Firestorm

A secret enemy. A team of specialists. Extraordinary machines operating above and below the ocean. Firestorm brings familiar Anderson ingredients into a world threatened by the organisation known as Black Orchid.

There are two distinct screen versions to explore. The 2003 Japanese animated series used a mixture of drawn characters and computer-generated vehicles. Anderson Entertainment later returned to the idea with a puppet production, releasing an Ultramarionation pilot minisode in 2018. The later film is a new interpretation, rather than an episode of the animated series.

The 2018 film is the best starting point for the Ultramarionation incarnation. In less than ten minutes, it introduces the urgency, miniature action and expressive puppets that the production team wanted to bring to Firestorm.

Watch the complete Firestorm minisode free on the official FirestormHQ channel. This is the full pilot presentation, rather than a trailer or one of the early puppet tests.

Created from an idea by Gerry Anderson and John Needham, the first Firestorm reached Japanese television in 2003. Its 26 episodes follow Storm Force 9 as it confronts Black Orchid and an alien threat. The team's submarine headquarters, Ocean Storm, supplies a platform for a range of specialist vehicles.

The animated production belongs to a different moment in Gerry's career from the later puppet revival. Its combination of international teamwork, covert operations and spectacular hardware provides the link between the two versions. Fanderson's guide documents the animated series and its episodes.

For the later production, Anderson Entertainment combined puppetry and animatronics with miniature sets and practical effects. Rods, wires and other controls let the performers choose the technique a particular shot required. Puppets could walk, run and react, while their facial movements helped carry the drama.

Digital tools supported the filmmaking, but the physical model work remained central. Light falls on a real set; an explosion occupies real space; several puppeteers work together to give a small figure a convincing performance. The result looks back to the craft of Supermarionation while exploring what newer controls and production methods can add.

Jamie Anderson produced the minisode, with Steve Begg directing and supervising visual effects. Richard Gregory was production designer, Mike Tucker supervised model effects and Peter Tyler was director of photography. Mackinnon and Saunders built the puppets, with a performance team led by Andrew James Spooner.

The production brought together artists with connections to Terrahawks, Dick Spanner, Space Precinct and other screen worlds. In the studio, Sam Scott, Nagisa Kisaragi and Commander Drew McAllister became a practical test of what this new approach could achieve.

Read the contemporary report from the Firestorm set for photographs of the puppets, sets and crew at work. It records the production as it was being made in 2016.

The minisode was supported by Kickstarter backers and premiered at MCM Comic Con London in October 2018. It was made as a short proof of concept, condensing a longer story and demonstrating the production approach.

The 2018 puppet film and the 2003 animated series should therefore be approached separately. This hub celebrates the work that can be explored today: the completed minisode, its production history and the earlier animated incarnation.