s best-looking show before Badjelly, The Adventures of Tumeke Space marked a visual step-up from what the studio achieved previously with bolder world designs and more ambitious action sequences. It’s also just a darn fun ride fuelled on chuckles for the whole whānau.
Night Eyes (2023)
Kids love spooky stuff. Cooper, Evans, and Leighton understood this all too well with their show Night Eyes, which presents eerie stories in a light-hearted package. Each episode follows a gang of investigators/filmmakers doing the world a service by bringing paranormal peculiarities to light (and also trying to make their streaming channel go viral).
Badjelly wouldn’t be Badjelly if it didn’t delve into a little darkness. Night Eyes demonstrates Mukpuddy getting the balance right with some ghostly stories that sit on the silly side (like teleporting farts) and others on the scarier side (see the ep The Blurred Witch). And it all works; a second season has been given the green light.
