The Gruffalo is a 2009 British-German short computer animated TV film based on the 1999 picture book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.
Directed by Jakob Schuh and Max Lang, the film was produced by Michael Rose and Martin Pope of Magic Light Pictures, London, and Orange Eyes Limited, in association with the award-winning Studio Soi in Ludwigsburg, Germany, who developed and created the film.
The cast includes Helena Bonham Carter, Rob Brydon, Robbie Coltrane, James Corden, John Hurt and Tom Wilkinson.
9.8 million people watched the UK premiere on BBC One, Friday 25 December 2009 and the film went on to receive nominations for both an Academy Award and a BAFTA. It was screened in US theaters, distributed by Kidtoon Films. In December 2012, the film and its sequel The Gruffalo's Child premiered on television in the United States on PBS Kids Sprout.