To mark the opening of its retail shop Weekend Characters, Toronto animation studio Polyester produced this wonderfully whimsical short film mixing characters featured on merchandise in the store with live-action.

Polyester co-founder Jeremy Dimmock: “We wanted a place where we could give a voice to our team. A place to work on experiments and share our craft with a wider audience. Where fresh opportunities to collaborate with friends and peers on something new can come to life.

“Weekend Characters (open weekends at 145 Augusta Ave. in Toronto) is an extension of our animation studio, a new medium for our belief in characters. A celebration of the weekend and the characters who revel in it.

“Shot in Toronto’s Kensington Market, the spot helps to connect the outside neighborhood to the wonders inside. The live-action ensured the animated spot would not come across as too young and balanced the whimsical characters against the grit and texture of the working class-turned-tourist neighborhood.”
 
 

 
Production: Polyester Studio
Director: Polyester Studio
Designer/Concept artist: SJ Lee
Cel Artist: SJ Lee, Lily Chiao, Michael Rillo, Inés Fragueiro, Christine Le, Joan Chung
3D Artists Luis Campos, Oliver Dead
Compositor: Luis Campos, Oliver Dead, Jeffrey Brown
Typography/Lettering: SJ Lee
Director of Photography: Mark Klassen
Colorist: Kevin Wu with Feather Studio

Music/Sound Design: Jeff Moberg
Character Voices: Hans Wackershauser at Ta-Da Voiceworks