Report: The Celestial Toymaker Animation World Premiere at BFI Southbank

When BBC Studios announced their latest DVD & Blu-Ray animation release in December 2023 was going to be The Celestial Toymaker, it seemed a timely decision. Bookending the original first appearance of a character seen only once in 1966 to his reappearance in the recent 60th Anniversary specials, it’s a character that holds so much potential menace as a villain.

The release of The Celestial Toymaker: Animated Teaser | Doctor Who however had fans spinning at a change of animation style created by Shapeshifters Studios in Australia. On the 2nd March this Doctor Who fan returned to the British Film Institute (BFI) for the first screening of the four-part story animation from BBC Studios. I’m not complaining though because Doctor Who on the big screen with a shared audience is a complete joy.

It was perhaps a surprise though to have a screening so soon because Doctor Who: The Collection Season 15 Blu-Ray (with Limited Edition Packaging) hasn’t come out yet and it’s only been a month since the BFI very recently screened Horror of Fang Rock. I’ve seen rumours that the release date of The Celestial Toymaker. is sometime in May. There was an email recently to BFI members regarding some proposed building works at the BFI so I do wonder if that brought forward its scheduling. The air of slight haste to screen this story was also confirmed in the screening.

Usual hosts Justin Johnson (Lead Programmer for BFI) and Dick Fiddy (BFI Archive Television Programmer) were on hand with their usual bonhomie. One of the more unusual aspects as they explained was the last-minute nature of receiving the episodes the previous evening. There had been no preview of the episodes by our hosts so this was indeed a world premiere event.

Interview with composer Mark Ayres

It was a rather relaxed event in terms of a limited number of guests. Mark Ayres, composer and sound restorer for the Blu-ray and DVDs and BFI regular, obtained the episodes in reverse order so episodes 4, 3, 2 and finally 1. Episode one Mark had received the previous night before the BFI event and did a spot check. The episode we were to see at the screening was not quite finished in terms of audio and would be a patch file Mark created of a present and bits from a previous version of episode one. In one sequence clearly, there is a black felt tip marking “not final” on the screening copy.

I’m quite proud of this, it’s very different but its rather lovely

Mark Ayres

Mark Ayres reviewed the episodes as “outright fantasy” in early Doctor Who and considers episode three as his favourite. The animation wouldn’t have come to life without the original actor’s emotion and cadence from a fantastic-sounding audio track. Mark has enhanced the soundtrack and added sound effects to the background in keeping with the fantastical nature of the story. The source material for the audio is the “Randolph tapes” which were original off-air audio recordings of 1960s Doctor Who. The Randolph tapes were originally found in a refuse tip and for this story were the best quality of what has been recorded by fans off-air.

Speaking of the animation Mark is aware the style is different to previous and may divide opinion. The technique used is the same as was used as a trial on episode 3 of The Web of Feb animation which wasn’t received successfully at the time. The animation effect is a new technique and has been refined since then and is based on motion capture where actors play and film the parts alongside the soundtrack. This allows for more fluidity. The animation is then put together using the soundtrack as the base.

Extra Features: Emily Cook Interview

As part of the event, the audience gained a sneak peek of about 11 minutes at one of the additional featurettes available on the Blu-ray release. There is a series of “Doctor Who Escape Room” features coming over the months on new releases featuring teams from each era of Classic Who. On the animation release for The Celestial Toymaker. There is the first part of Doctor Who Escape Room – Team First Doctor. The team comprised Peter Purves (Steven), Maureen O Brien (Vicki) and Lisa `Bowerman (Kara in the tv serial Survival and Big Finish actress) trying to solve puzzles and escape the room in 70 minutes.

Reviewing the animation

Episode 1 The Celestial Toyroom

The Celestial Toymaker audio has always highlighted what a visual story this is so only listening only to the audio has never really done it justice. Yes, we have episode 4 but in some ways, it’s not the best episode. Reading into the background at least 3 people were writing into this story and it does create a slight confusion about where this story wants to go and that still comes through in the script. I’ve found it difficult to enjoy for that reason so went into the screening with some trepidation as the trailer hadn’t excited me.

There are colour photos from the time and the animation stays true to the palette for the human characters and how they are dressed However as with most of the animations if the faces don’t look representative of the original actors enough to feel convincing then I’m slightly distracted for the wrong reasons. Unfortunately, the faces of Peter Purves as Steven and William Hartnell in the animation haven’t captured their likeness. The animation of Steven’s face did remind me slightly of Woody from Toy Story to be honest. Dodo played by Jackie Lane is doe-eyed but looks closer to the actress herself. One of the positives is using motion capture has allowed slightly more movement in the facial expressions and also generally the movement is more flexible and naturalistic with our Tardis team.

The representation of the Celestial Toymaker stays true to the original character with the same costume which was originally seen in Marco Polo. I hoped that considering the changes of costumes he had in The Giggle the animation might have found a different costume to convey his power. As a character, he sometimes looms over the others to a gigantic scale and it reminded me a bit of the visuals within the 60th anniversary special as the Toymaker pulled the strings of his puppets.

As the Celestial Toymaker is within his realm this is where the animation takes the opportunity to expand on the limitations of a studio. The black background and white dollhouse styling suggest no limits to the Celestial Toymaker realm. There is a fresh bold reimagining of the clowns Clara and Joey. Joey becomes a physically much larger character than Steven during the Blind Man’s Bluff game. I’ve never seen the original episodes but as the story was filmed at Ealing Studios and Riverside Studios I can imagine the drama and interactions that would have occurred between the actors in the studio.

The clowns are actors in the live episode but the animation created through its convention can present anything including a distorted nightmare landscape where characters are larger than life. The booth Dodo sat inside in the live episode becomes a windup toy car in the animation that whizzes around this strange unreality. At one point the audience view spins 180 degrees which made my head a bit discombobulated. Mark Ayres has added sound effects of tooting buzzers and horns as the game of Blind Man’s Bluff progresses. I didn’t mind that it was reimagined at this point to be honest as it felt appropriate to the whole tone of toys and games of the episode.

Episode 2 The Hall of Dolls

It is a creative reproduction with some imaginative ideas as the King and Queen of Hearts are origami 3D-type playing cards design.

Episode 3 The Dancing Floor

Less successful I think was when Steven and Dodo play hunt the thimble in the kitchen and Mrs Wigg looks a bit like a tea cosy which is a challenge to take seriously. In some respects, this is where the animation will be a Marmite one (as in you will either accept it or hate it) as it lacks that refinement and acknowledgement in its design that these are real beings who have been trapped by the Toymaker. The animation style is experimental and to enjoy it you have to put aside your expectations of a faithful copy as it is a particular and colourful interpretation of the original episodes.

Episode 4 The Final Test

Although the final live episode exists I’ve always thought the direction by Bill Sellers seemed a bit flat and slightly dull. Doing a comparison I did like in the animation the idea of levitating numbered triangles as Dodo, Steven and Cyril the schoolboy jump through the spaces which have flashes of electrical activity to get to the Tardis. Yes, there is a sense of a larger scale displayed for the game throughout and this is where the animation is strong in my opinion. It is more interesting to watch especially when you compare the static studio directing of the live episode where they are playing hopscotch for a whole 20 minutes in a cramped studio. I still prefer Cyril the naughty schoolboy’s grisly end from the live episode though

I would have liked to see when Steven, Dodo and the Doctor are back in the Tardis at the end of the adventure where there is a transition back to the live actors ( well we do have episode 4) demonstrating a return to reality but that’s just a personal preference.

In conclusion, overall I’m glad I went to see the screening. I did enjoy it for what it is. Given the fantastical nature of the story, the use of this type of animation has created a version of The Celestial Toymaker which allows the viewer to enjoy it as a visual experience of the modern era. This hasn’t been available for many years as the majority of episodes are missing. I am aware that the reaction to The Celestial Toymaker animation hasn’t been positive in the corners of YouTube and Twitter. The animation to be fair doesn’t have the nuances that the physicality of actors brings of course or that I prefer. It doesn’t replace the missing live episodes. Episode 4 has been restored and is on the new release. Hopefully, this animation does what it needs to do which is open up the classic series to a larger audience even if some original fans can only raise their dissatisfaction.

Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker is available to preorder now on DVD, BluRay and special steelbook edition from all good retailers Doctor Who – The Celestial Toymaker Ltd Edition Steelbook [Blu-ray]: Amazon.