As their founder, 78-year-old Marguerite “Maggie” Thorne, once said: “Animation isn’t about moving drawings. It’s about holding still long enough to remember what moves us.”
Granny Animation Studio operates on a “slow animation” model. Teams are small (never more than 25 artists per project), deadlines are flexible, and every frame is reviewed by at least two senior animators who have been with the studio for over a decade. They refuse to use AI-generated in-betweens, insisting that even a single off-model drawing carries emotional weight. granny animation studio
Their studio in the Scottish Highlands is deliberately analog: light tables, peg bars, paint-mixing stations, and a kitchen that bakes fresh shortbread every morning. Employees are encouraged to bring their children—or their own grandparents—to work. They refuse to use AI-generated in-betweens, insisting that
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Granny’s aesthetic is instantly recognizable: soft, watercolor-like backgrounds, slightly imperfect character lines that evoke the charm of a sketchbook, and a deliberate warmth in every frame. Unlike the pixel-perfect polish of major studios, Granny Animation embraces the “visible human touch”—where you can almost feel the artist’s hand moving the pencil. Their characters often have round, kind faces, knitted sweaters, and spectacles perched on noses, reflecting the archetypal “granny” figure: wise, patient, and quietly mischievous.
Their breakout short, “The Last Jar of Raspberry Jam,” won the Annecy Grand Prix in 2021. The 12-minute film, with no dialogue, follows an elderly woman teaching her granddaughter how to preserve fruit as autumn arrives. The final shot—a single drop of jam falling on a faded recipe card—left audiences weeping.
While mainstream animation chases younger demographics, Granny Animation has found a passionate audience among adults aged 30–60, as well as therapists, hospice workers, and early childhood educators. Their films are used in art therapy sessions and grief counseling. Critics have called their work “the antidote to algorithmic storytelling.”