Lily Dell brings her expertise to G&G's penguin world - The Recycler

Lily Dell brings her expertise to G&G’s penguin world

March 15, 2023

Lily Dell, a former animator for Disney, has lent her talents to invigorate the G&G brand with a set of new penguin mascots.

With a career spanning Disney sequels including The Lion King, Cinderella, Jungle Book, Brother Bear, and Lilo & Stitch, Dell has created a short film showcasing her new characters for G&G.

“Sharing the story of Emperor Penguin, Greg and Grace has been a lot of fun,” Dell said. Here, she revealed her perceptions on designing the G&G penguin mascots:

Have you had a blast creating these characters and stories?

This has been a delightful experience! I am so pleased and proud to work with the G&G team to create these stories. Their enthusiasm, sense of responsibility and delight inspires me.

Why do you reckon G&G handpicked penguins to be the stars of their storytelling show?

Everyone loves penguins. They are cute and attractive and lend themselves well to animation. They are loyal. They also symbolize our need to care for the environment.

I reflected on some of the key attributes of penguins. The G&G team advised me that they chose a penguin as a mascot almost 20 years ago for eight key characteristics. These include their loyalty, intelligence, friendliness, eye for detail, and as a symbol of the environment.

Can you explain the process by which an animator creates the characters they draw, and could you provide a breakdown of the distinct traits that define each of the G&G penguins?

The challenge I face is to bring these key attributes of penguins into the characters I develop on screen.

How was I going to respect the heritage of those 20 years while creating something entertaining? I needed to convey the energy, the passion, and the will to thrive at G&G.

So, I have bundled these key penguin attributes into each of the three penguins featured in my short film. I started by drawing each character wearing different things, in a range of poses, expressing different actions and emotions.

Each penguin had to be unique:

Emperor Penguin: Emperor penguin is all-knowing, all-wise, calm, mature, generous and compassionate.
Grace: Grace knows what she wants. She is self-assured and perhaps a little bossy. She is also very sweet and romantic.
Greg: Greg wears his heart on his sleeve. He adores Grace and will do anything to make her happy. He is active and capable, but sometimes gets muddled by the changing world of technology.

G&G plans to share more insights from Lily Dell on the animation process and development of their iconic penguin characters.

G&G’s executives first chose the emperor penguin to represent their brand in 2004 and have since incorporated penguins into their promotional and packaging materials. Their decision was inspired by a trip to Antarctica, where they observed how these intelligent and flightless birds overcame challenges akin to those faced by the imaging supplies industry. Additionally, caring for penguins has become a shared responsibility within the industry’s broader efforts to promote environmental conservation.