Merry Christmas, Earthlings! in Development from Anderson Entertainment & Space Age Films

Anderson Entertainment and Space Age Films have joined forces to develop the animated feature film Merry Christmas, Earthlings!, based on a story devised by Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson. 

Originally developed and written as A Christmas Miracle by Gerry in 2006, Merry Christmas, Earthlings! centres on the unlikely friendship formed between a young boy and an alien being, who bond over their shared quest to discover whether Father Christmas is real. The film blends intimate, character-driven adventure with Gerry Anderson's trademark style of fantastic spectacle and jeopardy. 

“My father wrote this story at a moment when he was thinking a lot about family, belief and what we pass on to the next generation. I always felt there was something special about it, but it needed the right partner and the right moment,” said Jamie Anderson, Managing Director of Anderson Entertainment.

Space Age Films, whose credits include the Stephen Fry-led animated feature The Canterville Ghost, the Hugh Laurie-led The Amazing Maurice, and is currently producing Viqueens starring Rita Ora and Ella Purnell, is led by award-winning producer Robert Chandler.

"Gerry Anderson shaped the imagination of generations. For many of us, it began in the 1960s with Stingray and Thunderbirds, then evolved through Captain Scarlet and the live-action series UFO and Space: 1999. For a second generation, everything reignited when Thunderbirds was digitized and rebroadcast in the mid-1990s, sparking a global revival and a new wave of fans. For a third, the legacy continued with Thunderbirds Are Go!, released in the 2000s,” Chandler stated in the announcement.

“What unites all of these audiences over the years is the power of Gerry Anderson’s vision — his creativity and fearless storytelling in making shows that were high-stakes and exciting, carried big philosophical ideas, and were far ahead of their time. He is our Walt Disney and Irwin Allen rolled into one.”

“For Anderson Entertainment, this needed to be approached as a contemporary animated film with real emotional weight rather than as a heritage project. Space Age Films, and Robert specifically, understood both sides of that challenge,” Jamie Anderson continued. “Robert’s hit children’s series, The Deep, has Andersonian qualities, plus he made the incredibly moving live-action Christmas film, A Christmas Number One. He was also the creative producer on The Amazing Maurice, one of the finest independent animated features made in the past decade. When I discovered he was also a fan of my father’s work, I knew we had found the right partner.”

Award-winning writers Keiron Self and Giles New have been tasked with adapting the story into a feature-length screenplay. Between them, their credits include The Amazing Maurice, Shaun the Sheep, Angry Kid, Dennis & Gnasher, and That Mitchell and Webb Look. Self and New bring a modern sensibility to Gerry's adventurously heartfelt story. 

Merry Christmas, Earthlings! will be introduced as part of the European Film Market's UK animation spotlight at the Berlin International Film Festival's Animation Days. This year's festival takes place between the 12th and 22nd of February. 

Merry Christmas, Earthlings! is the latest chapter in Anderson Entertainment's ongoing mission to expand and celebrate Gerry Anderson's legacy of adventurous and ground-breaking storytelling that boasts an endearingly universal appeal.

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