Terry Brain, co-creator of Stoppit and Tidyup, also created Trap Door,
and this is an exclusive interview with him!
Q1. Apart from Trap Door and Stoppit and Tidyup, have you been
invloved with any other cartoon productions?
Since Stoppit & Tidyup we've manly done commercials and title
sequences.
Q2. What exactly was your job while working on
a. Trap Door
b. Stoppit and Tidyup
Director, Writer & Animator! (As were all three of us)
Q3. How many other people were involved with making
a. Trap Door
b. Stoppit and Tidyup
Two others.
Q4. Which did you enjoy making most, and why?
Trap Door, because we were left alone for two years to do fourty
episodes! Alot of fun, but alot of late nights.
Q5. How long did one episode take to make for
a. Trap Door
b. Stoppit and Tidyup
Trap Door: Two weeks to write, build & shoot Stoppit &
Tidyup: About 10 days to write and shoot.
Q6. Was the success of these cartoons a surprise?
Yes, because you can only do what you think is funny & hope
that other people find it funny!
Q7. Which were/are your favourite characters?
Berk, Boni, Drutt & the big sponge!
Q8. Do you have a favourite episode of
a. Trap Door
b. Stoppit and Tidyup
Trap Door: 'Bye Bye Berk', when Berk resigns Stoppit & Tidyup:
'Clean your Teeth', where it starts snowing in the middle of sumer
for no reason.
Q9. Are there any original Trap Door models left? If yes, where
are they?
There's only two models remaining! Drutt is on our mantelpiece
(sitting in Boni's trolley) & Boni now lives at Aardman animations
on Steve Box's desk! (Steve worked on the Trap Door too)
Q10. Are there any original Stoppit and Tidyup animation cells
or drawings left? If yes, where are they?
Yes, they are in CMTB's old studio.
Q11. Who thought up all the Trap Door monsters? Which did you think
of?
Myself & Steve Box mainly.
Q12. Did you ever have a concept of what the Thing Upstairs looked
like?
No, we made it up as we went along! There are various clues i.e.
He flies, He has more than one eye which can be taken out and cleaned,
he has more than one mouth, etc... You can see part of him in a
lightning flash in one episode!
Q13. a.Who, or what, made Drutt's noises??
b. Who or what made the noises for the characters Tidyup and Stoppit?
Trap Door: Drutts noises were made by our editor who came in
from the pub and made lots of farty/squeaky sounds & then we
played them backwards.
Stoppit & Tidyup: Me!
Q14. Do you still watch Trap Door or Stoppit and Tidyup?
Only when other people watch it.
Q15. Is there any aspect of either cartoon that you think could
have been done better?
I quite like it the way it is but if we had more money we could
of made it better.
Q16. Willie Rushton did an amazing job with the voices - did he
enjoy it?
Yes he did! We had a great time together. He was such fun to
work with.
Q17. In Edinburgh recently I saw a guy, aged early 20's, with a
leather jacket that had the Trap Door logo painted on the back -
how does that make you feel?
Chuffed!
Q18. Are you still aware of all the devoted fans that are still
out there, and probably reading this?!
Not really, but it's nice to know!
Q19. If you could say one thing to all your fans, what would it
be?
Thanks very much!!!
Q20. What are you invloved with now - any Trap Door or Stoppit
and Tidyup recreations??
No recreations at the moment, but we may have a 'Trap Door' type
series in the next year or two. At the moment I'm working on Aardman
animations new feature film called 'Chicken Run' which should be
out in the cinemas next June!
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