Exploring the art and history of British animation
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Animaland: The Australian Platypus
The Australian Platypus was the fourth Animaland cartoon to be released. Out of all of the shorts in the series, this one relies the most on cuteness above humour.
Stan Pearsall animated the female platypus (later named Dinkum) and Bill Hopper animated the male (later named Digger). Bill's assistant on the early Animaland films was George Jackson, who later animated on "Watership Down", "Dick Deadeye", "The Talking Parcel", and "Plague Dogs". Sadly, he died in 1986, while working on "The BFG". When that film was released, in 1989, it carried a dedication to his memory.
In "The Platypus" George got his first solo assignment - he animated the "By a Waterfall" sequence. You can see that his proportions for the platypuses were slightly differently.
This definitely was too cute for it's own good!
ReplyDeleteStan Pearsall animated the female platypus (later named Dinkum) and Bill Hopper animated the male (later named Digger). Bill's assistant on the early Animaland films was George Jackson, who later animated on "Watership Down", "Dick Deadeye", "The Talking Parcel", and "Plague Dogs". Sadly, he died in 1986, while working on "The BFG". When that film was released, in 1989, it carried a dedication to his memory.
ReplyDeleteIn "The Platypus" George got his first solo assignment - he animated the "By a Waterfall" sequence. You can see that his proportions for the platypuses were slightly differently.