Poor Little Francis

Team Smithereen star and stunt puppet Brave Little Francis reacts to another stunt gone horribly wrong.

Whoop on Fire

Team Smithereen puppet builder Mark Villalobos blasts stunt puppet Whoop with fire. The Team Smithereen crew are trained professionals, do not try this at home.

Smithereen Stunt Vehicle

This off road remote control car chaise capable of traveling 70 miles per hour was used to create a variety of Team Smithereen stunt vehicles, thanks to Brandon Minton and Lisa Coto in the innovative props department.

Photo from the Workshop: 10/28/08

In this photo from the puppet workshop, Team Smithereen puppet builder Mark Villalobos readies Stunt Pig for the shoot.

Thrill Kat, Old and New

The original pitch puppets for Team Smithereen looked a bit different from the final versions. This photo shows the old Thrill Kat and the new Thrill Kat sculpt.

Mooooooo

One of the early episodes of Team Smithereen was shot on location at a California dairy farm. In this shot an award winning dairy cow gets ready for her close up.

Smithereen Photo from the Set: 10/27/08

Starting today, the Team Smithereen Blog will be featuring daily photos from the set, giving you an exclusive peek into the Team Smithereen shoot. In this Team Smithereen photo from the Set, director Dan Clark composes a shot with Thrill Kat, Brave Little Francis, and Whoop. The stunt puppets are being performed by Team Smithereen puppeteers, Patrick Johnson and Russ Walko.

Team Smithereen Sculpts

The puppets for Team Smithereen were sculpted by character designer Dave Pressler . This photo shows Whoop, Thrill Kat and Brave Little Francis in the rough sculpt form.

Television Toss

In this early Team Smithereen concept sketch by charector designer Dave Pressler stunt puppet Brave Little Frances tries to catch falling televisions.

Team Smithereen Logos

The Team Smithereen logo went though many changes before the final design was chosen. These are some of the early Team Smithereen logos designed by Patrick Johnson.

Test Explosion

The extreme puppet stunts in Team Smithereen require a large amount of R and D. In this video the props department is using liquid nitrogen to create a watery explosion. The Team Smithereen crew are all trained professionals, please do not try this at home.

Team Smithereen Concept Art

In this Team Smithereen concept drawing by Dave Pressler, Thrill Kat is perched high atop one of his many stunt vehicles.

Smithereen Bio: Dan Clark

Team Smithereen creator Dan Clark sets up a shot at the Team Smithereen house, nesteled in the Hollywood hills.

Dan Clark is a writer/producer/director and series creator, he's also the creative spark behind the company that sports his name: The Dan Clark Company. Dan Clark and his producing partner Don Asher and artist Dave Pressler formed the company as an idea incubator where writing, design and new weird stuff could come together to form a more complete project development process.

As a storyteller Dan Clark excels in a variety of genres. He just wrapped writing and story editing the super cool preschool series Yo Gabba Gabba for The Magic Store, W!ldbrain and Nick JR. The Dan Clark Company is currently developing the animated adventure sci-fi series Smash Show with W!ldbrain for Disney, and the live action teen monster show, Crypto Tapes with the Wolper organization for Cartoon Network.

Dan Clark and the Dan Clark Company have created an eclectic mix of creative projects including: the sci-fi fantasy series Brats of the Lost Nebula (with The Jim Henson Company) for Warner Bros., the Emmy Award winning preschool adventure The Save-Ums!, the soon to be released Einstein Pals for the Walt Disney Company, the live action Ninja Turtles for FOX KIDS, the adult gay puppet comedy Playing With Dolls, and the blood-drenched indie romp, The Item.

Dan Clark wrote and directed the first digital feature to premiere in Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival - the film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize, and he was nominated for a Sombody To Watch Independent Spirit Award for his work on The Item. Dan Clark also received the George Foster Peabody Broadcasting Award for a kids PSA campaign for Fox Kids.

Now Dan Clark and the Dan Clark Company are using innovative foam latex puppets, Hi-Definition green screen compositing, and cutting edge computer animation to bring Team Smithereen to life. Team Smithereen is set to debut early in 2009.

Meet the Stars of Team Smithereen

Meet the stars of Team Smithereen! From left to right, Brave Little Francis, Whoop, Thrill Kat, and Stunt Pig. For this this group of fearless puppet stunt professionals no stunt is too dangerous, no stunt is too extreme, and no stunt goes as planned.

Team Smithereen is the creation of Dan Clark and the Dan Clark Company in partnership with W!ldbrain and Jetix. Team Smithereen is set to debut early 2009, in the mean time check out the Team Smithereen blog for exclusive behind the scenes photos, and videos, and information.

Offical Team Smithereen Press Release

Jetix Europe teams with W!LDBRAIN on first short-form programme for its new-look websites

Amsterdam, The Netherlands and London, UK – Jetix Europe N.V. (AMEX: JETIX; Reuters: JETIX.AS; Bloomberg: JETIX.NA), today announced that it is teaming up with W!LDBRAIN, the award-winning entertainment company, on a new short-form series that will premiere on its websites across Europe in early 2009. The move follows Jetix’ recently announced plans to overhaul its websites with new and improved navigation and functionality, including interactive VOD players.

W!LDBRAIN’s Team Smithereen will be the first new short-form series that Jetix will debut in Europe as an exclusive premiere on its websites. Kids across Europe will be able to access this new short-form content whenever they want online with new episodes being regularly updated on the Jetix sites in Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, France, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Hungary and Poland.

The slap-stick Team Smithereen is produced by W!LDBRAIN, the acclaimed company that develops and produces television, motion pictures, commercial content and licensed merchandise. The series is created by The Dan Clark Company, whose creative group specialises in puppetry and effects driven content for television. The 26x2 shorts follows a hapless team of puppet stuntmen who, more often than not, get into trouble on some of their death-defying feats. Team Smithereen shorts will debut exclusively on the new-look Jetix websites beginning early 2009.

Marc Buhaj, Senior Vice President Programming, Jetix Europe, says: “We want to offer kids the chance to enjoy original Jetix content wherever they are and developing a fuller digital offering is key to this. The short-form focus will be on comedy and creating characters that will have strong word-of-mouth and viral appeal. With this in mind Team Smithereen was the perfect series for us to launch our new online shorts strategy. It features the world's first vinyl puppet stunt team. These are four of the wildest, most wide-eyed, thrill-seeking, adrenaline junkies you'll ever see. It’s Jackass with vinyl puppets and we’re certain that Jetix kids across Europe – and probably some adults too - are going to love the crazy, unstoppable crew who are Team Smithereen.”

Bob Higgins, Head of Creative, W!LDBRAIN, says: “Dan Clark is one of the most distinctive, creative talents that I have ever worked with. The Team Smithereen series is a perfect addition to W!LDBRAIN’s slate of diverse and original projects. The ‘slap-stunt’ concept and style pushes the boundaries of animation and brings to life a world of vinyl-latex characters doing off-the-wall stunts that will have you on the edge of your seat. With Jetix offering a compelling online destination for the Team Smithereen series and our all-star creative team bringing their original sensibility to the process, the brand has the potential to become a multi-million dollar franchise that will transcend its online roots.”

Dan Clark of The Dan Clark Company, says: “W!LDBRAIN is hands down the most exciting company around. They do it all, animation, live action, the web, and broadcast. Along with my partners, producer Don Asher and character designer Dave Pressler, I’m stoked to be making Team Smithereen with them. Team Smithereen is a first of it’s kind, it combines cutting edge puppet work with new CGI techniques to deliver a crazy stunt-packed comedy featuring fresh mayhem and a collection of weirdly wonderful characters. Working with Jetix Europe on this series of shorts is a joy for our creative group, they are the perfect company to unleash Team Smithereen on a world hungry for off-the-hook physical comedy and spectacle!”