A Fox In Space is a fan-made science fiction animated series based on the Star Fox video game series created by Nintendo. It is written, animated, and edited by artist Matthew Gafford, also known as "Fredryk Phox".
Contents
Development
Unlike most internet cartoons, A Fox In Space is produced in a classic animation style similar to cel animation. By contrast, most internet cartoons produced in Adobe Flash rely on "motion-tweening".
An avid Star Fox fan, Gafford developed the series in response to a lack of television or theatrical adaptation to the video game series. Early iterations of A Fox In Space were developed by Gafford in 2011 as one-minute animated shorts created on Adobe Flash under the moniker Star Fox: The Animated Series. The name was later changed to avoid IP violations toward the Star Fox brand. These shorts were mainly animation tests or scenes depicting a glimpse into what an animated series based on Star Fox would look like. Production on full-length episodes of the webseries began in 2015.
A Fox In Space also parodises many elements of the Star Fox franchise and its fandom. The first episode "Don't Call Me Star Fox" satirises many fan rumours surrounding the original game's main character, Fox McCloud. Each episode also begins with a "Previously..." segment which gives a brief overview of already familiar story elements from the video games, before beginning the episode's own story.
Primary
Fox McCloud: Leader of the Star Fox crew, known for his all-around leadership abilities and ties to his father James McCloud.
Falco Lombardi: The mechanic of the crew. Falco has a strong New York accent and is a loyal friend to Fox and the rest of the crew. He may not be the brightest of the crew, but he is regarded as one of the best pilots in Star Fox.
Peppy Hare: The oldest member of the crew, Peppy used to work side by side with James McCloud. Now he works alongside the Star Fox crew and usually acts as the responsible character.
Slippy Toad: Although he may not be the best in combat, Slippy is extremely keen for computer tech, and is known to be Info Tech guru of the Star Fox crew.
Andross: The main antagonist who is out to get Fox McCloud, for reasons unknown.
Wolf O'Donnell: Fox's rival and one of the main antagonists of the series, known for being one of the toughest pilots from Academy according to Fox. Although he has a somewhat lighthearted attitude, Wolf works for Andross and has no problem committing crimes for money.
Secondary
James McCloud: Fox's father. Protagonist of episode 2.
General Pepper: Commander of Star Fleet
Episode 1 - "Don't Call Me Star Fox"
Fox McCloud has been captured by a group of Venomian soldiers led by Wolf O'Donnell, and is taken to the neutral Sargasso Space Station as per orders from Andross.
Episode 2 - "Fixing A Hole"
James McCloud, Peppy Hare, and Pigma Dengar are sent on a dangerous mission to Venom in this flashback episode.
Main Characters
Supporting Characters
Music
The music of A Fox In Space combines bebop-esque jazz themes with 1970s and 1980s lo-fi and progressive tunes. The music was created by Matthew Gafford and Stuart Bartlett, while the sound effects were handled by Gafford and Ion Mironov.
Reception
Articles from many online sources, such as The A.V. Club, praise A Fox In Space due to its unique animated style. The A.V. Club described "A Fox in Space" as "beautifully drawn," "well-voiced" and "well-written, with a wry sense of humor."
The show has received many positive comments on YouTube, where it first aired, in which most of them expressed a high demand for the creator to continue the series. By the time of July 2016, the pilot episode itself has reached over one million views.
Gafford, Matthew. "A Fox in Space - S01E01 - "Don't Call Me Star Fox" [1080p]." YouTube. YouTube, 25 Apr. 2016. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
Gafford, Matthew. "A Fox in Space - [CLIP] - "I Made a Mistake"" YouTube. YouTube, 20 Oct. 2016. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
Gafford, Matthew. "A Fox in Space - [CLIP] - "You Owe Me One"" YouTube. YouTube, 09 Sept. 2016. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
Matthew Gafford's Youtube Profile
A Fox in Space OST - "Opening Credits #2"