Mr Men Series

Webs:
Mr Men and Little Miss:The official site for the originals
The Mr Men Show: The official site for the new series
Toonhound

Roger Hargreaves' Mister Men characters have been with us for more than 30 years. Their design is elegantly simple; bright geometric shapes with little hands and feet. Sometimes there are boots and maybe a simple hat as well.But most importantly, there is a quirk, an oddity or speciality about each individual that gives rise to their name. And it's not just limited to the men.In 1981, the Little Misses were born to accompany them, and there is now a Mister Man or Little Miss for every facet of human nature. Everyone has their own particular favourite - be it Mr Bounce, Mr Messy, Mr Noisy, little Miss Trouble or Scattterbrain, Mr Lazy, Mr Greedy, Mr Silly or any other members of the 80+ gang of characters.

In the beginning, however, there were just 7 Mr Men. They were "born" in 1971 when Roger's young son Adam asked him what a Tickle looked like. Joining Mr Tickle in the original line-up were Mr Bump, Mr Sneeze, Mr Happy, Mr Nosey, Mr Greedy and Mr Snow. The small 14x12.5cm books were an
instant collectible hit and the format has remained the same ever since. Sadly, Roger Hargreaves passed away in 1988, but the characters remain in the hands of the Hargreaves estate with Adam himself now holding the pen.

Over the years we've a lot more introductions, further books based on the existing Mr Men and Little Misses, regular annuals and large format editions and even special new arrivals and stories, like the seasonal Mr Christmas, a Little Miss Sunshine hair care promotion book and Mr Cheeky, who wasinspired by a Mr Men 30th anniversary competition winner. Over 100m Mister Men books have been sold to date, making the late Roger Hargreaves the second most successful author in the UK, after J K Rowling.

As for the tv Mister Men, well, they first appeared on UK screens four years after their initial publication, in 1975. The animated series was produced by Terry Ward's Flicks Films and it stuck faithfully to the original format, both in look and story. The films were narrated by Dad's Army star, Mr Uppity himself Arthur Lowe, and his unique indignant jollity suited the tone of the series perfectly. So perfectly, in fact, that many folks still consider this to be the definitive adaptation...

This way up

It was played in the 6th LIAF programme 3.



by Smith & Foulkes

I was attracted by this short animation because of it's plot, there was only a process to send the coffin of an old woman into the earth, however, there was a series of small things happened on the way which made the short film wonderful, there was a careful making of details on the facial expressions of the two characters. I like the way of black humor being used in the short film, it has won the laugh of audience in the cinema.

About Smith & Foulkes

Since teaming up with executive producers Chris O’Reilly and Charlotte Bavasso at the Nexus studio back in 1997, Adam Foulkes and Alan Smith have gone on to develop a reputation as one of London’s top directing teams, receiving a 2009 Oscar nomination for their 3D animated short ‘This Way Up’.

Their commercial work includes spots for Coca-Cola, Honda and Observer has also brought them many awards and accolades including a Grand Prix Award and Gold at the Cannes Lions, a Grandy at the ANDYS, an ITV Award for Best Commercial, several BTAA Golds and Silvers, BTAA Craft Gold awards, the Platinum Award for Creative Circle and 2 Golds, 5 Silvers and 2 black pencils at D&AD. Honda ‘Grrr’ is the most awarded commercial in the world from 1999-2008.

Film and broadcast credits include the film title sequence for THUNDERBIRDS and an animated film within a film’ for DreamWorks/Paramount’s LEMONY SNICKET: A SERIES OF UNFORUNATE EVENTS. They also directed several sketches for the BBC’s animated comedy show MONKEY DUST.

Nexus Productions

Bill Porter

On Time Off / 4'30" 2008

This is a short clip from Bill Porter's graduation animiation at the RCA, and it was shown in the international animation festival programmme 3.

Drawn from life and from his memories of working in an ice cream cafe in Cornwall, these images form an animated landscape that takes the viewer on a journey through fire and ice cream and micro-dramas between strangers on a sweltering holiday beach.
Sound design by Shervin Shaeri.

I like the color he used in the animation, he bravely colored people's skin pink, and different tones of red. I like the way he made people look like in a delicate watercolor painting, the images are flowing like water, however, with some careful details depicting the different gestures and facial emotions.

I also like his idea that making connections between fire, icecream as metaphor to the hot weather.

Web: Bill Porter

Bill Porter is currently based in London working as a freelance animation director, animator and compositor after recently completing a master's degree in animation.

MA Animation, Royal College of Art / 2008
BA Illustration, Camberwell College of Art / 2006
ND Fine Art, Cornwall College / 2003

the 6th London international animation festivel

Web:LIAF

BEST OF LIAF09
Muto

The new short film by Blu
an ambiguous animation painted on public walls.
Made in Buenos Aires and in Baden (fantoche)

Blu Sketch Notebook

This is the best result of the london international animation festival.From Blu's website, I found that he had done graffiti around major cities in Europe like Berlin, Barcelona, Milano, Beograd. He painted them, photographed them, made videos with them, animated them. He had used walls and the surroundings as a whole, he had used them to created characters, to give life to those things, together with the technique of technology, he created art in a solid and vivid way.

I was then inspired by him, and felt passionate about making sketches, and thus turning my own characters into various media, they could be illustrations on my wall, they could be on badges, they could be on cards, on tees, they could also even be crafts.