By: Amanda Drum

Netflix’s Emmy Award-winning original series “Sweet Tooth” spotlights a society of animal-human hybrids surviving a post-apocalyptic landscape, complete with photoreal visual effects out of Zoic Studios. One supporting character won the hearts of humans and hybrids alike: Bobby, the furry gopher-hybrid companion to Wendy and chatty puppet-turned-pal. Watch the before-and-after VFX reel to see Bobby come to life in all his fashionable glory:

The character was filmed practically as an intricate animatronic, with Zoic amplifying the on-screen puppet with carefully crafted VFX to augment the character’s realism, as well as crafting full CG digital doubles for some of the character’s more action-packed sequences.

From CG tigers and elephants to sweeping set extensions depicting the dilapidated city at the backdrop of the story, Zoic crafted nearly 1,000 VFX shots for the debut season. The studio met the demanding range of VFX needs for this series by leveraging their real-time filmmaking capabilities, utilizing an LED wall to create real-time virtual backgrounds that allowed for an unprecedented level of visual interaction on set as well as heightened safety initiatives.

In 2022, Sweet Tooth garnered multiple Children’s & Family Emmy Awards in Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for a Live Action Program and Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Preschool, Children’s or Young Teen Program, as well as five nominations, including for Outstanding Visual Effects for a Live Action Program and Outstanding Special Effects Costumes, Hair and Makeup. The program has earned additional accolades including an Australian Production Design Guild Award, Golden Tomato Award, Leo Award, New Zealand Cinematographers Society Award, and many more.