Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

- George Dunning died February 15, 1979 – thirty years ago, next Monday. The January 1980 issue of ANIMAFILM featured a couple of pieces about him. I recently posted (here) the interview conducted by John Canemaker. Just preceding that piece, there was a short remembrance of Dunning, who had just passed. Comments by Bob Godfrey, John Coates and Norman McLaren were offered.

To complete the post, I wanted to give those pieces here. (Obviously the title should read: “They Remember George Dunning.” So much for translations from English into Russian and back again.

BOB GODFREY

George Dunning’s T.V. Cartoons was one of the dozens of small animation companies to spring up in and around Soho in the early 50′s to satisfy the demands of Advertising Agencies eager to experiment with the new medium, Television Advertising.

Two factors contributed to JVC’s success, in a notoriously difficult medium, George’s continual striving for excellence and his long and happy association with his business partner John Coates.

Most animation houses were making their own entertainment shorts about that time, and George’s house was no exception. First came “The apple” an excellent short, and then George changed the whole shape and feel of animation with “The flying man”, painting straight onto glass. He was to change the look of animation again in the late 60′s when he directed the “Yellow submarine”, adapting Heinz Edelmann’s brilliant graphics to animation. Fortunately George lived to see “The Sub” become a landmark in animation history. George’s patience and kindness with young students was legendary and they always recognised in him a fellow “Freak”.

At the time of his death, George was animating Shakespeare’s “The tempest”. I can not think of a more unlikely subject for animation than that, but that, of course, was why George was making it.

JOHN COATES

I first met George in a Mayfair pub 22 years ago, and as a result T.V. Cartoons was formed in June of 1957.

Like all animation studios, we had many ups-and-downs, during which time pur partnership thrived. A large part of this was due to George’s steadfastness. He had an amazing way of keeping his cool under all circumstances, whether he was forcing through his creative ideas or arguing with the “money-men”.

To people in the business, he was quiet innovator of marvellous new techniques and experiences, and many are the studios around the world today whose creative owners learnt their art at TVC, under George’s patient direction.

Animation has lost one of its great talents, and many of us a very good friend.

A still from Dunning’s short, “The Flying Man.”

NORMAN McLAREN

I had the good fortune to work with George Dunning when he first arrived at the National Film Board. He had just come from Art College, and already his style as a graphic artist was quite distinctively his own.

From his very first film he showed a ready and natural bent for animation, and, what was even more important, he had the ability to make the sensitive and mystic marriage between his talents as a graphic artist and as an animator. His peculiarly personal vision and whimsy soon shone out in such early films as “Cadet Rouselle” and “Upright and Wrong”. I found George a graceful, articulate and gentle person: a philosopher much given to strangely fanciful invention and drollery, and all in great taste.

His later personal films such as “The Flying Man” and “Damon the Mower” emphasize these asnects of the man even more. He was a true noet.

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