Merry Christmas from the REAL Tiny Tim

Spot the Difference

Way back in 1971 my Dad's animation studio at no. 13 Soho Square in London took on their biggest project yet - a TV adaptation of Charles Dickens'  A Christmas Carol. The twenty-two minute TV special was produced by Chuck Jones and many scenes were animated by Ken Harris, one of Chuck's star animators from Road Runner days. Other animators included Grim Natwick and Emery Hawkins.

Happy Birthday Art Babbitt (October 8, 1907- March 4, 1992)

Art Babbitt at Soho Square in the 1970s. Art is 3rd from the right, flanked by Grim Natwick to his left and Richard Purdum to his right

Art Babbitt was born Arthur Harold Babitsky on October 8 1907. Were he still alive, he would be 106 years old today. I met Art when I was a child, when he worked at my father's studio at No 13 Soho Square in London. In his youth, Art had been one of Disney's most talented staff members, a legendary animator who, but for his involvement in the 1940s strike, would have undoubtedly been one of the anointed inner circle at Disney - one of Walt's Nine Old Men.

Charlie Chaplin has Left Leicester Square

by Jane Wright

Jane (Smethurst) Wright did traditional, hand drawn special effects back in the 1990's on features like Prince of Egypt and The Thief and the Cobbler.  She wrote to FLIP with a story of obsolescence that any old school animator can relate to, and maybe get a chill from....

Last weekend I made my way to Leicester Square for the sole purpose of taking a photograph of London’s much-loved Charlie Chaplin statue. Not being a tourist I hadn’t been there for ages; even so, looking around I wondered if I’d entered a time warp and stumbled onto the set of It's a Wonderful Life and into Pottersville by mistake. I was dismayed at the soulless place I now found myself in. Worse still, Charlie had gone.

Happy Birthday Ken Harris, the Bugs Bunny animator "who could do it all"

Ken Harris was born on July 31st 1898. Were he still alive, today would be his 115th birthday.  I met him when I was just a kid, and he was already a very old man, but still doing some of the very best work of his career.  It was the mid-1970s, and Ken had come over from LA to London to work with my father at his Soho Square studio.

The Annie Awards and the Secret of Chuck Jones' Success

The Annies - the Animation Oscars

Last Saturday night, February 2nd 2013, was animation's big night - the Annie Awards, held this year at the UCLA Royce Hall in Los Angeles. They are the Animation Oscars, held once a year to celebrate excellence in animated film-making.

A Merry Christmas from the REAL Tiny Tim

Spot the Difference

Way back in 1971 my Dad's animation studio at no. 13 Soho Square in London took on their biggest project to date - a TV adaptation of Charles Dickens'  A Christmas Carol. The 22 minute TV special was produced by Chuck Jones and many scenes were animated by Ken Harris, one of Chuck's star animators from Road Runner days.

The Thief and the Cobbler - The Recobbled Cut Mk 4

Cover artwork for Garrett Gilchrist's Recobbled Cut

Garrett Gilchrist is an independent film-maker with a passion for animation. He has spent many years attempting to rebuild the original director's cut of one of animation's greatest might-have-been epic films: The Thief and the Cobbler. In a two-part interview, FLIP asked Garrett to talk a little about his latest edit - The Recobbled Cut (Mark 4).