Mildred and the Copycat: The Brilliant Kids’ Story About Art, Credit and Creativity

This is for kids, but I am going to feature it quite unashamedly as it tells such a cool story!  Based on the children’s book Mildred and the Copycat by Jono Ganz (and published by Tate in the UK), it tells the story of a cat called Mildred (you guessed it).  She isn’t seen much in the day as she spends her time napping, but at night, when the gallery in which she lives closes, she comes to artistic life.  The gallery (and its visitors) witness a new masterpiece each day.  However, one day a dog called Barksy inadvertently gets given the credit for these works of art and… just goes with the flow, really.

A furious Mildred becomes determined to expose the copycat.  How will she go about doing this?  Well, you will have to watch the animated short below to find out.  It is narrated by David Rintoul, who you might know from his TV role of Aerys II Targaryen (The Mad King) in Game of Thrones or perhaps from the RuneScape video game as Zaros.  The original author, Jono Gonz, created the script and directed the short, while animation is by Wolf Horn (great name, whether that’s a studio but particularly if it’s a person).  This is Mildred's second adventure and both books are published by Tate and available at its shop.

Tate Kids does some great videos about art, and this one is no exception.  This animation also has one of the best one-liners I have come across for a while – delivered by a middle-class lady as she exits the gallery (I can’t give the game away, it’s too good).  Watch Mildred and the Copycat below and see whether Mildred manages to reclaim credit for her art.