Ludwig

Ludwig is a kind of robotic egg and a big favourite of my nephew…

Here’s a hiccuping episode.

Find our more at toonhound

Jamie and The Magic Torch: Ghosts

You have to love the false sad start of Jamie and The Magic Torch. Then comes ‘The Who’ like guitar and ten minutes of psychedelic nonsense. Mister Boo. Truncheon eating Officer Gotcha. A dog called Wordsworth with a farm-country accent. Wonderful! Voiced and Written by Brian Trueman.

There’s something very Mighty Boosh about this episode, especially the ghost.

Buy the DVD of Series One and Series Two if you’re feeling really nostalgic!

Snail in a strange land

Here’s a strange piece of work about a snail in a computerised world. The snail makes its way through an ever changing, constantly redesigning electronic landscape.

This played at the London Internatial Animation Festival in 2008.

My First Day At School

Featured on the YouTube homepage on the 19th March 08, this is an animation created for a student design competition by Andrew, a graphic design student at Coventry University. The poem is ‘My First Day At School’ by Roger McGough. voice by Pat Lakeland.

Monty Python meets Lego

This is some kind of joyous union – Monty Python in lego. In this short, highly polished piece, King Arthur and his knights arrive (almost) at Camelot. Cue Spamalot song and dance number.

Dog by Suzie Templeton

Something a little darker again here… Dog by BAFTA and Academy Award winning animator Suzie Templeton tells a story of a boy, grieving for his dead mother and seeking reassurance from his father. This is probably one you’d want to watch before showing to your kids in case it’s too dark!

When the Day Breaks

And now for something totally different. This is like a kitchen sink drama with farmyard animals. The point of view dips and swirls through the day in the life of a pig and a chicken. This short film is beautifully drawn and executed by Canadian animators Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbes. No wonder it was nominated for an Oscar back in 2001 for Best Animated Short.

The Flumps

Here’s a Flumpeting blast from the past. I loved this as a kid. Pootle was always a favourite character since he was a bit naughty. And I always loved Grandfather… I think because with his cap, glasses, moustache and ear for music… he rather reminded me of my own Grandpa!

More information on The Flumps can be found at Toonhound

Buy The Complete Flumps [1977] on DVD

Mitten (Varezhka)

Here’s an award winning 1967 film from Russian director Roman Kachanov. A charming tale about a girl who longs to have a puppy, but has to make do with a woolen mitten! Don’t worry if you don’t speak Russian – this short is non-dialogue.

More information about this film is here and here

We’ve, we’ve, we’ve made the sunshine…

…out of the falling rain. Here’s a blast from the past. This is the conclusion of the Puff the Magic Dragon Jackie Draper/Paper story where they all burst into a big ole 70’s singalong after being drenched in Chicken Soup. Obviously! I love this song… it’s probably not cool to like it, but hey!… it’s part of my childhood.

Watch the first two parts here…

Part One

Part Two