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As the television adaptation of Shaun Tan’s bestselling illustrated anthology Tales From Outer Suburbia is set for its world premiere this week at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France, it has been revealed that legendary British actress and comedian Dawn French is part of the cast.
A uniquely Western Australian take on growing up in Perth, the collection of short stories has been adapted into a 10 x 22-minute animated series for the ABC, produced by Highly Spirited and Flying Bark Productions in association with WA production company, Siamese.
Director Noel Cleary leads a stunning recreation of the world established in the internationally acclaimed novel, with a cutting-edge CGI animation and handcrafted stop-motion look and feel.
Tan, an Academy Award-winning writer, artist and filmmaker, oversees the series as creative director.
Based on Tan’s memories of growing up in the northern suburbs of Perth, the series begins when ‘almost 13-year-old’ Klara and her six-year-old brother Pim move to Outer Suburbia with their newly single mother Lucy.
The siblings' summer holiday turns into a series of unexpected and surreal adventures, with the family encountering weird and miraculous phenomena as they adapt to their new reality.
Dawn French, known for the 90s British comedy sitcom Vicar of Dibley voices Klara and Pim’s Grandma.
"Grandma is amazing. She's courageous and adventurous, she's quite chaotic, she's a bit bonkers," says French.
"What drew me to the character, and the whole project, is it's quite possibly the strangest thing I've ever read.
"It's very surreal – you understand it on a visceral level but you also don't understand it, so you're drawn in to try and make sense of slightly surreal things."
She says the series is about big themes like rejection, forgiveness, absence, loss, grief, judgment, and friendships.
"I think it's absolutely crucial that we make good quality shows for children and for families because it's a shared experience when you watch something together," French says.
"That's when you bond as a family. That's when you work out who you are, and you start to process what you think about the world.
"My happiest memories as a child are of things that we all watch together. To make something as brilliant and beautiful as this is crucial."
Producers Sophie Byrne and Alexia Gates-Foales, from Highly Spirited and Flying Bark Productions respectively, are thrilled to welcome the "incomparable" Dawn French to the series.
"Her impeccable comedic timing and natural warmth bring a genuine richness and charm to the character of Grandma," they said in a joint statement.
"Dawn embodies the perfect blend of wit and wonder needed to portray such an enigmatic figure, and we know both children and their parents - many of whom already adore her from her remarkable career – will fall in love with her all over again."
Shaun Tan says French brings a unique warmth, confidence and levity to a character that audiences really needed to trust during difficult moments.
"I can’t imagine a better performance," he says.
"She is the anchor of reassurance in a sea of animated weirdness, the hand you want to hold tight as the tide fills the room."
Siamese managing director and producer, Francesca Hope, says Tales From Outer Suburbia has been a thrilling creative journey for the WA team, with Dawn French delivering a standout performance as Grandma.
"We're genuinely excited for audiences to experience the episode 'Distant Rain' at Annecy, one of the world’s most prestigious stages for animation," Hope says.
Screenwest chief executive officer Rikki Lea Bestall says the organisation is "beyond proud" to support this quintessentially Western Australian take on growing up in the ‘burbs of Perth.
"And what a coup to have Dawn French amongst the cast," Bestall says.
"Shaun Tan is an incredibly talented creative whose works resonate with young and old. We cannot wait to see this series on screen, and congratulate everyone involved for Tales From Outer Suburbia being selected to make its world premiere at Annecy."
"This is a remarkable project from an extraordinary team, to which we have now added the wonderful, rich voice talent of Dawn French," adds the ABC's head of children & family, Mary-Ellen Mullane.
Alongside French, the series features a cast of acclaimed Australian actors and exciting newcomers. Leading the Australian cast is Geraldine Hakewell (Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, Wakefield, Wanted) as mum Lucy, while Klara and Pim are played by talented newcomers Brooklyn Davies as Klara and Felix Oliver Vergés as Pim in their first television drama roles.
The cast also includes Michael Theo (Austin, Love on the Spectrum), Shabana Azeez (The Pitt, Lesbian Space Princess, Birdeater), Andrea Solonge (Prosper, Class of ’07) and Tony Nikolakopoulos (The Wog Boy, The Wannabes).
Episode 3 of Tales From Outer Suburbia ‘Distant Rain’ will screen at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival from 8 - 14 June 2025. This is the first time any of the series will be seen publicly.
The series will air on the ABC in Australia, distributed by the Australian Children’s Television Foundation.
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