Former Winstanley College students have high hopes for animated comedy show

A creative team packed with Wigan talent looking to bring a new animated comedy show to the screen is searching for public help to make it a reality.
The team behind Big Fight 3, left to right, creator Adam Frith, pilot director James Lawson, writer Paul Reynolds and producer Aamir ShaikhThe team behind Big Fight 3, left to right, creator Adam Frith, pilot director James Lawson, writer Paul Reynolds and producer Aamir Shaikh
The team behind Big Fight 3, left to right, creator Adam Frith, pilot director James Lawson, writer Paul Reynolds and producer Aamir Shaikh

The creators of Big Fight 3 have launched a Kickstarter campaign to get their sci-fi themed show off the ground.

The project is the brainchild of borough residents and former Winstanley College students Adam Frith, James Lawson and Paul Reynolds, with Whelley-based producer Aamir Shaikh also now on board to oversee the show’s early stages.

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In a couple of months since coming up with the idea the group has made impressive progress, with no fewer than 11 Wiganers on board and some big industry names attached to the concept.

Big Fight 3Big Fight 3
Big Fight 3

The show is based around the premise that a team of astronauts heads for an alien planet and end up becoming embroiled in Big Fight 3, a kind of world war.

Aamir said: “This has literally gone from nothing to something within eight weeks. It didn’t exist two months ago. It has snowballed into something wonderful very quickly.

“It’s about the astronauts arriving and as a result a World War Three happens. They’ve already had Big Fight 1 and 2 and now there’s Big Fight 3, off on the other side of the galaxy.

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“It’s a comedy but it’s not like the children’s animations we’re used to here, it’s got more mature themes.

“It’s like The Simpsons, Futurama, Rick and Morty. Younger viewers might enjoy it but they won’t necessarily get everything that’s in it. We’re very excited to be creating something like this for adults because there aren’t many programmes like it made in the UK.”

As Big Fight 3 creator Adam and pilot episode director James went to Salford University the institution has thrown its full weight behind the show, with around 50 of its final-year animation students expected to work on the first programme.

The group have also managed to get Andrew Burrell, a writer for the show Disenchantment which is the brainchild of The Simpsons creator Matt Groening, on board while comedian Tom Stade is also attached to the project.

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The team is now looking for £25,000 from the generous public to push Big Fight 3 forward, with a four-figure sum already in the kitty.

The group hopes to set up a local studio to produce Big Fight 3 if it gets funded and picked up by a big media organisation to create jobs for writers, animators and other creative types from the borough and region looking to break into the industry.

Big Fight 3’s team will also be drumming up interest at local arts events, starting at the upcoming Wigan and Leigh Short Film Festival at The Old Courts next month.

The deadline for the Kickstarter funding project is December 14. Find out more or donate at www.kickstarter.com/projects/bigfight3/big-fight-3

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