The newest Frosted Cheerios ad features an animated wrestler lovingly named “Captain Night Night” who tries to stand between a sleepy teen and his morning breakfast.  Created by Calabash Animation, it’s a fun combination of animation and live video.

Because of the quick turnaround the project demanded, and the nature of the character, Calabash animated using Flash. For Wayne Brejcha, Calabash Creative Director, the spot was rife with technical challenges due mostly to the fact that the live action was shot on location without greenscreen.
“This took some good matting to pull off,” Brejcha says. “Combining animated characters with live action takes a lot of planning, and rotoscoping is a lot of work. We had figure out how we were going to cut the character so that he fit in correctly with the foreground and background objects, and then do it for every frame. We had a crew here that spent their time doing just that.”
Northern Lights Post, New York, handled the editorial and final composting.
See the ad, and read the press release after the break.

Calabash Animation Wrestles With Wacky Frosted Cheerios Ad
Animation Studio and Agency Saatchi & Saatchi Create Hilarious Animated Wrestler Standing Between A Boy And His Cereal
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CHICAGO, IL – The alarm goes off, and for the teen in “Captain Night Night,” the spot created by Saatchi & Saatchi, New York for Frosted Cheerios, featuring animation from Calabash Animation, that means it’s time for a big bowl of Frosted Cheerios. That is until a slightly crazed-yet-hilarious animated pro wrestler (complete with a hairy arms, a mask and a large belt with the letters ‘zzz’ across it) gets in the way — literally.
“This spot features a quirky, fun concept that was truly original,” Sean Henry, Calabash Executive Producer says. “Because there was no pre-existing icon for Frosted Cheerios, we were given this great chance to stretch out and do some animation that is a bit ‘out there.”
Case in point is “Captain Night Night.” In it the hero of the spot, a teenage boy, hears his alarm clock and begins to wake up. Suddenly the wrestler appears, first gently coaxing him back to sleep, but soon, in hilarious fashion, trying to physically wrestle him back to bed. In the end the enticing power of Frosted Cheerios is just too much for the wrestler, who disappears as the boy reaches the kitchen and digs into a big bowl. The voiceover adds “Frosted Cheerios…the taste gets you out of bed.”
Because of the quick turnaround the project demanded, and the nature of the character, Calabash animated using Flash. For Wayne Brejcha, Calabash Creative Director, the spot was rife with technical challenges due mostly to the fact that the live action was shot on location without greenscreen.
“This took some good matting to pull off,” Brejcha says. “Combining animated characters with live action takes a lot of planning, and rotoscoping is a lot of work. We had figure out how we were going to cut the character so that he fit in correctly with the foreground and background objects, and then do it for every frame. We had a crew here that spent their time doing just that.”
Northern Lights Post, New York, handled the editorial and final composting.
About Calabash Animation:
Led by Creative Director Wayne Brejcha and Executive Producer Sean Henry, Calabash Animation, Inc. ( HYPERLINK “http://www.calabashanimation.com” www.calabashanimation.com) is the Chicago, IL-based animation production studio, known for its award-winning cel, 3D and stop-motion animation for the advertising and entertainment industries. Calabash Animation is perhaps best known for their creative development of some of America’s most beloved brand icons. In addition to working on some of today’s top advertising the company has also produced several acclaimed short films. It’s 2002 short ‘’Stubble Trouble’’ was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002. Its most recent “Botnik” will hit the festival circuit in Fall 2008.
Web Resources:
Click here to watch “Captain Night Night”:
Click here for more info about Calabash Animation:
Creative Credits:
Client: Frosted Cheerios/General Mills
Project: “Captain Night Night” (:30)
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, New York
SVP, Creative Directors: Manny Galan, Pat Giles
Copywriter: Adam Kline
Art Director: Brad Rodriguez
Producer: Hafeez Saheed
Production: Hello & Co, Hollywood, CA
Director: Mark Gilbert
Exec. Producer: Carl Swan
Producer: Samantha Storr
Animation: Calabash Animation, Chicago, IL
Creative Director: Wayne Brejcha
Executive Producer: Sean Henry
Editorial/Post: Northern Lights. New York
Editor: David Gioiella
Producer: Robin Hall
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