Gnarrgutts Animated Series
Gnarrgutts is the debut release from Effective Brushwork, an independent side-project I run with artist Peter Denton. Peter was inspired to create the series after a vivid, genuinely unsettling dream, a demon-like creature trying to get him, and felt compelled to redraw it. That creature became Gnarrgutts: an offbeat "crudin" who doesn't fit in with the rest of his unimaginative world, teased by the other crudins for being different. He spends his days instead with Meme, a tiny but confident companion, and together they explore new places, uncover mysteries, and work through challenges with curiosity and creativity.
Peter and I have always had a good collaborative energy, a shared love of music, animation, and storytelling, and that came through in how organically the universe came together: Peter Chase wrote the story, Vishnu M. Nair illustrated it, BlinkMyBrain handled animation, Nils Erickson composed the score, and Charles Maynes built out the sound design. Tommy O'Brien, currently starring in NBC's Line of Fire, voices Gnarrgutts, Sophi Alexis voices Meme, and Gene Kelley voices the mystical Unum.
The series unfolds across five episodes. In "Snide & Seek," Gnarrgutts searches for something only he seems to value while the crudins won't leave him alone, and Meme steps in to help. "A Distant Meme-ry" flashes back to the moment Gnarrgutts and Meme first met, questioning whether it was coincidence or something more. In "Twinkle, Twinkle," the pair stumble on half-buried lockers and have to agree on how to get inside. "Curiouser and Curiouser" follows what they find once they do: a surprisingly powerful treasure, and a cat with a surprise of its own. And in "Trust Your Gutts," the mystical Unum descends on the pair with a bold proclamation that may be prophecy or nonsense, raising one more mystery: who is Judy?
Credits
John Caponi / Co-Creator, Director
Peter Denton / Co-Creator, Original Concept
Peter Chase / Story
Vishnu M. Nair / Illustration
BlinkMyBrain / Animation
Nils Erickson / Musical Score
Charles Maynes / Sound Design
Tommy O'Brien / Voice of Gnarrgutts
Sophi Alexis / Voice of Meme
Gene Kelley / Voice of Unum
