Inside 'Stitch Head': The Handmade Indie That Became a Monster Movie

Gringo Films does not sound like the kind of company that muscles its way into the global animation business. The Cologne-based outfit is literally a mom-and-pop shop, run by partners Steve Hudson and Sonja Ewers. When they optioned Stitch Head a decade ago, after listening to the audiobook version of Guy Bass’ children’s book on a family car ride, their plan was charmingly modest: Adapt Bass’ gothic tale, about a distracted mad professor who zaps new creatures into life only to immediately abandon them, as a classic European co-production.

Their pitch was simple: a four-quadrant family comedy that winked at horror tropes — the mad scientist, the monsters, the mob of angry villagers — without ever becoming too scary. “It’s a family film about horror movies, but it’s not a horror mov