The Animated Art of Amy Winfrey

Imagine you're a professor, and you teach art. If a student said, "I want to do a project about muffins for my thesis," would you agree to it? Whether or not you would, that's exactly what Amy Winfrey did for her MFA thesis.

The result is currently available at Muffin Films, and consists of 12 different short films about muffins. The menu is designed to look exactly like a muffin tin, with each "episode" displayed as a different muffin.

Episode 1 is entitled "HUNGRY!" and shows a young girl with glasses attempting to eat a delicious-looking muffin. Not all is as it appears, however. Watch the episode to see the outcome!

The episodes vary widely in animation style; episode 5, for example, is done in stop-motion, and is entitled "Muffinesque." This particular short takes the viewer inside an oven, and shows what really takes place as one bakes muffins. Episode 4, "Pssst...," is a very simply drawn, two-dimensional cartoon (which somehow makes it all the more hilarious).

Hello, Crunchy Children!

"Muffin Films" is far from Winfrey's only creation. She is also the mastermind behind "Big Bunny," a slightly more adult-oriented animation series. "Big Bunny" revolves around a group of three children, named Sam, Lulu, and Suzy, who go wandering in the woods and encounter...you guessed it...Big Bunny! The aforementioned bunny is a large, pink rabbit who enjoys telling parables to the young children. However, like Grimm's Fairy Tales and 1001 Arabian Nights before them, Big Bunny's tales often have morbid and unsettling twists.

Of all the characters, adult viewers may find Suzy the most amusing, for her cynical sense of humor, and astute observation that her friends seem to lack. Episode 3, in fact, is entitled "Suzy," and has won an award for its clever narrative and hilarious animation.

Most recently, Winfrey is responsible for the creation of "Making Fiends," another animated classic featuring two young girls named Charlotte and Vendetta. Charlotte, the "new girl in town," appears very naive and immature, in stark contrast to the stereotypically "evil" Vendetta. Vendetta, as you may have guessed, is the one responsible for making the "fiends" of the series' title. In some respects, the cartoons are reminiscent of Tim Burton's beloved animated work, especially The Nightmare Before Christmas and Stainboy.

Though the earlier episodes are available online, Nickelodeon picked up the series in October of 2008, and it continues to have success. The character of Charlotte is much like Sam and Lulu in "Big Bunny," in that she is completely oblivious and optimistic, practically 100% of the time. This, of course, makes her the perfect antagonist to Vendetta.

Tributes and Other Fun

On the homepage for "Big Bunny," Winfrey features some amazing tributes done by fans of the series. Among them is an expertly crafted Halloween costume, with a practically identical likeness to the large pink rabbit.

Winfrey's site also features a "gift shop," with DVDs of "Making Fiends" (the Web episodes); a softcover book entitled The Muffin Tree, based on an episode of "Muffin Films"; and a Big Bunny DVD. The DVDs range in price from $10-13, while the book is also available for $13.

In addition, Winfrey offers t-shirts for $15 based on "Muffin Films" and "Big Bunny." The shirt design is so cool, it will have your friends saying, "Awesome...what is that?" It seems that's exactly the point.

For all you kids and adults with a warped, twisted sense of humor and a love for muffins and large pink bunnies, stop by Amy Winfrey's site and press "Play." There's a whole world waiting to be discovered.