All Lit Up! A Podcast for the Creative Industries

Designer, showrunner and cartoonist, Lisa Hanawalt, discusses the making of BoJack Horseman and Tuca & Bertie, from designing a whole surreal animal universe to suddenly running a writers’ room for the first time, and learning how to deal with "joke-per-minute" notes.
If you haven't already seen Lisa's latest work, we recommend you head straight to Netflix for Long Story Short, the highly anticipated adult animation from the team behind Bojack. Season One is excellent - and Season Two is on the way!
This one’s for anyone obsessed with character-driven comedy, and the messy, collaborative craft that is adult animation.

All Lit Up! is a Lighthouse Studios production.
Visit lighthousestudios.ie or follow the studio on social media to stay up to date with all news and the latest episodes.
Instagram: @lighthousestudiosire
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighthousestudios

Emily Brundige and Gilly Fogg discuss the power of self belief, the meaning of 'Li'l Toughy', and how community building and crowdfunding can hold the key to success - when deployed thoughfully.
Plus we hear Emily's short film choice, the 2019 short film Goldie - written and directed by Emily and which was later adapted into a series on Apple TV+.
Goldie
A giant girl feels out of scale in her colorful little town, only to realize she takes up just the right amount of space.
Watch Goldie here!

Emily Brundige
Emily Brundige is the creator of GOLDIE on Apple TV+ and the mind behind the cult-favorite YouTube series Pubertina, with over a decade of experience crafting original, heartfelt, and slightly oddball stories for kids and families. She served as Story Editor on Hilda Season 3 and Head Writer on Big Nate. Emily recently self-published A Guide to Developing Animated Shows, praised by animation legends Joe Brumm (Bluey), Jorge Gutierrez (El Tigre), and Chris Viscardi (The Adventures of Pete & Pete). Her latest project, Strawberry Vampire, is a Kickstarter-backed pilot animatic about a family of strawberry-draining vampires trying to blend into American suburbia.

Find Emily and Li'l Toughy on Substack here.

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All Lit Up! is a Lighthouse Studios production.
Visit lighthousestudios.ie or follow the studio on social media to stay up to date with all news and the latest episodes.
Instagram: @lighthousestudiosire
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighthousestudios

In Episode 9 of All Lit Up! we're chatting with Posy Simmonds, long-time cartoonist for The Guardian and a major figure in British comics who has influenced generations of artists.
Posy's landmark characters include reworkings of female characters from 19th century literature Gemma Bovery and Tamara Drewe, both of which began as serialised cartoons published by The Guardian and were later published as graphic novels, before being turned into feature films.
In 1997, Famous Fred, the Joanna Quinn short film adapted from Posy's children's book, Fred, was nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Short Animation and won the British Academy Children's Award for Animation the same year. The film was also nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 1998.
Join Posy and Gilly as they discuss Posy's lifetime of storytelling, from her early love of creating comic strips right through to her retrospective exhibition in Paris's Centre Pompidou and winning the prestigious Grand Prix at Angoulême in 2024, the first British comic creator to ever win the prestigious award.
Plus, we hear Posy's short film recommendation, Un Chien Andalou by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí.
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Un Chien Andalou
Un Chien Andalou is the 16-minute debut film from Spanish and Mexican director, Luis Buñuel, who teamed up with artist, Salvador Dalí for this surrealist, dream-like narrative that has both shocked and influenced audiences ever since its release in 1929.
Watch Un Chien Andalou here!

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All Lit Up! is a Lighthouse Studios production.
Visit lighthousestudios.ie or follow the studio on social media to stay up to date with all news and the latest episodes.
Instagram: @lighthousestudiosire
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighthousestudios

Join Maggie Kang and Chris Applehans for a no-holds barred telling of what it took to make the smash hit of 2025, the glorious KPop Demon Hunters, which has just this week been nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards!
Maggie and Chris share the steps they took to push their film forward, when they had to push back instead, and how an idea pitched over brunch became a multi-million-dollar production.
Hosted by interviewer extraordinaire, Gilly Fogg.
Recorded in October 2025

MAGGIE KANG - DIRECTOR
Maggie Kang is a director of Sony Pictures Animation’s KPop Demon Hunters, which originated from her idea and is now streaming on Netflix.
Kang began her career at DreamWorks Animation as a story artist on various projects including the Puss In Boots franchise and The Croods: A New Age, as well as Rise of the Guardians, Kung-Fu Panda 3, Trolls, Shrek Forever After, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Over the Hedge.
Prior to joining Sony Animation, Kang contributed her talents as a story artist at Illumination Entertainment on Minions: The Rise of Gru, and Warner Animation Group, where she was Head of Story on The LEGO Ninjago Movie.
Born in Seoul, Korea, Kang grew up in Toronto, Canada and attended Sheridan College where she studied classical animation.

CHRIS APPELHANS - DIRECTOR
Chris Appelhans is a director of Sony Pictures Animation’s KPop Demon Hunters, now streaming on Netflix, with fellow director Maggie Kang.
Appelhans wrote and directed Sony Pictures Animation’s 2021 animated feature film Wish Dragon, also streaming on Netflix.
Prior to joining Sony Pictures Animation, Appelhans wrote and developed several original projects with major studios including Disney, Laika and Paramount.
Appelhans began his career as a concept artist on animated hits such as The Princess and the Frog, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Monster House, before moving into production design on the stop-motion feature Coraline, which earned him an Annie Award nomination for his work on the film.
Appelhans’ other credits include story artist and illustrator on The Little Prince and character designer on Rise of the Guardians.
Appelhans studied illustration at the Art Center College of Design. He resides in Eagle Rock with his wife Maurene and their cat.
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All Lit Up! is a Lighthouse Studios production.
Visit lighthousestudios.ie or follow the studio on social media to stay up to date with all news and the latest episodes.
Instagram: @lighthousestudiosire
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighthousestudios

In Episode 7 of All Lit Up! we're talking with Candy Guard, creator of the iconic Pond Life. Find out what inspired Candy to move from fine art into animation, why she's inspired by female friendships, and how the transition to digital is really going for her. Plus - a hint at a menopausal Dolly? We can't wait for that!
In each episode of All Lit Up! we ask our guests to recommend a short film to our listeners. Candy's choice was....

Hen His Wife / His Wife is a Chicken
This 1990 Palme d'Or nominee for Best Short Film is from Igor Kovalyov and is about the relationship between a married couple, which shatters when a visitor reveals to the husband that his wife is secretly a hen.
Watch Hen His Wife here!

Candy Guard
Writer, author, animator and director Candy Guard began her career with short animated films for Channel 4, the BBC and MTV - 'Alternative Fringe' (1988) 'Fatty Issues' (1988) 'Fantastic Person' (1990) and many others.
Candy then created, wrote and directed 20 episodes of the cult animated series for Channel 4, 'Pond Life', overseeing 20 animators. She had a long running strip cartoon in the Observer magazine called P.T.O and her first novel 'Just A Little Disco on an Open-Top Bus.' was published by Penguin in 2006. Between 2012 and 20015 Macmillan published her series of books for 8 - 12-year olds, 'Turning to Jelly', 'Jelly Has a Wobble' and 'Jelly Breaks the Mould.'
Candy was given a grant by the BFI in 2022 as part of their Short Form Animation Fund to make her film, 'She's My Best Friend (And I Hate Her)'. She was dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century and managed to learn the animation programme, TV Paint, in order to make her film (with the help of a wonderful little crew).
Learning TV Paint, and the sound recording programme, Audacity, allowed Candy to get back to what she did at the start of her career - making short animations in a simple style doing all the production herself, including the voices, except now on a Wacom Cintiq instead of paper!
Candy has a YouTube Channel, 'Dolly Pond - Fantastic Lifestyle Channel', where you can watch all her work including her new mini films.
Candy is currently writing her 4th Novel, 'The Butchers and The Bakers.' She lives in South East London with her husband the animation director and illustrator Robin Shaw and their rescue dog, Bernie.
Find Dolly Pond's Fantastic Lifestyle YouTube Channel here!
Find Candy on Instagram here!

All Lit Up! is a Lighthouse Studios production.
Follow the studio on social media to stay up to date with all news and the latest episodes.

Instagram: @lighthousestudiosire
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lighthousestudios