Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! Q&A with Olivia Tennet
After seven years of friendship captured across 104 episodes, Kiri and Lou Go Raaa! takes us back to the very beginning, telling the story of how Kiri, a feisty little dinosaur, and Lou, a gentle and sensitive ‘palorchecie’, became the unlikeliest of best friends – in their biggest adventure yet.
Olivia Tennet, who plays Kiri, took some time to reflect on the film's NZ arrival and the legacy of the kids' show which is as popular worldwide as it is in New Zealand.
How do you feel about Kiri and Lou finally joining the ranks of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun The Sheep as an animated film?
I am a huge fan of Aardman, and grew up watching all of the Wallace and Gromit films, so to be in the same field as those guys is extremely flattering! Funnily enough, at our recent world premiere of Kiri and Lou Go Raa at Annecy Film Festival, the whole Aardman team was there and they are all huge fans of Kiri and Lou, which was amazing to hear.
We had many conversations where it was us all just going back
and forth like “OMG, we love your show”, “Oh but we love YOUR show”. It was very
funny and very lovely. To be Aotearoa’s very first stop-motion animated film is
a huge achievement and NZ should feel proud that it is entirely locally made.
You've been with the series for a while, what do you get out of it
still?
Playing Kiri is honestly one of
the biggest joys and privileges of my life and working on the series and film
over 8 years has been a huge honour. It never feels like work and I never take
it for granted. Voice work is incredibly
creatively freeing as a performer, as you never have to worry about what you
look like and this means you can of course play roles you’d never be able to
play in live-action. ie. a small yellow Tuatara like Kiri!
I've been playing Kiri for so long now, she really feels like
my alter-ego. Ha! Not to sound too full-on, but playing her as been very
healing for my 'inner child' and there's lots of qualities that Kiri
possesses that I wish I had more of myself - spontaneity, self-confidence, her
ability to make anything into a game and her lack of hesitation when it
comes to standing up for her friends and when she senses something is
unjust. I love playing her, as she always reminds me of things I could do
better in my own life!
The Kiri and Lou team are also some of the best people in the
world. They all have the biggest hearts and really care about the show, which I
think comes through in the work. You can tell when the dynamic within a
creative team is on point, and my ‘colleagues’ have now all become very dear
friends. Having those long-term relationships is actually quite rare in this
industry as jobs are usually a few months long and then you all move onto other
things, so it feels quite unique and very special to work with people on a
single project over many years.
When - and how - did you know Kiri and Lou was something special?
Very early on to be honest. Harry
(Sinclair)’s writing paired with Don (McGlashan)’s songwriting is a match made
in heaven and I still have to pinch myself when I’m in the studio working with
those two. I grew up listening to The Front Lawn so they’re absolute legends in
my eyes and their talent knows no bounds.
I think what makes this show so special is the
emotional truth in it. Harry has an incredible way of being able to distill
very big ideas into a simple message that is age-appropriate for kids but it
never doubts their intelligence or comes across as ‘preaching’. All kids are
going to be curious about big topics like death, inclusion, body positivity,
rejection, tolerance, vulnerability so it’s important not to avoid them. The
show is warm without being too saccharine, and also very, very funny. It’s also
very low-stimulation, it leaves room for kids to process and figure things out
without giving them the answers and has an almost meditative quality in some
episodes.
Watching
my son Alwyn as a toddler, when he was grappling with new emotions that were
often quite confusing and overwhelming for his little body and brain, I could
really empathise with that. I actually think adults get as much out of watching
Kiri and Lou as kids because the themes are so universal. I got messages during
lockdown from adults who would say, “I don’t even have kids but I watch Kiri
and Lou and it has helped me during one of the most difficult periods of my
life”. These messages would make me cry. Adults of course feel loneliness,
grief, rejection, rage, etc too, and a lot of adults never learnt ways to
process these things in a constructive and healthy way, so I think it can be
quite healing. Kiri, in particular, has quite a few moments during both the TV series
and the film where she is confronted with an unfamiliar feeling which she can't
quite articulate and through voicing this through song or a conversation with a
friend, she's able to work through it. I think that is one of the biggest draws
about this show is that it's helping kids (and adults!) name and talk about
their feelings in a gentle and creative way.
What's been the best part of making the film? And audience reaction here and abroad?
We made 104, 5-minute episodes of
the Kiri and Lou TV series, and in making the film, we all got the opportunity
to get to create a longer-form journey for these characters which I think
everyone in the team was ready for. The film is a prequel to the series so
getting to explore Kiri and Lou’s origin story was so much fun. It was so cool
thinking about how the characters we know and love from the TV series became
who they are.
When we premiered in Annecy, the
audience reaction was incredibly positive and we got the most amazing feedback
in our Q and A afterwards. It made me realise how far the show has travelled
and how diverse the Kiri and Lou audience is. It was the first time I’d watched
anything from the Kiri and Lou universe in a room full of people so it was an
amazing moment. I now can’t wait to
share it with a NZ audience!
What do you want audiences to get out of it?
I really feel like Kiri and Lou
can do good in the world and we need more shows like this one. We live in such
an adult-centric society, and art for kids sometimes doesn’t get the same
attention or effort put into it as something made for adults. But I can
honestly tell you the attention to detail and the consideration, time and
energy that goes into the making of Kiri and Lou is like no other. Nothing is
rushed (which is good because stop animation is a very slow process haha) and
we always go back and re-do things if we feel it’s not right. It’s a show with
huge heart and I think it will be a very special first film for a lot of kids.
The music is amazing, the animation is incredible and the writing is A+.
I think one of the main messages
of the film is that it’s ok to show vulnerability and we don’t need to mask it
with bravado or through feigning confidence. Being honest when you’re feeling
anxious or sad creates meaningful connection with someone else, and chances
are, they are feeling the exact same way. It also reminds kids that difference
is something to be celebrated not something to avoid. Kiri and Lou are very
different from one another, but this is exactly what makes their relationship
so special. They really bring the best out of each other!
If you could play any other character in the Kiri and Lou world, who
would it be and why?
I actually also play the role of
Pants, who is obviously very different to Kiri in both vocal quality and in
personality, so I’m very lucky to get to play two such distinct characters. But
I think my next choice would have to be Small - I love her so much and she has
some absolute bangers of songs in the series like “Do a Little Jump” and the
episode “What is Art?” is one of my favourites.
What are your animation inspirations?
My Dad is a huge Simpsons fan so
we always had that on every evening growing up. Nancy Cartwright is of course
an absolute inspiration. My other favourite animated shows are Rick and Morty,
Adventure Time, The Wild Thornberrys, Recess (hello 90s kids!!), Big Mouth and
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
I saw some incredible animated films at Annecy Festival too - Iron Boy and We Are Aliens would be my top two recommendations!
What does it mean to you to be a part of the NZ Film Festival for
kids? Traditionally, there used to be a big all family film aired during the
festival, you must be thrilled to be that this time?
It means so much. And at The
Civic, which is like THE dream venue in Auckland. I feel like kids don’t get to
attend many events at the Civic usually, so it will be such an exciting first
visit for a lot of kids. Under the starry sky, with all that ornate, gold
detailing - it’s such a beautiful venue. And again, with it being a NZ film,
with NZ accents, it’s really cool to be sharing it with a NZ audience.
What other films will you see at the festival?
I’m looking forward to seeing Big Girls Don’t Cry, Crocodile, 100 Nights of Hero, The Voice of Hind Rijab, The Ungrateful Tenant and Sad Girls. But honestly, I want to see them all!
What's next for you?
We’ve got the Kiri and Lou in
Concert series with the various orchestras across Aotearoa through August -
Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin. All details on the Auckland Philharmonia,
Orchestra Wellington and DSO websites! We performed this show in Christchurch
in July and it was so much fun. I host the show and the orchestra plays music
from the show live on stage. Hearing the music live for the first time was such
an emotional experience for me - I had to hold back the tears! And it was again
so amazing getting that direct feedback from the Kiri and Lou fans in the
audience, something we obviously don’t get to see when people are watching the
show at home.
And then for something completely different, I have just started
rehearsals for a play called Job with Silo Theatre which runs from the 3rd-20th
September at Q Theatre. Directed by Shane Bosher and starring myself and
Stephen Lovatt, Job is an 80 minute psychological thriller set in a therapist’s
office. It’s very intense and quite dark so honestly couldn’t be further from
Kiri and Lou! I feel very lucky to get to do such a wide variety of work in the
industry and hopefully these two projects will balance each other out a bit
lol. Aside from work, I’ll be hanging with my son Alwyn and partner Tom, and
doing all the usual parenting things!
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