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Meet The Family—Reed + Rader's Zany Stuffed Animal Posse Comes To Life As GIFs

In their latest GIF series, the Brooklyn-based artists delve into the intimate world of their favorite plush friends.

When they’re not working on animations and GIF series for brands and publications like Louis Vuitton and W Magazine, cooking up pizza, teaching at SVA, or chilling out with their four cats, Pamela Reed and Matthew Rader (Reed + Rader) are most likely hanging out in their studio/home with their humongous, stuffed animal collection—one that they’ve been collectively building since their childhoods.

“The Family to us is more than just polyester filled stuffed animals, they are Pamela and Matthew respectively. They each have their own individual name with distinct personalities and voices. They cheer us up, they make us smile, they are hands down one of the largest inspirations for our work,” say Reed + Rader over email.

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Knowing this tidbit of information, you might be able to spot some of The Family’s influence in their works. “We use characters often, so many times a specific family member won’t be shown but their personality traits and inside jokes are in a work. One of our future goals is to make a larger-than-life giant Pink Luggz blimp balloon that can fly through the sky,” say Reed + Rader.

In comparison with their other GIF series, like the Animal Crossing-themed one we commissioned a while back, they did a lot more 3D work for this one, modeling the assets in Maya and creating the environment in the Unreal gaming engine. The model of course, was styled and shot live in their studio.

Though this GIF series only showcases seven members of The Family, Reed + Rader insist that they aren’t necessarily their favorites. They plan to keep expanding on this project, but until then, meet these select members in all their animated glory below!

Mister Wubba

Dress: Tibi; Shirts: Equipment; Shoes: DKNY

Mister Wubba is a glorious, colorful guy who flies through the sky, brings rainbows, and shares hugs with everyone he meets. Originally known as Big Mister Puff, Mister Wubba was rescued after years in storage in Pamela's father's basement. He has grown to become the godfather of the family. Mister Wubba loves to make new friends and everyone who meets him has a polaroid taken with him. When he's not busy flying through the sky looking for new friends, Mister Wubba can usually be found dancing. He has to stay in shape because he's a public figure with a high profile and has been known to go in for regular plastic surgery treatments to stay on his game. During a decade-long quest to find Mister Wubba's long lost brothers, there have been missing person fliers, cloning experiments, and even dreams of a "Have You Seen This Wubba?" five-second commercial spot for the SuperBowl, but late last year Mister Wubba was finally reunited with his younger brother. If anyone knows the whereabouts of any other Wubba kin, be sure to let us know.

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Pink Bunny

Swim Suit: Sretsis; Shoes: Pour La Victoire

Pink Bunny is a rich mogul philanthropist who likes luxurious things in life. He was originally saved from a large cage of other stuffed rabbits that were forced to do horrible Easter-related things at Wal-Mart in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During the week, he wears a custom-made suit, but on weekends he wears swim trunks and can be found sailing one of his many yachts. He is a player in the real estate market, is a major financial backer of many politicians (Ron Paul and Barack Obama), and funds many things you would be surprised to know about. He loves setting off fireworks on his private barges, even though he suffers from acute PTSD from his time serving our nation during the Vietnam War. We celebrate Pink Bunny's Birthday each Easter where we bring all The Family together, make a custom Pink Bunny birthday cake and have fun at a party sponsored by Pink Bunny.

The Grandpas

Dress: Sretsis

The Grandpas (Grandpa + Grandpa's Brother) are brothers who are frogs. They were saved individually from Wal-Mart. Grandpa was saved first, then six months later, Grandpa's Brother was put into a shopping cart and rescued. When Grandpa's Brother was rescued, we realized later he was holding another frog named Me-Maw who was saved. The Wal-Mart cashier did not charge us for Me-Maw. You might think Grandpa's Brother is a shoplifter, but instead we call him a hero for risking his life to save Me-Maw. The Grandpas are known for driving the G Train here in Brooklyn, although we aren't sure if the MTA is aware of this or not. If you are ever waiting for the G train and it's taking longer than expected, please don't get mad. Please understand it is being driven by two sweet frogs who aren't even two feet tall. Don't worry—the Grandpas will get to you eventually! Besides driving the G train, they love rolling around in green grass on sunny afternoons. They enjoy dancing to The Bravery's "An Honest Mistake" and King Brillo's track "Grandpa Was An Alien." How do you tell them apart? Grandpa has a very heavy lead foot.

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The Jollies

Sailor Shirt: A.P.C.; Denim Shirt and Pants: Fingers Crossed; Shoes: T.U.K

The Jollies (Jolly + Jolly's Brother) are brothers who are Snowmen. Jolly wears a red scarf and Jolly's Brother wears a blue scarf. They were saved from a downtown Pittsburgh pharmacy. We remember fondly of saving them, putting them on our shoulders, and dancing down the street on a cold December night. When they got home, Jolly sat on top of our cat Essy and danced more. No one could contain their excitement! The Jollies have one big love in life: PIZZA. They own a pizzeria here in Brooklyn where they take dough making very seriously. They get their big bellies from eating pizza every single day. They love when it snows and meeting other Snowpeople. Christmas is their favorite holiday as they used to work for Santa Claus. Every Christmas Eve, a note is left to Santa from the Jollies alongside a few cookies. They do not enjoy the summer. One time while walking around Pittsburgh's South Side, we discovered an imposter Jolly being held hostage in a tanning salon storefront window. The bastards had the Jolly sitting in a lawn chair with a straw hat, sunglasses, and sun tanning lotion nearby.

Big Papa

Dress: Sretsis; Shirt: Equipment; “Party in the Mouth” LED mouthpiece by Daito Manabe and Motoi Ishibashi.

Big Papa is a frog and an honorary member of the "Grandpa" family. He was saved from a Duane Reade in Queens one winter. He really loves girls—that's his main passion in life. He loves girls of all kind. He especially loves girls who kiss girls. He says many things that aren't politically correct. Big Papa had a cameo on one episode of Battlestar Galactica—the rest of The Family now believe he's a movie star. He sits on a shelf in our bedroom where he watches over and sometimes trash talks us. Big Pop, as we sometimes call him, can be a jerk sometimes but he doesn't mean it and has a big froggy heart.

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Mister Bear

Hoodie, Top, Shorts: Nike; Sleep Gown: Polo Ralph Lauren; Shoes: Dr. Martens

Mister Bear is a beloved brown teddy bear who was rescued from an Ohio rave in the 90s while wearing kandi bracelets. He's an Olympic gold medal boxer who takes his sport very seriously. He is known for jumping off the top of the couch and body slamming anyone to show his skills. He trains very hard to make his lifetime hero and family member, Chester McNeil, proud of him. Chester is a former champion heavyweight boxer who passed away (RIP CHESTER MCNEIL). Mister Bear will compete in all upcoming Olympics, no matter what his age is. He is a gold medal winner.

Pink Luggz

Dress: Tibi; Long Sleeve Dress: Diane von Furstenberg

Pink Luggz is a hot pink hippopotamus who floats in the air. She is part of the Fisher Price "Puffalump" family and has many brothers and sisters that are Puffalumps. She has a sister, Purple Luggz, who is an elephant. She has been dating the retired NBA Knicks hall of famer Patrick Ewing for the past few years. They have a great relationship and she enjoys texting him while he travels to events. She also loves bushy beards and likes to stick her tusks in them. Don't let her cute looks deceive you, she is a bit of a hacker and is working feverishly to build an army of pink hippopotamus drones to patrol the skies while hunting down the bearded for her own pleasure via a highly-sophisticated beard detection algorithm.

Production Credits:
Photography, Animation, Illustration, and 3D Design: Pamela Reed and Matthew Rader
Stylist: Aki Maesato
Makeup Artist: Anastasia Durasova for MAKE UP FOR EVER
Hair Stylist: Linh Nguyen @ Kate Ryan
Model: Daria Popova @ New York Models
Photo Assistant: Layla Wrencher
Hair Stylist Assistant: Christyna Kay

Previously: How To Make Animal Crossing-inspired GIFs With Reed + Rader

@kfloodwarning