From screen to page: N.B. filmmaker brings Ug Wug to life in book

A drawing of the Ug Wug, which is featured in a Saint John, N.B., book. (Source: Brian Finlay)

For more than two years, Brian Finlay has been trying to bring a mythical figure to life in Saint John, N.B.

He started with a television series before returning to the editing booth to transform it into a feature-length film. With every new iteration, the legend grows.

Finlay and his team are now turning to the written word to raise the profile of the creature known only as the Ug Wug.

“The book is the illustrated version of the film,” Finlay said. “We’re going to do a lot more books that dive way deeper into human characters and introduce other Wugs.”

The Ug Wug is a legendary creature said to exist beneath the rough waves of the Reversing Falls in Saint John. Similar to the Loch Ness Monster, the Ug Wug has captured the imagination of many people in the area, including Finlay.

Drawn To It Studios put together a television series based on the Ug Wug for Bell Fibe TV in 2022. The story focuses on a young girl named Ariel, who befriends the creature during summer vacation.

Finlay later edited the program, which used 3D animation to bring the Ug Wug to life, into a film that is now available on YouTube and streaming service Tubi.

“We ended up lucking out and got a distributor for it, which is crazy,” Finlay said. “Ultimately it ended up as DVDs in the U.S., which was funny because we’d get updates on how it was doing. It wound up on Tubi, which was very exciting.”

Finlay said they have written a script for a sequel, but they need further financial backing to get it off the ground.

“I used up every favour in the industry with the first series,” he said. “Building the interest is the key component here. I believe if we can make the local community really fall in love with the Ug Wug, we can perhaps leverage that into approaching potential investors for another film.”

To drum up more interest, Finlay has partnered with Steamers Lobster Company to distribute the new book from their Saint John location at 110 Water Street. They will have an official launch for the book with a movie screening at the Lily Lake Pavilion at 7 p.m. on Sept. 7.

Finlay said the growth in popularity of the Ug Wug franchise was slow at first, but they’ve recently seen a surge.

“It was stagnant for a few years, but this year we’ve had a crazy response,” he said. “I get more and more people liking the Ug Wug Facebook page and direct messages complimenting the movie.

“If we’re able to move enough copies of the book, we’ll look at doing more.”

Finlay hopes the growing interest in the Ug Wug could translate into a wider popularity of imaginative filmmaking in the Port City.

“I really want to bring fantastical film storytelling to Saint John,” he said.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.