For the past few months I have been working on an animated short film I have written about an old man with an obsession for stargazing, titled 'The Telescope'. One thing that keeps on my mind as I’ve been creating the world the film is set in, is that this project is not just about this particular short film. It's about ‘The Telescope’ being the first step in establishing a viable NZ-based animation studio focused on producing well-executed, hand-crafted animated short films for an international audience.

Please support me on Patreon or through Paypal (tim@diddleysquatt.com as payee).
I would be most grateful for any donations, or if you think you can help in some other way please let me know!

All money raised will initially go towards pre-production and making a teaser length section of animation for help with further funding.
Be a part of our journey - whether it be from a very much appreciated donation, sharing the campaign with your friends network, or if there's some other way please get in touch.

To date (May 2026) I have successfully raised $15,000 from the arts crowdfunding platform Boosted. A recent application for a grant from the NZ Film Commission unfortunately has been declined, however this has made me more determined!
Thanks to an extremely kind and generous supporter, I now have use of a brand new and very flash beast of a computer- with the help of my very clever local computer guy it is now networked up with my older machine so I'll be able to work on one and render on the other. This will save me an awful lot of time...!
My aim is to complete this film by end of 2027 all going well.

My goal is for the success of 'The Telescope' to lead to DiddleySquatt Studios becoming a viable, fully self-sustaining producer of entertaining animated short films.

The story has been written, the storyboard has been drawn.
I have been modelling a number of original elements, characters and environments- I am purposely making everything unique to this film as my focus is on hand-crafted.
Over the last few weeks I have begun animating the opening sequence which, when is completed, I'm hoping will draw more interest.
In an ideal world I'd have a studio behind me making this, but at this moment in time it's just little ol' me.
In an ideal world I'll get a studio behind me.

I'm envisioning the target audience to be teenagers through to adults.
This is not being made as a children's cartoon.

Primarily I need financial assistance.
I also am open to help from 3d modellers/animators. At this point in time unfortunately there are no funds to employ anyone, so this would purely be on a voluntary basis.
Hopefully the success of this project will lead to future work, but obviously I cannot make any promises!

DiddleySquatt is Tim Hunt, an animator and illustrator with over 30 years experience in the creative industry. I have over 9 years experience as an animator working on children's TV shows for studios including Disney, Nickelodeon and Warner Bros. For the past 25 years I have storyboarded TV commercials for advertising agencies, illustrated children's books, and animated TVCs and corporate videos amongst other projects! I am currently working in collaboration with a well-renowned animation producer, as the success of DiddleySquatt Studios comes about from not only completing ‘The Telescope’ but getting it on the world stage. Successful funding will enable me to collaborate with other NZ animators and creatives, of which I have many contacts. My aim is to establish a team of efficient and effective creatives with a common goal.

Together lets make ‘The Telescope’ pave the way to establishing an internationally recognised NZ animation studio.