This film tells the story of Molly Ollys, a UK charity that supports children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Founded in 2012, the charity works closely with children and parents to support their emotional wellbeing during unimaginably difficult times and make dark days a little brighter.
The film highlights the care, kindness and lasting impact of Molly Ollys’ work, from fulfilling wishes by providing gifts to individual children, to donating their therapeutic toy Olly The Brave and his story books to hospitals and families across the UK.
Olly the Brave is a lion character, designed by the Charity to help children understand and cope with illness in a gentle, reassuring way. His detachable mane helps explain and normalise hair loss caused by chemotherapy, while his stories talk openly with children about diagnosis, treatment and the emotional challenges that can come with illness and loss.
The aim of this film was to take Olly and the illustration style from the books and translate them into animation as faithfully as possible. Animation was used to breathe life into the character, taking him off the page and allowing his personality and courage to develop on screen. His design, and the simple, hand-drawn, childlike look of the film, reflect the children who are at the heart of everything Molly Ollys does.
Molly Ollys is a UK charity founded in 2012 to support children with life-threatening illnesses and their families, focusing on emotional wellbeing and helping to make the darkest days a little brighter.
One of the charity’s core programmes is fulfilling wishes. Wishes have an average value of £500 and can be for anything and everything from medical aids and equipment, toys, bedroom makeovers, outside play equipment and garden improvements, days out, shopping vouchers, electronic devices, arts and crafts, funds to help with transport costs etc. Each wish is as unique as the child and our aim is that the wishes help these children through extremely challenging circumstances and provide special memories for those around them.
Another key strand of the charity’s work is Olly the Brave: a therapeutic toy lion with a Hickman line and detachable mane, and a series of six story books written and illustrated by Diane Maybey. These items are donated free of charge to families and to over 70 hospitals and community nursing teams, helping children understand treatment and cope with emotional challenges.
Beyond wishes and therapeutic items, Molly Ollys also delivers bespoke projects, including funding a Paediatric Palliative Care Consultant, and the furnishing of the Magnolia House palliative care facility, at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The charity also hosts support events where families can meet, share experiences and find connection.
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