Present Animators

Present Animators

The Brothers Quay

Born 1946

The identical twins began making animated short films in the 1970s and have continued to do so while living in London. They were influenced by Jan Švankmajer and admired his work so much they named one of their films The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer. However they actually discovered his work relatively late, in 1983, by which time their characteristic style and preoccupations had been fully formed. The Quays display a passion for detail, a breathtaking command of color and texture, and an uncanny use of focus and camera movement that make their films unique and instantly recognizable. The use of miniaturization and tiny sets have made them original as film makers which have led them onto many things as set designers. Their work includes film, ads, music videos and stage designs.

Tim Burton

August 25 1958

Burton was drawing at a young age and studied animation after being awarded a fellowship from Disney where he eventually went to work as an animator where he worked on films such as "The Fox and the Hound" (1981). He found that Disney's films were not his style but they allowed him to work on his own personal projects such as his first, Vincent (1982), an animated short about a boy who wanted to be just like Vincent Price. Narrated by Price himself, the short was a critical success and won several awards. Burton then went on 3 years later to create "Beetlejuice" in 1988 which he filled with his artistic and quirky talent which became another big hit for Burton. In 1989 he was presented with "Batman" which was based on the popular comic strip and Warner Bros wanted to create into a film with the help of Burton. He had created a surreal and artistic vision that over shadowed narrative necessities that was influenced by the gothic horror of his youth. 

Aardman Animations

Founded 1976

Aardman Animations is a British animation studio based in Bristol known for creating films using stop-motion clay animation, particularly Plasticine characters such as the famous Wallace and Gromit. Peter Lord and David Sproxton founded the company in 1972 when the created a partnership in hope of producing animated motion picture. In 1975 the well known clay character 'Morph' was created for the childrens program 'Take Hart.' 

In December 1997 the company joined with DreamWorks to produce Aardman's first feature film which was eventually released in June 2000. After 10 years, Wallace and Gromit returned in 2005 with Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Next year followed Flushed Away, Aardman's first computer-animated feature. Aardman demonstrated that real people could be characterised with insight, humour and sensitivity.

The company name is taken from one of its early characters, a superhero created for Vision On which was the series for deaf children in 1972. Unlike the claymation productions that the company are famous for, Aardman was cel-animated. The name derives from the Dutch phrase "aard man" meaning Nature Man, when joined together, "aardman" becomes "Earthman" more commonly translated to: "goblin."