Hey kids! Guess what? It’s only 347 days till Christmas! Hmmm, January is depressing enough without constant reminders of the inevitable passage of time that carries us ever closer to mortality. And with that cheery thought in mind, check out these wickedly un-jolly festive TV stings courtesy of animator Matt Layzell.

Matt is a member of up-and-coming-watch-this-space-we-love-their-work animation collective Treat. We caught up with Matt to mull over the childish joy of animation.

What was the intitial brief like for the E4 christmas stings and what did you bring to it?
It was pretty much an open brief, they just told us to pitch something on the theme of christmas and to have fun with it. I thought it’d be funny to do something really un christmassy. I’m not a big fan of christmas so I liked the idea of a rubbish christmas scene being destroyed and warped violently into something extreme and vibrant.

Which of the idents is your favourite and why?
The reindeer one, the colours came out really well and it was fun to animate the deer transforming, even though it passes by in a flash, its a good one to go through frame by frame. Danny [Boyle] also did a really good job on the sound, god bless his ears and may they sit aside his brain for many a-year to come.

What first drew you to animation?
I always loved drawing, reading comics and watching cartoons but always thought i’d do illustration. Fortunately I took a university course at Kingston where I could do both. The initial draw of animation was the joy of watching something you’ve drawn move around on screen and the ability to give something character. It’s a simple, childish joy but one I still get from watching stuff I’ve made.

What inspires you?
I like to make fun of things so any situation that seems like its getting too serious or boring will inspire me to make fun of it. Awkward situations also inspire me. I think i’ve got a cruel tendency to find people struggling funny, human behavior in a negative light, maybe i can say it like that, is that inspiration, or just a deep inner-sadness?

Stylistically I’m inspired by a lot of early cartoons i used to watch as a kid such as TMNT, Transfomers, Thundercats and so on. They all had a boyish silliness to them, beefed up mutant animals, toxic waste, lasers, swords, all that stuff needs to go back into kids cartoons.

How long have you been involved with Treat and what do you guys get up to?
Treat’s been going since I left university which is almost 3 years ago. We’ve done alot of commercial jobs but recently did a show in Berlin with Etsy which was really fun, mostly just to be out in Berlin for 2 months. We don’t work together as much as we did as we’re all branching off and doing our own things, some of us have moved abroad, but we’ll continue working together, coming up with ideas and sharing bodily fluids as much as we can.

Other than the christmas stings, which piece of your work are you proudest of and why?
‘SPAIS’ is a film I made with Lori MacGregor for a Super 8 competition called Straight 8. I’m proud of that because we had to edit everything in camera and create the sound without ever seeing it, and even though it was a mission to do, it was very fun and silly to make. There’s also a music video I’m making with my brother Paul Layzell for a band called Mazes that I predict proudness for; I really like the way its looking and it shall be finished soon hopefully so watch out for it.

To find out more about Matt’s animations and illustrations, check out his blog here. And to find out more about Treat, check out www.treatstudios.com or head over to their Vimeo page.