Cinema of Wales - Animation

Animation

Prior to the formation of S4C in 1982, there was very little work produced in the field of animation in Wales. The one notable exception being Sid Griffiths' Jerry the Tyke (1925-1927), a mischievous dog who was used for Pathé cinema news magazines. Production increased after 1982, with S4C producing the popular children's animation SuperTed made by Siriol Productions. Siriol eventually branched into making feature length animations, including an adaptation of Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood (1992) and a joint venture with Hungarian company PannóniaFilm, The Princess and the Goblin (1992).

The opportunities afforded by S4C's animation unit encouraged an influx of talented British artists into Wales. The best known of this group of animators was Joanna Quinn, who gained an Oscar nomination in 1998 for Famous Fred, and produced one of the segments of The Canterbury Tales, which was Oscar nominated the year after.