They say “write what you know,” and veteran animator and filmmaker Uli Meyer is doing just that. Meyer — an animation legend whose credits include Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Space Jam, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, and Genndy Tartakovsky’s upcoming adult animated feature Fixed — has just wrapped filming on a teaser for Tricky, a new live-action/animation hybrid feature he’s currently developing. The film is described as a loving and chaotic tribute to the cereal mascots that dominated Saturday morning television in the 1990s.
Drawing inspiration from his early career commercial work (several examples below), Meyer’s latest project blends hand-crafted animation with modern themes of AI, nostalgia, and the cost of digital memory.
“In the 90s, we made these wild, colorful cereal commercials that aired between cartoons — and then they just disappeared,” Meyer tells Cartoon Brew. “A few months ago, I found some of our old footage and started sharing it online. The response was overwhelming. People remembered these characters vividly — it brought back their childhood. That’s when I knew Tricky had to happen.”
Instead of waiting for unlikely permission from cereal manufacturers to use the original characters, Meyer invented his own mascots and built an original world around them.
Set in the 1990s, Tricky begins in a London animation studio run by a husband-and-wife team famous for creating beloved cereal mascots. Their world crumbles when new regulations ban sugary ads targeted at children, effectively cancelling their entire industry overnight. The husband flees to America, leaving behind his wife and their daughter, Maya.
Decades later, Maya’s 12-year-old daughter, Charli, discovers a VHS tape of the old commercials. Hoping to connect with the grandfather she’s never met, she uploads digitized clips to TikTok using AI tools. But the experiment goes horribly wrong: her viral videos open a portal between worlds, unleashing the once-cute mascots, now twisted, AI-enhanced monstrosities, into the real world.
“The mascots are angry,” Meyer laughs. “They’ve been forgotten, abandoned. Now they’re using AI to reinvent themselves, and they’re not exactly coming back as cuddly icons.”
To bring Tricky to life, Meyer shot a proof-of-concept teaser using his original 35mm camera equipment, relics of his commercial days, supported by a dedicated crew of collaborators. The animation is entirely hand-drawn in TVPaint, with practical effects and hand-crafted mattes to achieve a Who Framed Roger Rabbit-style look. Appropriate, given Meyer’s involvement with that iconic film.
Uli Meyer working on his ‘Tricky’ trailer.
“In an industry that’s increasingly leaning into automation and generative tools, this film is a statement,” said Meyer. “We’re embracing traditional craftsmanship. Everything in Tricky is made with care — no shortcuts, no auto-rigs, no AI animation. It’s a labor of love.”
The production team includes longtime collaborators such as director of photography Markus Ilschner, production manager Vanessa Wheeler, sound recordist Charlie Hinde, and special effects artists Mark Bailey and Lisa Meyer. The live-action cast features Margaret Clunie and Tom Ashley, while animation veterans like Boris Hiestand, Dean Roberts, Gary Dunn, and Michael Schlingmann are breathing life into the new mascot characters.
The Crispy Clovers cereal box featured in the film was designed by Dunn, adding a satirical edge to the project’s retro charm.
Tricky the Leprechaun
“As artists, we’re responding to the moment,” Meyer said. “We’re seeing how AI is changing storytelling and production. Tricky is about what happens when you mix nostalgia, loss, technology, and rebellion. And we’re telling it in a way that honors the analog soul of animation.”
Tricky is currently in development, with Meyer seeking interest from partners and distributors.
For fans of Saturday morning cartoons, cereal box lore, and handcrafted animation, Tricky promises a deliciously strange adventure, one spoonful of sugar and AI chaos at a time.