An animation based on a French picture book series which depicts the everyday life of a child with a kind look with tenderly hand drawn warm pictures. Employing 3DCG technique, short stories of five minutes per tale which recreate the world of the picture book as it is with both background and characters with the touch of hand drawing. Writing of the joyful every day of a koala girl Penelope who is full of curiosity.

TAKAGI Jun
Born in Tokyo, 1963. Majored in Directing in the Department of Cinema, College of Art, Nihon University. After graduating, he joined Nippon Animation Co., Ltd., and took part in the production of the Classic Family Theater Series. He is currently working as the director of Chibi Maruko Chan and preparing for a new series of Ukkari Penelope.
This work is the result of our efforts to find a way to adapt this story into a series of short animations without detracting from the greatness of the original picture books. This was a labor of love for those involved and I would like to share the joy of receiving this wonderful prize with them. Thank you very much indeed.
This animation is based on a series of French picture books that depict a child’s everyday life from a sympathetic point of view and with warm pictures that are tenderly hand drawn. The story of a little koala girl, Penelope, is told in a calm and gentle way; it is as though a mother is reading a book to her child. In the animation, both the background and characters are adapted to 3DCG, though the world of the picture book is perfectly recaptured, maintaining the original style of the illustrations; it is amazing to see them come alive through animation. It is surely a technique at the forefront of animated expression. Many 3DCG animations tend to look rather cold and stiff, but this one tackled that difficult problem with great effort and successfully overcame it; the skill of the production staff is worthy of special mention. They humbly present this high quality animation for children, which to me seems a very luxurious thing.
What has lead you to “create a work”?
I was impressed by animations I watched when I was a child (there were many of them).
What tools do you use the most at present?
Non in particular.
What do you place greatest value on in your work?
“Avoiding becoming complacent.”
What personal concept do you keep throughout your creative activities?
“I want viewers to enjoy at any event.”
When you create a work, in what way do you think of a presentation using technologies or media as a means to communicate?
No answer.
Could you name a person, a work, or an event that you have been influenced by the most?
There are too many to list.
What kind of work would you like to create in the future?
I wish to create works which amuse audiences in a relaxed mood.
What is the meaning or importance of “to create” for you?
For now, in various meanings, it's “nourishment for life.”










