On this page you can view Alex Crumbie’s short animation film: Confessions of an English Ant-Eater.
Below the animation you will find:
- synopsis
- background & themes
- production process
- stills
- credits
- contact
On this page you can view Alex Crumbie’s short animation film: Confessions of an English Ant-Eater.
Below the animation you will find:
Watch the full animation below or click here to watch it on Vimeo.
Password: EatMoreAnts!
The animation is not yet public, so please do not share this link.
Thomas was born a curious child…
Confessions of an English Ant-Eater is a surreal short animation film about Thomas, a boy who becomes addicted to eating ants – despite the warnings of his parents.
The animation was commissioned by Tyneside Cinema as part of the New Creatives North program, funded by Arts Council England and the BBC.
As its name suggests, the piece is inspired by Thomas De Quincey’s infamous autobiographical depiction of drug addiction, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, first published in 1821.
Alex’s Confessions, which was first published in chapbook form by Team Trident Press, is narrated in verse and playfully explores themes such as childhood rebellion and addiction.
The film is accompanied by a moody folk-noir soundtrack, which brings together an eclectic ensemble of instruments including banjo, double bass, and flute.
I first read Thomas’ De Quincey’s Confessions of an English Opium-Eater when I was 18 years old, having stumbled across it while working in a second-hand bookshop. The title alone was intriguing, as was the painting used for the front cover – The Death of Thomas Chatterton, by Henry Wallis.
The book is a difficult read, written in verbose 19th Century English, but it had a glamour and sophistication to it. Although De Quincey talks of ‘the pains of opium’, it is his deeply poetic and seductive descriptions of ‘the pleasures of opium’ that are most memorable.
De Quincey’s work was greatly influential and is commonly cited as launching the fascination with drug use that has occupied numerous artists and writers, from Baudelaire to Burroughs.
It is too simple to say that literature and artwork that glamourises drug use is the cause of further drug use, but it is also naive to think that it is of no consequence. Many are inspired to experiment with drugs as a result of such work.
For example, the Guardian journalist, John Crace, said in a podcast that from the moment he heard the Velvet Underground song, Heroin, he knew that he would one day try the drug. Years of addiction ensued.
In 2005 my cousin Sacha died from a heroin overdose. I have never been anti-drug use, but ever since his death I find that artwork glamourising hard drug use touches a raw nerve. In many ways I love a lot of art that has stemmed from drugs (I too, like Crace, love the Velvet Underground and their song Heroin), but I also know that hard drugs took my cousin from this world.
When I came up with the idea for Confessions of an English Ant-Eater, I was cycling through France on a long largely aimless trip. At this time, my aunt, Diane, was in the process of releasing Junkie Buddha, a book about Sacha – his life, addiction, death, and her process of grieving as his mother.
As part of the book’s promotion, my aunt wrote several articles for major newspapers, which I read and found deeply upsetting – in part because I learnt more details about Sacha’s life and addiction than I had previously known.
Although I didn’t realise it at the time, I believe that I wrote Confessions of an English Ant-Eater, at least in part, as a way of processing Sacha’s death. I took issues of great weight and complexity and created a simple cautionary tale about the dangers of addiction.
I do not want people to think I am treating the issue of drug addiction facetiously, nor do I wish the story to be seen as overly didactic and moralistic – it is as much a celebration of the childlike desire to explore as it is a warning about how curiosity can sometimes kill the cat.
First and foremost, Confessions of an English Ant-Eater is story to be enjoyed. If it also provides some food for thought, that is a bonus.
Alex worked with pencil and paper to storyboard the animation and create the animatic. He then used pen and ink to create detailed ‘final’ versions of key drawings and backgrounds.
Andrew Bell took Alex’s pen and ink drawings and drew them digitally, then animated them in line with the animatic.
The opening sequence combines live action and animation. The live action was shot by Alex in the Portico Library, Manchester. In Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, Thomas De Quincey writes of how he once visited the Portico library.
The animation was produced by Arcus studios, with Jolene Craggs as the production manager.
Written & Directed
Alex Crumbie
Commissioned by
New Creatives North
Produced by Arcus Animation Studios
Production Manager
Jolene Craggs
Animation
Andrew Bell
Illustration
Alex Crumbie
Narration & Voice-overs
Alex Crumbie
Danny Murgatroyd
Jenni Butler
Music & Sound Design
Danny Murgatroyd
George Roberts
Alex Crumbie
Development Mentor
Ellie Land
Assistant Producer
Jen Bradfield
Executive Producer
Ian Fenton
Special Thanks
The Portico Library
For more information or if you wish to screen the animation, please contact: a.n.crumbie@gmail.com