How a Magical Bookshop Started Everything - The Story Behind Rupert Regis

Every studio has a first step. A moment before the slate, before the company name, before any of the infrastructure of a creative business existed. For Noodle and Caboodle, that moment was Rupert Regis and His Magical Bookshop.

It started not with a pitch deck or a market opportunity, but with grief. And with a very specific question: what kind of story do you tell a child when the world suddenly feels a lot less safe than it did?

Where It Came From

The tagline on the original Kickstarter campaign said it plainly:" Inspired by grief, created with love."

I do want to acknowledge that Rupert Regis did not come from a trend report or a gap in the market. It came from a real emotional need, a longing to keep or channel a memory, a personality, a feelign alive - i just decided to channel my late grandad Norman into a character. One that could give hope, and help children in a way - through stories. Like my Grandad did for me. Ir also comes from a belief that children's stories can hold genuinely difficult things without flinching. Grief - it's tricky even for adults. So perhaps each original story in the series can give children the tools to approach other emotional experiences in a fun, engaging and appropriate way.

Think Mr Ben meets UP meets The storyteller. That's our Rupert.

Nanny June & Grandad Norman (Rest in peace)

Original Charcter Design based on Grandad (2022)

The concept was simple on the surface: a magical bookshop, presided over by its mysterious proprietor Rupert Regis, where the stories on the shelves have a habit of becoming rather more real than books are supposed to be. A place where children could find, through story, the things they needed most - courage, comfort, understanding, the sense that someone else has felt what they are feeling and found a way through.

Simple in concept. Genuinely ambitious in what it was trying to do.

The Kickstarter

In 2023, before Noodle and Caboodle existed as a studio, I took Rupert Regis to Kickstarter. The campaign was for a children's book - a proof of concept, a way of testing whether the idea had an audience beyond my own conviction that it should exist. If we hit the target, the book would be printed and donated to the London based Childrens Hospital. The goal was small, and the backers showed up. With no pre- built community.

Those numbers might be modest by the standards of headline-grabbing crowdfunding campaigns. Of course, nothing like the recent campaigns by the likes of my peers Emily Brundige's campaign But this meant something significant. Fifty-nine people - strangers, mostly - looked at this idea and decided it was worth backing. They put their money behind a story about a magical bookshop created to help children navigate grief and difficulty. That felt like a mandate.

It also taught me something important about what crowdfunding actually is, at its best. It is not just a fundraising mechanism. It is a proof of concept. It is a community before the community officially exists. Those 59 backers were the first members of what I hope will become something much larger.

The original model for Rupert

What It Unlocked

Rupert Regis was the first IP. The one that made me realise I wanted to build a slate rather than a single project. The one that showed me there was an audience for original, emotionally intelligent content for children - content that did not talk down, did not shy away, and did not mistake simplicity of format for simplicity of feeling.

It is also, I think, the purest expression of what Noodle and Caboodle is actually for. The company exists to develop original IP that matters - that has something genuine to say to the children and families it reaches. Rupert Regis is where that mission started.

Since that first campaign, the world of Rupert Regis has continued to grow. The bookshop has more stories to tell. And the studio that grew around it now has a broader slate - Flo and Otto, Chuck Loris, Noah and Fred, and others - each of which carries some version of that original question: what do children need, and how do we give it to them in a way that respects their intelligence and their emotional lives?

Updated Concept / Charater Design for series development (2026)

On Starting Small

I want to be honest about something. In 2023, I was not a studio founder. I was someone with an idea, a Kickstarter page, and a belief that the idea was worth fighting for. The company came later. The infrastructure came later. The slate came later.

This kickstarter was what got me the job as Global Creative Director at Moonbug Entertainment!

This is, I think, the right order of things. You do not build a studio and then look for ideas to fill it. You start with an idea that you genuinely cannot leave alone - and then you build whatever needs to exist to give that idea its best chance. Find the team, collaborate and take the time to understand the eco-system.

We all know the industry is ... well.. tricky at the moment. BUT, we as creators, buisness owners, founders and storytellers MUST stay optimistic!

Rupert Regis was that idea for me. It is still the one I return to when I want to remember why any of this matters. And when I miss Grandad Norman.

What Comes Next

The Rupert Regis IP is part of the active Noodle and Caboodle development slate. There is more to come - and I look forward to sharing it when the time is right.

For now, if you want to know more about what we are building - or if you worked on the original Kickstarter and want to say hello - I would love to hear from you. Perhaps you are looking for a new IP to champion and support. Please do, reach out. Publishers, Agents, Studios, Streamers or even Comissioners. It would be nice to meet you at ANNECY or CMC.

Thanks for reading.

All the best,

Rich

Hello@noodleandcaboodle.tv