Manchester Animation Festival

The Bear and the Piano

A curious young bear finds an old piano, and soon his music is bringing joy to the whole forest but when a twelve-year-old girl and her dad stumble across him on their woodland hike, their lives change forever. At Dad’s struggling little theatre, Bear becomes an overnight sensation. R&B, rock, pop, country, classical – there’s something for everyone but as the theatre thrives, Dad is swept from worries of survival to the pressures of success. The more distant he becomes, the closer the Girl is drawn to Bear and at the height of his fame, she senses a longing in his heart not unlike her own. Taking the biggest risk of her life, she sets out to make things right.

Adapted from the celebrated children’s book by David Lichfield, The Bear and the Piano is a warm, funny and visually enchanting stop-motion musical adventure about fame, family, belonging and finding your way home.

Producer Chris Bowden

Part of Mackinnon and Saunders’ production team since 2008, Chris has helped develop multiple series and produced over 700 episodes of stop motion, CG and 2D Digital animation, including Mixmups (Milkshake/Channel 5), The Sound Collector (RAI/ITV), Twirlywoos (CBeebies), Wanda and The Alien (Milkshake/Nickelodeon) as well as line producing on Netflix’s adult anthology, The House. Whilst heavily involved in planning, budgeting and managing productions Chris also works extensively as a development producer, script editor and writer.