Animation in London in the 1980s was still more of a cottage industry. There were some established studios, mostly doing work on commercials – Richard Williams Animation chief amongst them. Many people freelanced, and were busy as work came up. Often, work came up through ‘networking’ in the Soho pubs. …
It is impossible to discuss Richard Williams without discussing ‘The Thief’, a project that consumed much of his career. ‘The Thief’ had its origins in the mid-1960s when Richard Williams became very interested in Sufism, which is a concept related to an inner mysticalaspect of Islam – although some Sufi …
Dick Purdum was one of Richard Williams’s students and proteges at Richard Williams Animation. He was at RWA during the time that Williams brought in Art Babbitt, Grim Natwick, and Ken Harris to provide animation training and to work on The Thief and the Cobbler. As with many of the …
https://wp.me/p9TCVh-4m (see post on ‘ACME Warehouse, from April 7, 2018) The map (below) shows the Shepherd’s Bush area of London in 1841, with the London Railway line. In 1898, The Dimco Buildings were constructed in White City, just north of Shepherd’s Bush, as a shed for the Central …
Animated Short and Feature Films: The Wardrobe (1958) – co-directed and co-animated by Richard Williams and George Dunning The Little Island (1958) – written, directed, animated, and produced by Richard Williams Love Me, Love Me, Love Me (1962) – directed, animated, and produced by Richard Williams A Lecture on Man …
It is almost impossible to discuss Richard Williams without discussing The Thief and the Cobbler (or, The Thief). It is a project that consumed much of his career and for which there still remains mystery, intrigue, and cautionary tales. The Thief had its origins in the mid-1960s, when Richard Williams …
A Christmas Carol is Richard Williams’ 1971 adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella. Chuck Jones was the executive producer. The animation was drawn in the style of the original ‘A Christmas Carol’ illustrator, John Leech. It was hand-drawn directly onto cels with grease pencil. Alistair Sim reprised his role of …
The Apple (1963) – designer What’s New Pussycat? (1965) – title designer The Liquidator (1965) – title designer A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) – title designer The Spy With the Cold Nose (1966) – title designer Casino Royale (1967) – title designer Prudence and …
The selection of commercials (below) created at Richard Williams Animation shows the wide range of styles of which the studio was capable. Of particular note in reference to Who framed Roger Rabbit is the Long Life Beer ‘9 Lives’ commercial. It was the zaniness of this commercial that impressed Spielberg and Zemeckis …
Roy Naisbitt’s specialty was technical animation. He worked on ‘2001: A Space Odyssey‘ (1968). Richard Williams Animation was doing the title sequence for ‘Charge of the Light Brigade‘ at the time and he needed somebody to animate a paddle-wheel ship engine. His cameraman, Ted Gerald, was a water polo colleague of …
