HOT Animation

HOT Animation was a British stop-motion animation studio associated with HIT Entertainment and headquartered in the United Kingdom. It was established by former Cosgrove Hall Films employees Jackie Cockle, Brian Little, and Joe Dembinski. The company was incorporated in September 1997 and formally established on 1 April 1998, placing it within the generation of specialist British animation companies that emerged from the country's established children's television and model-animation production community. The studio began by completing the final four episodes of Brambly Hedge, a 25-minute television series adapted from Jill Barklem's illustrated children's books. Its major breakthrough came with Bob the Builder, a stop-motion series following the construction worker Bob and his fleet of anthropomorphic vehicles, known as the Can-Do Crew. HOT Animation produced the principal television run from 1999 through 2008, covering the first sixteen seasons listed for the studio. The series became one of the most commercially visible British preschool properties of its period, and its theme song, "Can We Fix It?", became a major popular-music success. A promotional music video produced at HOT accompanied the single, which reached the Christmas number-one position in the United Kingdom. Following Bob the Builder, HOT Animation broadened its production slate with Rubbadubbers, a series about bath toys that come to life, and participated in the revival and continuation of Pingu. The studio produced seasons five and six of Pingu from 2003 to 2006 and also made The Pingu Show from 2006 to 2007. Its work extended beyond regular television episodes into feature-length television specials, pilots, short-form material, promotional music videos, and direct-to-home-video productions. These included several Bob the Builder specials and the Bob the Builder: On Site series, which combined stop-motion material from Bob's fictional world with live-action footage of real construction sites. The company stopped producing the main Bob the Builder series after 2008. At that point, the studio announced job reductions and shifted toward the On Site direct-to-DVD format rather than continuing the principal television production in the same form. HOT Animation subsequently closed before HIT Entertainment was acquired by Mattel. The studio was fully dissolved on 18 August 2012. Although HOT Animation no longer operates as an independent company, its production work remains closely identified with the international distribution and enduring recognition of Bob the Builder, as well as with the later British stop-motion production history of Rubbadubbers and Pingu.

HOT Animation originated in the British stop-motion production tradition associated with Cosgrove Hall Films. The company was incorporated in September 1997 and formally established on 1 April 1998 by Jackie Cockle, Brian Little, and Joe Dembinski, all former Cosgrove Hall employees. Its first recorded production work involved the final four episodes of Brambly Hedge, a 25-minute children's series adapted from Jill Barklem's eight illustrated books. The studio's defining success was Bob the Builder. Beginning in 1999, HOT Animation produced the main stop-motion television series about Bob, a contractor whose work was supported by the Can-Do Crew, a group of construction vehicles with distinct personalities. The property became a major children's entertainment success in the United Kingdom and internationally. Its theme song, "Can We Fix It?", was supported by a promotional video made at HOT and reached the United Kingdom Christmas number-one position, giving the studio an unusually visible connection with the wider popular-music market. HOT Animation subsequently developed and produced additional children's animation. Rubbadubbers, which ran from 2002 to 2005, centered on bath toys that came alive. From 2003 to 2006, the studio recreated or continued Pingu for seasons five and six of the Swiss-British franchise, followed by The Pingu Show from 2006 to 2007. The studio also produced pilots, short films, music videos, television specials, and other material connected to HIT Entertainment properties. Its Bob the Builder work included several feature-length specials released between 2001 and 2008. After the 2008 production period, HOT ceased making the principal Bob the Builder series. The studio announced job cuts and adopted a different production approach for Bob the Builder: On Site, a direct-to-home-video series produced between 2008 and 2011. This format used stop-motion sequences featuring Bob's established fictional setting alongside live-action footage from real construction sites. The change marked a move away from the studio's earlier large-scale episodic television output. HOT Animation closed before HIT Entertainment was purchased by Mattel. The company was fully dissolved on 18 August 2012, ending its existence as a production studio. Its surviving importance rests on the programs and formats it helped create or produce, particularly Bob the Builder, whose stop-motion characters and construction-themed storytelling made HOT one of the recognizable British children's animation studios of the late 1990s and 2000s.

1. 2012Dissolution

   HOT Animation was fully dissolved on 18 August.

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2. 2008Main Bob the Builder production ends

   The studio stopped producing the main television series after the 2008 production period and shifted toward On Site home-video releases.

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3. 2003Pingu production begins

   HOT produced later Pingu episodes, including seasons five and six, through 2006.

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4. 2002Rubbadubbers begins

   The studio began producing Rubbadubbers, an animated series about living bath toys.

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5. 2000Can We Fix It? music video

   HOT produced the promotional video for the Bob the Builder theme-song single, which became the United Kingdom Christmas number one.

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6. 1999Bob the Builder production begins

   HOT began producing the principal stop-motion television run of Bob the Builder.

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7. 1998Studio formally established

   Jackie Cockle, Brian Little, and Joe Dembinski formally established HOT Animation on 1 April.

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8. 1998Brambly Hedge production completed

   The studio produced the final four episodes of Brambly Hedge.

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9. 1997Company incorporated

   HOT Animation was incorporated in September, preceding its formal establishment as a production studio.

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A British specialist studio focused on stop-motion animation for preschool and family audiences, with production capabilities spanning episodic television, specials, music videos, pilots, and home entertainment.

• Brambly HedgeTelevision series1998

  HOT Animation produced episodes five through eight of this 25-minute children's series based on Jill Barklem's illustrated Brambly Hedge books. The production formed part of the studio's earliest documented work after its formal establishment.

• Bob the BuilderStop-motion television series1999

  HOT Animation's principal and best-known production was this preschool series about contractor Bob and the Can-Do Crew, a team of animated construction vehicles. HOT produced seasons one through sixteen, covering the main television run from 1999 to 2008. The show's construction setting, practical stop-motion aesthetic, and reassuring problem-solving formula made it a major British children's property.

• RubbadubbersStop-motion television series2002

  Rubbadubbers was an animated children's series about bath toys that come to life. HOT Animation produced the series during its 2002–2005 run, extending the studio's work beyond the Bob the Builder franchise while retaining a preschool-oriented stop-motion approach.

• PinguStop-motion television series2003

  HOT Animation produced seasons five and six of the Swiss-British Pingu franchise from 2003 to 2006. The studio's involvement represented a continuation and recreation of an established clay-animation property centered on the nonverbal adventures of a penguin family.

• The Pingu ShowChildren's television series2006

  The Pingu Show followed HOT Animation's production work on later Pingu episodes. It was produced from 2006 to 2007 and packaged material for children's television audiences around the established Pingu characters.

• Bob the Builder: On SiteDirect-to-home-video series2008

  This direct-to-home-video series was produced from 2008 to 2011 after HOT stopped making the main Bob the Builder television series. It combined stop-motion footage from Bob's fictional world with live-action scenes filmed at real construction sites, creating a more explicitly educational and location-based format.

• 2000Can We Fix It? promotional music video

  United Kingdom

  HOT produced the promotional video for the Bob the Builder theme-song single "Can We Fix It?" The song became the United Kingdom Christmas number one, helping connect the animated property with mainstream music promotion.

  Outcome. The single achieved the Christmas number-one position and increased the public visibility of Bob the Builder.

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• 2008Shift from main television production to Bob the Builder: On SiteStrategy

  After producing the main Bob the Builder series through the 2008 period, HOT Animation announced job cuts and changed its production focus.

  What changed. The studio moved toward a direct-to-home-video format combining stop-motion material with live-action footage from real construction sites.

  Aftermath. Bob the Builder: On Site was produced from 2008 to 2011, while the studio later closed and was dissolved in 2012.

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• 2012HOT Animation was fully dissolved

  The studio was fully dissolved on 18 August 2012 after closing before HIT Entertainment's acquisition by Mattel.

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• 2008HOT Animation announced job cuts and ended production of the main Bob the Builder series

  The studio stopped producing the main Bob the Builder series after 2008 and moved toward the direct-to-home-video Bob the Builder: On Site format, which combined stop-motion with live-action construction footage.

  Leadership changeOther
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1. HOT Animation