Welcome To Bandit Hill – like the Gruffalo, with bikes

This short animated tale from Jill Kintner takes woodland creatures, animation, riding footage and a narrator to create something akin to the Gruffalo with bikes. If you’re sick of Bing (how can anyone not be sick of Bing?) or Alphablocks (quite fun in a weird way) then this might provide a nice three minute diversion.

If you like Welcome to Bandit Hill, there’s a website with move cute drawings and merch things to check out, plus a bit more about the story behind it:

The making of Bandit Hill.

‘In a world that feels so heavy, it’s hard to find things that lighten the mood, bring joy, and make you smile. But, if you look hard enough, try hard enough, and tap deep into your imagination, places of magic still exist. Places like Bandit Hill

Enter the land of smiling mountains and playful critters. Bandit Hill is a whimsical place where the forest comes alive, the critters frolic, and the dirt is oh-so-perfect. Pulled directly from the mind of Olympic medalist and world champion mountain biker Jill Kintner, Bandit Hill takes Jill’s sketch book and brings it to life. It’s a trip into a hybrid 2D and 3D world that has Kintner riding with her critters while the clouds above argue furiously amid an approaching storm. What starts as a playful adventure turns into a dramatic rescue as the ground gives way to mud monsters and the sky comes crashing down.
Darting between reality and animation, Bandit Hill is the harrowing adventure of a woman turned heroine whose speed and grit saves the critters from imminent doom. Oozing with character, brilliant color, and creativity beyond our wildest dreams, Bandit Hill is full of hope. Fairy tales do still exist.’

Red Bull

If you want more not-Bing to watch, check out this story:

And if you want to get inspired to go riding with your kids, how about this?

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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