Australian Animation: An International History

267 Pages·2018·6.317 MB·English

by  Dan Torre, Lienors Torre

AUSTRALIAN
ANIMATION
AN INTERNATIONAL HISTORY
Dan Torre &
Lienors Torre
Australian Animation
“The fact that Lienors and Dan Torre spent over a decade researching and docu-
menting this history is testament to their expertise as animators and scholars; and
it is an important aspect that adds to the quality and authenticity of their writing.
Their seminal work positions and clarifies Australia’s cultural evolution, innova-
tion and unique practice.”
—Kathy Smith, Associate Professor and former Chair John C. Hench
Animation & Digital Arts, University of Southern California, USA
Dan Torre · Lienors Torre
Australian Animation
An International History
Dan Torre Lienors Torre
RMIT University Deakin University
Melbourne, VIC, Australia Melbourne, VIC, Australia
ISBN 978-3-319-95491-2 ISBN 978-3-319-95492-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95492-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018951033
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights
of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction
on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology
now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and
information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication.
Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied,
with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have
been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published
maps and institutional affiliations.
Cover illustration: Illustration by Harry Julius
Cover design by Tom Howey
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
For Lucy, Thomas and Vivienne, and for Phung and Richard Allen,
who have accompanied us in our discovery of Australian animation.
A
cknowledgements
The Authors would like to thank the following: Richard Allen, David
Atkinson, Stephen Ball, Neil Balnaves, John Bird, Keith Bradbury,
Arthur Cantrill and Corinne Cantrill, John Clark, Lucinda Clutterbuck,
Dianne Colman, Gairden Cooke, Dirk de Bruyn, Murray Debus, David
Field, Cam Ford and Diana Ford, Jenny Gall, Peter Greenaway, Yoram
Gross and Sandra Gross, Frank Hellard, Athol Henry, Ruth Hill, John
Even Hughes, Zoran Janjic, Anne Jolliffe, Meg Labrum, Cecily Lea,
Michael Lee, Rod Lee, Gus McLaren, Lynsey Martin, Judy Nelson,
Margaret Parkes, David Perry, Bruce Petty, Vincent Plush, Gabby Porter,
John Porter, Joy Porter, Elizabeth Presa, Robert Qiu, Vivienne Scheffer
(and family), Michael Sesin, Graham Sharp, Anne Shenfield, Graham
Shirley, Robbert Smit, Kathy Smith, Andi Spark, Antoinette Starkiewicz,
Alex Stitt and Paddy Stitt, Deborah Szapiro, Neil Taylor, Itzell
Tazzyman, Phil Thomas, Albie Thoms, Helen Tully, Dennis Tupicoff,
Malcolm Turner, Lee Whitmore, Norman Yeend, The National Film and
Sound Archive, The National Library of Australia, and The State Library
of NSW. A further thank you to the many who have generously offered
information, anecdotes and encouragement for this research.
vii
c
ontents
1 Introduction 1
2 From Sketch to Empire 7
3 Pat Sullivan and Felix the Cat 31
4 Early Australian Animators: Isolation and International
Influences 53
5 Television and the Rise of International Collaborations 79
6 Marco Polo Junior: A Crisis of Animated Identity 107
7 Yoram Gross: Bringing Australian Animation to the
World, One Dot at a Time 135
8 Alex Stitt: Animation by Design 147
9 Hanna-Barbera Australia 161
ix
x CoNTENTS
10 An Industry Matures 179
11 Independently Animated 211
Index 241
l f
ist of igures
Fig. 2.1 Portrait of Alec Laing by Harry Julius (1917) (Courtesy
the State Library of New South Wales) 11
Fig. 2.2 Portrait of Harry Julius (1918) 12
Fig. 2.3 Still frames from Cartoons of the Moment (Harry Julius)
These films featured a very sophisticated application of the
cut-out animation technique 16
Fig. 2.4 Detail of Australian patent for cut-out animation technique,
Harry Julius 1918 17
Fig. 2.5 Promotional image for Cartoon Filmads, c.1920 19
Fig. 2.6 Storyboards produced by Cartoon Filmads in preparation
for the Lux Soap animated cinema advertisement (c.1920) 22
Fig. 2.7 Promotional literature for Cartoon Filmads, showing the
various stages of the studio’s production 24
Fig. 2.8 Print ad by Cartoon Filmads that accompanied the animated
film advertisement for the same product, 1919 25
Fig. 3.1 An early drawing by Pat Sullivan (as Pat o’Sullivan)
c.1908 (Image courtesy State Library of NSW) 33
Fig. 3.2 Title card for Charlie Chaplin series (1918–1919) depicting
two Felix-like black cats. This series was produced prior
to Feline Follies (1919), which is often regarded
as the first ‘Felix’ film 38
Fig. 3.3 (Left) a black cat, drawn by Pat Sullivan, featured in a
magazine advertisement published August 24, 1918
for How Charlie Captured the Kaiser (1918), part
of the Charlie Chaplin cartoon series. (Right) a frame
xi
xii LIST oF FIGURES
grab from Feline Follies, late 1919. There is a marked
similarity between the design of these two cats 39
Fig. 3.4 Frame grab from Feline Follies (1919) which features
the Australian vernacular, “Mum” 40
Fig. 3.5 Frame grab from a later Felix cartoon which shows the more
rounded styling of the Felix films produced after 1922 41
Fig. 4.1 Cover of sheet music for the theme song, “I’m Willie the
Wombat” that accompanied the release of Eric Porter’s short
film, Waste Not Want Not (1939). An accompanying dance
step, The Wombat Waddle, was also created and promoted
throughout a number of Australian dance halls 61
Fig. 4.2 Image, featuring Willie Wombat (left) and Bennie Bear (right)
from the accompanying book to Eric Porter’s short film,
Waste Not Want Not (1939) 63
Fig. 4.3 Screen logo for Eric Porter Studios, proudly noting the
studio’s location in Sydney, Australia. The logo also depicts a
movie camera silhouette that has an uncanny visual connection
to the silhouette of the Walt Disney character, Mickey Mouse 66
Fig. 4.4 Frame grab from the short animated film Bimbo’s Auto (Porter
1954), exhibiting a somewhat retro style, reminiscent of the
1940s 67
Fig. 4.5 Frame grabs from the educational animated short film, A
Dairy-Land Romance (owen Brothers, 1954). a depicts two
very well-bred bovines, which speak in an unmistakably crisp
British accent (which was the broadcast standard in Australia
in the 1950s). b depicts a young bull, replete with flashy
clothes, who lacks such proper breeding, and subsequently
speaks in a much broader Australian accent. This film was
animated by Bruce Petty, and represents a stark contrast to
the much freer illustrative styling of his later independent
animated films 70
Fig. 4.6 Image by Serge Sesin of Australian animals (1952)—intended
as a pre-cursor to a planned animated film 73
Fig. 4.7 Frame grab from The Magic Trumpet (Dusan Marek 1962), a
cut-out animated film that utilises a surprisingly eclectic range
of materials 76
Fig. 5.1 Frame grab from the animated television series, Arthur! And
the Square Knights of the Round Table (1966) 90
Fig. 5.2 Frame grab from the animated television series, Captain
Comet of the Space Rangers which utilised a hybrid of live-
action model sets and cel animation 95
Fig. 5.3 Frame grab from the Freddo the Frog television series (1952) 99