Animating King Arthur

Danny Stack speaks to scriptwriter Paul Parkes

Paul Parkes writes mainly for animation and is best known for creating and writing CiTV’s worldwide hit, King Arthur’s Disasters. The show, a lively tongue-in-cheek take on Arthurian legend, stars the comic talents of Rik Mayall, Phil Cornwell, Matt Lucas and Morwenna Banks. As well as writing for Funky Fables (CBBC) and Skatoony (Cartoon Network), Paul is busy developing another original idea of his own, this time moving into live-action territory. So how did this IT engineer from the Midlands become one of the most successful writers in the country?

Danny Stack: How difficult was it in the early stages of your career?

Paul Parkes: Difficult doesn’t even begin to describe it! I found it almost impossible and lost count of the number of times I thought of giving up. But the dangling carrot kept me going; you know the mindset that you can slip into, the one where you convince yourself that the next letter won’t be yet another rejection.

Did you specifically target animation and scriptwriting or did you have plans just to write whatever you could get your hands on?

Animation came in a roundabout kind of way. For a time, I worked for an animation company based in the Midlands. In fact, I began work there as one of the IT engineers but, during a particularly bad day when nothing was working (my loathing of computers hasn’t lessened), I approached the managing director and asked if I could show him some of my work. Thankfully, he liked my stuff and within a couple of weeks, I moved from IT to their scriptwriting department.

What were your favourite animation shows growing up?

My favourite animation shows are the ones I still tune in to watch. I adore Wil E Coyote and Roadrunner. Although it’s basically the same gag time after time, it somehow remains fresh and really funny. I wish I could do that! I love all the Looney Tunes characters: Tweety Pie, Sylvester, Daffy Duck. I could go on, but I’d probably bore you!

How did the idea for King Arthur’s Disasters come about?

I’ve always loved the Arthurian legend; I find the story so beguiling, so enchanting. One of my favourite places is St Ives in Cornwall. I go there for long weekends whenever I can. It was during one of these long weekends in 2001 that I hit upon the idea of Arthur being completed besotted with Guinevere to the extent that it clouds his judgement and common sense. I scribbled down the idea and completely forgot about it until the following year, when I found it stuffed at the back of a drawer. I then started work on the pilot, The Parchment of Arusella.

Tell us a bit about the development process. For example, did you develop it yourself before you pitched it to someone ? Did the commission happen quite quickly? Did you get a lot of notes/suggestions to change key details?

At the time, I didn’t have an agent. Most of them wouldn’t even return my calls, so I did all of the donkey work myself – knocking on doors, badgering networks, ringing people. The bible (with some wonderful illustrations by Will Ashurst) and pilot were ready by the autumn of 2002 and I started pitching in the November.

Most of the replies were the usual “Thanks, but...” You know the sort: “Thanks, but it’s aimed too much at boys”, “Thanks, but it’s not what we’re looking for”. I remember someone suggesting at one point that I introduced an educational element! The series was finally picked up in October 2003, so I suppose that’s pretty quick. Although the original designs changed considerably after the series was commissioned, the majority of the series remained unaltered.

It’s turned into a huge success, much loved by kids and adults alike.

Thanks, I’m really pleased with it. I’ve had emails from university students saying that it’s one of the shows they actually make a point of watching, and a boy in Portugal recently got in touch telling me that it was one of his Dad’s favourite shows! I hear there’s even a KAD network on Facebook!

How do you approach the humour and the tone of the scripts? Do you just think “I’m going to have fun”?

About 85-90% of what I write gets to the screen. I’m not sure if that’s a good percentage but I try writing the humour that I find appealing; humour that speaks to me, although I very rarely make myself laugh. I basically just have fun.

As creator and writer, did you get involved in all aspects of the production, like the casting, voice-records, storyboarding etc?

I was involved in the casting and voice recordings. Rik Mayall is a comedy legend; meeting him was awesome. I never dreamt people like Rik Mayall, Matt Lucas, Morwenna Banks and Phil Cornwell would eventually be involved.

How much did King Arthur’s success open the door for other opportunities?

Well, for one thing, agents started returning my calls. And freelance work has really opened up too, so I consider myself to be very, very lucky.

On paper, it sounds like the ideal career and success story, but surely there have been plenty of the typical rejections and frustrations along the way?

I had hundreds. Destroying my rejection slips helped because hanging onto them reinforced my feelings of rejection. But at the time, the one thing that kept me going was my conviction that Arthur was unlike anything else on TV. And I guess that was also his Achilles heel because nobody wanted to take a risk on something that was so new and different from an unknown writer. I quickly learned that rejections were a way of life. I still get them. Arthur is by no means a guarantee that any one of my new projects will be picked up.

The ban on junk food adverts for children’s telly had a huge impact on whether homegrown shows can get off the ground. Apart from the industry-wide impact this has had, how much did this affect you personally with your projects?

It’s certainly had a knock-on effect. I don’t think Arthur would be picked up today, given the current climate. There seems to be more emphasis on co-productions now, which is bound to dilute the original concept somewhat.

What’s your writing process and routine like?

I’ve built a structured routine. I find this important when working from home because there can be so many distractions. I’m at my desk by 9.30am at the very latest, working til about 1, break for lunch, then start again at 1.30pm, finishing at about 5.30.

“Writing is Rewriting” – never a truer word spoken?

You’ve got that right! The hardest thing for me is filling a blank page. The fun part is going back and rewriting, tweaking polishing and sometimes scrapping the whole thing and starting again .(Although, when that happens, I sometimes have to lie down in a dark room for a few hours, thinking calming, happy thoughts)

What tips would you give to writers who are keen to write for animation?

Writing for animation can be great fun, rewarding and often well paid. I have a fantastic time. But it is a very competitive, tight circle. Work is passed through word of mouth; perhaps an animator knows a writer who worked on this for that etc. The best bit of advice I can give is to get into that circle. Push your way in if you have to.

What’s the one thing you wished you knew when you were starting out?

You need the heart of a poet and the hide of a rhinoceros.

What can you tell us about your latest project? It’s a live-action series, I believe?

I’m afraid I can’t tell you a great deal because it’s very much under wraps. But yes, Tom, Dick And Harry is my first live-action series, and I’m hoping we’ll be starting the scripting process within the next few weeks. We’re also hoping to reunite the King Arthur cast .

Are you interested in other genres – TV drama, series, live-action feature films?

I’d love to write for other genres. I have quite an ambitious idea for a feature film, which my agent is helping me push. I’m also developing an off-beat drama series and a new animation, so I’m trying to juggle that with freelance work.

Would you like to direct?

Funny you should ask. I might be heading to San Francisco later this year to direct an animated feature that I’m also co-writing – Time Piglets.

So what’s next for you?

I’m very much looking forward to writing Tom, Dick And Harry, which I hope we’ll be starting soon. I’d also like to continue with my freelance work and develop my drama series. But then, who knows? It seems to be a winding road.

This article first appeared in the Guild's magazine, UK Writer (Summer 2008)