Moshi Monsters 2007

Since it began in 2007, Moshi Monsters has become one of the largest online communities and games for Children aged 6-14, spreading across 150 territories with over 80 million users. Moshi’s popularity has since been expanded to merchandising which now includes plush toys, trading cards, figurines and the Moshi MonstersMagazine.

Moshi Monsters (2022) Menu. (2016) and Life (2007). Voice (Roxy) 14. Kiersey Clemons Actress Dope A talent on the rise, actress and musician Kiersey Clemons has quickly become known for the diverse and captivating characters she has brought to life on screen. It had been announced that Clemons would be playing Iris West in the Warner Bros. Dec 30, 2013  Michael Acton Smith, founder of the firm behind Moshi Monsters, and Warren East, ex-chief executive of chip designer ARM, are named in the New Year's Honours List.

With a successful online game and well-established brand name, the six major characters of the Moshi world – Katsuma, Poppet, Luvli, Diavlo, Furi & Zommer – are now starring in their first 2D animated feature film! Mind Candy, the company behind Moshi Monsters, combined forces with Cornwall-based studio Spider Eye to create the latest addition to the franchise, Moshi Monsters The Movie. I spoke to the Director Wip Vernooij (Mind Candy), Art Director Cako Facioli (Mind Candy) and Co-Director Morgan Francis (Spider Eye) about the film’s production.

How did you begin your careers in animation?

Morgan: My parents started an animation company in the 1960s.

Cako: It was in 1999. I started an internship at a Brazilian studio called Terracota. They were a CGI company, most of the work they did was for advertisement. There was also a small 2D team in house, where I found my niche. That was my start.

Wip: As a kid I spent most of my time drawing and cartooning, looking up to the cartoon greats of the past, Chuck Jones, Disney and was inspired by more recent examples like Henson’s Muppets and John K‘s Ren & Stimpy. After studying everything to do with animation at HKU University of the Arts, Utrecht, I had an opportunity to intern at Amsterdam studio Lawson & Whatshisname, and felt there was no end to what there is to learn. So I moved to London to do a postgraduate in 2D character animation at Central St. Martins. London was a perfect place to dive deeper into the animation industry, I started freelancing as a character animator for various animation and interactive media studios working on commercials, short films and web games.

What projects have you worked on previously?

Morgan: I began my life in animation spending my summer holidays sitting under a desk (restrained) in the Ink & Paint department of the Halas & Batchelor Studios while my mother painted cells and my stepfather animated on popular TV shows such as The Addams Family, The Jackson 5 & The Osmonds. My first ‘hands on’ experience was painting rabbits on the movie Watership Down (1978 Goldcrest Films). This rapidly progressed onto painting hammers for the Pink Floyd film The Wall (1982 MGM). After that there was no stopping me, I spent a slightly hazy 10 years working in the animated commercials industry as a freelance background artist, layout artist, assistant animator, animator, checker and cameraman.

In 1998, I founded Spider Eye which quickly established its own reputation in commercials and short films. In 2000, I was technical director on Oscar and BAFTA award-winning Father & Daughter (Michael Dudok De Wit), a bittersweet tale which explored the deep bond between a father and daughter. My short film credits include the B.A.A and Annecy award-winning War Game, a 25min TV Special for Illuminated Films/C4, Dreams & Desires – Family Ties, a multi-award-winning short film by Joanna Quinn for Beryl Productions/S4C, A Small Miracle, a 25 minute TV special for Grasshopper Productions/ITV, and The Canterbury Tales – The Squire’s Tale for S4C.

I directed both series of Spider Eye’s own show, Jungle Junction for Playhouse Disney/Disney Junior. I went on to co-direct Moshi Monsters The Movie for Mind Candy, which has a full theatrical release with Universal this Christmas.

Cako: Over the past 2 years before the movie came up, I have been working as animator and co-director of several Moshi music videos with Wip Vernooij for Mind Candy. Before that I was working for various animation studios in London as a freelancer animator – mostly for advertisement, games and short films.

Wip: I animated on a variety of projects, to list a few: an Adidas ‘Impossible is Nothing’ advert with Passion Pictures. Calciyum ‘Cat’ commercial for Tandem Films. Many interactive websites with Unit9: ‘Adobe Creative Mind’, ‘Toshiba – The Journey of Innovation’. I animated BBC3’s ‘Disability Bitch’ for online behind the scenes videos. And with ‘Made In Me’ we created a ground breaking early learning interactive storybook app called ‘The Land of Me’. I had the pleasure of being part of the first team that created the Moshi Monsters game at Mind Candy where I animated the in-game characters Katsuma and Zommer and a few years down the line directed and composited on a number of Moshi music videos such as Big Bad Bill, Blingo ‘Diggin’ the Lingo’ and Dr Strangeglove.

Can you give us a run-down of your jobs in the studio?

Morgan: Co-Director overseeing all areas of production from setting up the pipeline, approving animation, additional storyboarding, etc. Really just whatever needs doing on a day to day basis.

Cako: My role as art director was to work closely with the director overseeing all the artwork (characters, props, backgrounds) produced for the movie, making sure they were all coming together consistently and to a high standard, also making sure they fitted the Moshi style. Additionally to this, I was in charge of nearly all of the animation that were made in Flash (the majority of the film was animated in CelAction).

Wip: Directing on the movie meant I was involved with every aspect of the production. I worked directly with the producers, writers, voice actors, the story artists and the editor on the animatic. At the same time we were conceptualising with the Mind Candy artists on the background art and updating the original game-character designs to work for animation. Over at Spider-Eye my day to day job was firstly to infuse all spider-eyes with the Moshi Monsters know-how and worked together with the 3D artists, scene planners, character riggers, animators and compositors. At some point of the production Morgan and I split the responsibilities where he’d focus on the character animation and I guided the post production.

What led to Mind Candy’s decision to make a Moshi feature film?

Cako: I think they just thought it was about time to do it. Mind Candy is a big company, Moshi Monsters web game is a great success and kids really love it. There are loads and loads of loveable and interesting characters in the game, just waiting for a chance to jump to the big screen. I see it as a natural process in the Moshi history, where the feature film was the next step.

Wip: Over the years we found that the Moshi Monsters world had slowly expanded beyond the in-game monster room. New characters were introduced all the time, special game missions explored the game with new locations and story lines and we made music videos with a more cinematic look on the Moshi universe. So secretly we started to fantasise about what it would be like to put all these elements together in a movie. Ultimately we felt it would be an amazing opportunity to make the game monsters believable living breathing characters for the many Moshi fans out there to enjoy and give others a first introduction. Luckily, the time was right, so we went for it!

What were your initial thoughts/ideas when seeing the script/storyboards for the first time?

Morgan: “I need to get my head round the Moshi Monster world!”

Cako: The first thing we got to see was a treatment of the movie, which is a pre-stage before the the script. As soon as I read it, I thought: “that’s gonna be fun”.

Wip: “Crikey, this movie is going to be epic!” Although I had a big hand in shaping the storyboard, along with the writers I felt this movie would not be worth making if it wasn’t ambitious and full of Moshi.

Was it easy or difficult make a feature film?

Morgan: It’s always difficult.

Cako: It wasn’t easy at all, since the very beginning we knew it wouldn’t be. However I have never heard or met anyone who was involved in making a feature film who said it was easy. It’s hard work which really pays off when you see the final results. It’s such a rewarding felling that we’ve managed to make it in the nicest possible way it could have been done.

Wip: A lot of us, including myself, were new to a production of this size. So there was a lot of learning on the job. In a way it probably helped us stay on our toes and we tackled every stage of the production as they came. What was also tough, was figuring out how we could give all the six plus characters enough screen time to make sure no Moshi fan felt left out. Those six, along with over a hundred other characters featured in the film.

3D has become increasingly popular in the animation industry and with Disney closing its doors on their 2D department, would you like to see a rise in 2D feature films?

Morgan: Yep, but it’s not about technique it’s always about story.

Cako: Definitely yes. I like to believe it will rise up again, maybe not as glorious as it was was on the old days. The cinema industry is always reinventing itself, sometimes it works in cycles. We saw the same happening to stop frame animation – that’s why I don’t see why it wouldn’t return.

Wip: Personally I have no preference over any D to be honest. The fact that we ended up making a mostly 2D movie was to do with the style of the designs being more true to the game and how people know the characters.There are pros and cons to both 2D and 3D, but it all comes down to what story you’d like to tell and how. The charm of drawn animation or 2D is always an attraction, I’m not convinced 2D features will be a thing of the past.

What was the most challenging part of the production?

Morgan: The schedule…oh and the 150+ cast!

Cako: For me it certainly was to get it done on time, given that we had set up a quite ambitious deadline. As Morgan said once “if we had stopped to think about it for a sec we wouldn’t have made it” and I think he was right.

Wip: Hands-down, the most challenging part of the production was the time we had to do it in. When the movie comes out we literally had a little over a year to make it.

Do you hope with the release of Moshi Monsters it will inspire a new generation of children and even adults to take up animation as a hobby or future career?

Morgan: Difficult one this, as much as I’d like to inspire anyone into animation I’m not sure we could absorb the additional numbers, there’s barely enough work to go round as it is.

Cako: Well that’s how the magic happens. It clicked to me as a kid watching cartoons on TV, that’s why I’m here doing what I do now and almost every animator I know the story is the same. I do believe it will happen again to a few kids (or even grown ups) after watching this movie, that’s how it works.

Wip: That would be nice, given that the movie was completely produced in the UK. But there are many, many great films out there that would do the same. It’s not easy to find a job in animation these days, it’s hard work, takes a lot of patience and it’s getting tougher to stand out amongst the crowd.

Do you have a favourite Moshi Monster or Moshling?

Morgan: Zommer is my in game monster although apparently I don’t feed him enough.

Cako: Furi. He is a nice guy, I like him.

Wip: My favourite Moshling has always been ‘Mini Ben’, a mini version of his big brother. I suppose for me he symbolises my move to the UK and I love his version of the bell tower tune.

What do you think is the future for Katsuma and Co? (Is there a sequel in the works maybe?)

Moshi Monsters 2019 Codes

Cako: Hopefully there will be loads more adventures to come. But I really don’t know yet if there will be a sequel, I think is too early to say anything.

Wip: Who knows? I’m sure there are many more Moshi Monsters stories to tell…

Moshi Monsters the Movie will be released on the 20th of December.

Moshi Monsters was a British website aimed at children aged 6–12,^[1] with over 80 million registered users in 150 territories worldwide.^[2] Users could choose from one of six virtual pet monsters (Diavlo, Luvli, Katsuma, Poppet, Furi and Zommer) they could create, name and nurture. Once their pet had been customized, players could navigate their way around Monstro City, take daily puzzle challenges to earn 'Rox' (a virtual currency), play games, personalize their room and communicate with other users in a safe environment, although this has been disputed.^[3] Moshi Monsters officially closed on 13 December 2019.

History[edit]

The game was created in late 2007 by Michael Acton Smith, and developed in 2008 by entertainment company Mind Candy and officially launched in April 2008.^[4] As of December 2009, there were at least 10 million players registered.^[5] In March 2010, Mind Candy announced that there were 15 million users and by September 2010, that number had surpassed 25 million.^[6] In June 2011, it was announced that there were 50 million users.^[7] On 13 December 2019, Moshi Monsters shut down permanently.

Gameplay[edit]

Monsters[edit]

The monsters are the characters that the user plays as. They are given a name by the user when they register at the website. There are six types of monsters. Poppet, Katsuma, Furi, Diavlo, Luvli, and Zommer.

Moshlings[edit]

The monsters (in-game pets) keep their own pets, called 'Moshlings'. They come in a variety of themed sets, including Arties, Beasties, Kitties, and Spookies. Those who aren't paying members can keep two 'Moshlings' in their room whilst paying members can keep up to six and visit other pets in the zoo.

Other[edit]

Merchandise[edit]

Since its digital popularity, Moshi Monsters has grown commercially to include physical products, including games, the Moshi Monsters Magazine (number one selling children's magazine in the UK in 2011),^[8] a best-selling DS video game,^[9] a number 4 music album, books, membership cards, bath soap, chocolate calendars, trading cards, figures of many Moshlings, mobile games, and a Moshi Monsters feature film. Eight Moshi Monster toys were included in McDonald's Happy Meals in the United States and Canada in December 2013.^[10]

DS game[edit]

In 2011 Mind Candy released a Moshi Monsters based Nintendo DS game. the game is themed around moshlings and collecting and caring for them.

Mobile games[edit]

In July 2013, Mind Candy released Moshi Monsters Village on Google Play,^[11] a 3D city-builder published by GREE and developed by Tag Games. After GREE UK shut down,^[12] Mind Candy decided to take over the game as publisher, leaving the development to Tag Games. The game was relaunched on Apple devices on 18 December 2013 immediately ahead of the release of the movie.

In December 2013, Mind Candy published the companion app Talking Poppet, also developed by Tag Games.

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In February 2014, Moshi Karts was released on iOS by Mind Candy.

In June 2014, Moshling Rescue a 'match three' game based on the Moshling characters was released on iOS and Android.

In early 2015 Mind Candy released an app called World of Warriors which was shut down in October 2018.

In November 2016, they released the Moshi MonstersEgg Hunt app, alongside a companion storybook of the same name.

Music[edit]

In March 2012, Mind Candy confirmed a major partnership deal with Sony Music.^[13] The deal followed the recent launch of Mind Candy's own music label, Moshi Monsters Music. The deal will see Sony Music handle the distribution aspects of Moshi Monsters' music releases, starting with the debut album Moshi Monsters, Music Rox!Jason Perry, formerly with the UK rock band A and head of Moshi Music, is driving the new album. The Moshi Monsters series features music from Sonic Boom, Beatie Wolfe, The Blackout, Portia Conn, and songs such as 'Moptop Tweenybop' and 'Merry Twistmas'. Two albums are available on iTunes and Google Play, as well as on disc. One album contains the songs from Moshi Monsters: The Movie, and another album has some of Moshi Monster's first songs. Not all songs are available to buy on various platforms.

Movie[edit]

In 2013, Mind Candy announced a Moshi Monsters film. In September 2013, Issue 34 of the Moshi Monsters Magazine included a Moshi Music DVD with a short trailer. On 10 October 2013 a short preview of the trailer was broadcast on ITV Daybreak. Later that day, the trailer was released on MSN. The film was released on 20 December 2013 in the UK and 20 February 2014 in Australia. The DVD and Blu-ray were released on 14 April 2014 in the UK and 3 April 2014 in Australia.^[14]

Lady Goo Goo injunction[edit]

In October 2011, Ate My Heart Inc, representing the musician Lady Gaga, were granted an interim injunction by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales to stop Mind Candy, parent company of Moshi Monsters, from releasing music on iTunes by a Moshi Monster character known as Lady Goo Goo. The songs intended for release included the parody 'Peppy-razzi', similar to the Lady Gaga hit 'Paparazzi'.^[15] Justice Vos of the High Court ruled that Lady Goo Goo could appear in the Moshi Monsters game, but that Mind Candy could not release, promote, advertise, sell, distribute, or otherwise make available 'any musical work or video that purports to be performed by a character by the name of Lady Goo Goo, or that otherwise uses the name Lady Goo Goo or any variant thereon'.^[16] Lady Goo Goo was later replaced with a new Moshling named Baby Rox, who is not a parody of any particular celebrity.

Decline in popularity and relaunch[edit]

The creator of Moshi Monsters, Mind Candy, suffered a loss of £2.2m in 2013 due to a drop in sales from Moshi Monsters. The company's financial reports have shown that the profit declined by 34.8% from £46.9 million in 2012 to £30.6 million in 2013.

In 2015, Mind Candy revealed that they were preparing to relaunch Moshi Monsters for a younger audience of four- to seven-year-olds, initially as animation with apps and toys to follow. However, no changes have been made to the Moshi Monsters site since then, apart from the removal of the forums section.

Since 2015, the decline of Moshi Monsters and the site's creator Mind Candy has continued. The peak of Moshi Monsters' popularity was in 2012 at £46.9m, and it has continued to decline. In 2018, total revenues were £5.2m, compared with £13.2m in 2014.^[17]

The Moshi Monsters website was shut down on 13 December 2019.^[18]

Criticism[edit]

In 2015, both Bin Weevils and Moshi Monsters were told to change the wording of their in-app advertisements by the Advertising Standards Authority, who said that the adverts and phrases such as 'The Super Moshis need YOU' pressured users to buy certain items inside the game. Mind Candy said that it took its responsibilities 'very seriously with regards to how we communicate with all of our fans, especially children.' It went on to say that Mind Candy had 'been working with the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) to ensure that we adhere to best practice and have made changes to the Moshi Monsters game accordingly. We will continue to work with the ASA in any way possible.'^[19]

References[edit]

1. ^Mike Butcher (2 May 2013). 'As Moshi Monsters hits 5 years, can it pull off three new games?'. TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014. Moshi Monsters started out as an online world of adoptable pet monsters for boys and girls aged 6-12 back in 2008.
2. ^Moshi Monsters founder: 'I was Mr Stress, now I'm Mr Calm'Archived 3 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Business Insider
3. ^'Moshi Monsters - Welcome to Moshi Monsters, Parents!'. www.moshimonsters.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
4. ^Online World Atlas: Moshi Monsters – Pt. 1, Overview', Worlds in Motion. Retrieved 23 October 2010. Archived 7 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
5. ^(4 December 2009). 'Millions and millions of big monstersArchived 2017-11-07 at the Wayback Machine', The Independent. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
6. ^Yiannopoulos, Milo (8 September 2010). 'Moshi Monsters is leading the way on child safetyArchived 2017-11-14 at the Wayback Machine', The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
7. ^Barnett, Emma (7 June 2011). 'Moshi Monsters hits 50 million membersArchived 2017-11-07 at the Wayback Machine', The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
8. ^ABC Figures Reveal Moshi Monsters Magazine is the Best Selling Children's Magazine in the UKArchived 28 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Bloomberg
9. ^Moshi Monsters video game breaks chart recordArchived 4 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine, ToyNews
10. ^'Moshi Monsters gets QSR promo at McDonald's'. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
11. ^'Moshi Monsters Village - Apps on Google Play'. play.google.com. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
12. ^Ingrid Lunden (8 July 2013) https://techcrunch.com/2013/07/08/japans-gaming-giant-gree-retrenches-in-europe-shuts-down-uk-office-to-focus-on-development-in-the-u-s-for-western-market/Archived 9 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine
13. ^'Sony Music partners with Moshi Monsters - News - Music Week'. www.musicweek.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
14. ^'Moshi Monsters (2013)'. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2018 – via www.imdb.com.
15. ^Neither Mind Candy nor the Goo Goo Dolls can lay claim to being the first to whose given name has been appended the epithet 'Goo Goo'. For that honor one might turn at the very least to Lt. Gen. Leslie Richard ('Dick' or 'Goo Goo') Groves, Jr., a World War II-era US Army Corps of Engineers officer who oversaw not only the construction of the Pentagon for the US Department of Defense but also the Manhattan Project that created the atomic bombs that won World War II for the Allies and literally saved the world from autocracy. Chances are, too, there were other 'goo goos' in the US Army before Groves.
16. ^Sweney, Mark (13 October 2011). 'Lady Goo Goo injunction'. TheGuardian.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
17. ^'MIND CANDY LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)'. beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
18. ^''Moshi Monsters' is shutting down because it runs on Flash'. engadget.com. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
19. ^Rawlinson, Kevin (26 August 2015). 'Ad watchdog rebukes Moshi Monsters'. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.