Morph (animation)
| Morph | |
|---|---|
 A model of Morph on display at the National Media Museum, Bradford | |
| First appearance | Take Hart, 15 February 1977 |
| Created by | Peter Lord |
Morph is a clay stop-motion comedy animation, featuring the eponymous character that appeared with Tony Hart, beginning in 1977, on several of his UK TV programmes, notably Take Hart and Hartbeat.
History
Morph was produced for the BBC by Aardman Animations, later famous for the "Sledgehammer" music video and Wallace and Gromit. Morph appeared mainly in one-minute "shorts" interspersed throughout the show. These were connected to the main show by having Hart deliver a line or two to Morph who would reply in gobbledygook but with meaningful gestures. Later on, Morph was joined by cream-coloured Chas, who was much more badly behaved.
Morph can change shape, he would become spheres in order to move around, or extrude into cylinders to pass to different levels. He can also mimic other objects, or creatures. Morph lived in a wooden microscope box on an artists desk, and he and Chas both loved to eat cake, as seen in many of the shorts.
Some of the early plasticine models of Morph were destroyed in a fire at the warehouse where they were being stored, on 10 October 2005.[1]
Morph and Chas appeared in shorts on the British children's TV programme SMart from 1994 onwards.
Morph's 30th birthday was celebrated in 2007 by creator Peter Lord and celebrity fan and comedian Phill Jupitus at events for the Encounters Film Festival in Bristol.
In March 2009, shortly after Hart's death, a flashmob of Morph characters was organised in London outside the Tate Modern art gallery.[2]
In 2009, the BBC drama Ashes to Ashes featured Morph in a guest appearance as a representation of a present-day medic.[3]
On 29 October 2013, Peter Lord (co-founder of Aardman Animations) created a fund raising project on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. The campaign set a target of £75,000 to be used to fund 12 new one minute episodes. The target was reached on 6 November 2013 after only 9 days, attracting contributions from over 1,700 backers who will receive a variety of rewards, including early access to the new animations and a small box of clay used in the production, depending on the individual's level of funding.[4][5]
In January 2014, Peter Lord and Aardman started production on 15 brand new episodes of Morph, with the help of donations from fans. The new series premiered on Morph's official YouTube channel from 4 July 2014 to 30 January 2015.
In 2015, a Morph experience will open at Land's End. The Land’s End signpost will be rebranded 'Lamb’s End' with original sets, models and characters from a range of Aardman productions. Visitors can also star in a real Shaun the Sheep scene, using green screen technology, and meet other characters from the Aardman family, including Shaun The Sheep and Wallace & Gromit.[6]
From 20 March to 2 October 2015 The Amazing Adventures of Morph have been restored in HD on YouTube.
In the summer of 2015, Morph returned to TV on CBBC with the new episodes.[7]
From 6 November 2015 to 7 January 2016, The Lost Tapes from 2001 are revealed and they have been redubbed and remastered on YouTube.
In March 2016, it was announced that Sky plc had made a deal with Aardman Animations to produce new Morph material to be directed at its child audience.[8]
Films, shorts, and TV series
| 1977–83 | Take Hart |
| 1980–81 | The Amazing Adventures of Morph* |
| 1984–93 | Hartbeat |
| 1994–2005 | SMart |
| 1995 | The Morph Files |
| 1997 | Morph TV (with Tony Hart) |
| 1998 | On Your Marks |
| 2001 | The Lost Tapes* |
| 2006 | Morph (TV series) |
| 2009 | Ashes to Ashes (guest appearance) |
| 2012 | Ricky's Radical Reinventions |
| 2014–15 | Brand New Morph# |
| 2016 | Morph |
- (*) means that it's been restored on YouTube.
- (#) means that it's made for YouTube.
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 19 | 4 November 2013 | 26 June 2014 | |
| 2 | 17 | 4 July 2014 | 6 March 2015 | |
Season 1: 2013–14
The First Season of Morph was aired on 4 November 2013 and Ended on 26 June 2014.
| # | Episode | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | Hats | 4 November 2013 |
| 102 | No Entry | 4 November 2013 |
| 103 | Magic Boots | 4 November 2013 |
| 104 | Invisimorph | 4 November 2013 |
| 105 | Sweet Showdown | 4 November 2013 |
| 106 | The Amazing Mimic | 6 November 2013 |
| 107 | Get The Picture | 11 November 2013 |
| 108 | Cake | 14 November 2013 |
| 109 | Robomorph | 27 March 2014 |
| 110 | Messy April Fools | 1 April 2014 |
| 111 | Card Trick | 1 May 2014 |
| 112 | Ice Cream | 8 May 2014 |
| 113 | Row Your Boat | 15 May 2014 |
| 114 | Sailors | 22 May 2014 |
| 115 | Cleaning | 29 May 2014 |
| 116 | Minimorph | 5 June 2014 |
| 117 | Football | 12 June 2014 |
| 118 | Sitting Comfortably? | 19 June 2014 |
| 119 | Pudding Time | 26 June 2014 |
Season 2: 2014–15
| # | Episode | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 201 | Twin Decks | 4 July 2014 |
| 202 | Portable Hole | 18 July 2014 |
| 203 | Great Outdoors | 1 August 2014 |
| 204 | Stand Up | 15 August 2014 |
| 205 | Fetch | 29 August 2014 |
| 206 | Bin It To Win It | 12 September 2014 |
| 207 | Stick Up | 26 September 2014 |
| 208 | Hiccups | 10 October 2014 |
| 209 | Box of Tricks | 24 October 2014 |
| 210 | Selfie | 7 November 2014 |
| 211 | Clean Sweep | 21 November 2014 |
| 212 | Goal | 5 December 2014 |
| 213 | Xmas | 19 December 2014 |
| 214 | Sloped World | 2 January 2015 |
| 215 | Chas Express | 17 January 2015 |
| 216 | Picture Perfect | 30 January 2015 |
| 217 | Red Nose Day | 6 March 2015 |
Season 3: 2016
A third season will air on the Sky Kids app and YouTube in 2016.[9]
Characters
- Morph – The curious and creative main character with tuscan red skin. He is a clay figure who can transform into many things.
- Chas – Morph's mischievous white-skinned best friend.
- Nailbrush – Morph's 'canine' companion, a barking nailbrush.
- GrandMorph – Morph's elderly, bearded grandfather, who travels by skateboard and frequently invents things.
- Delilah – A bossy, bespectacled female character in a yellow dress with dark brownish-purple skin.
- Folly – A scatter-brained girl made of tin-foil.
- Gillespie – A large, blue, dimwitted but peaceable friend of Morph's.
- The Very Small Creatures – An array of small plasticine balls with eyes who travel in a swarm; the smallest of the group, Little Green, features prominently on his own in a number of episodes.
- Gobbledygook – A green, omnivorous alien child (who arrived on the table by sleeping near Morph's desk in The Amazing Adventures of Morph, but in The Morph Files, he arrived by accidentally being printed from the 'Space Invaders' style game).
Credits
1980
- Narrator: Tony Hart
- Animators: Peter Lord, David Sproxton, Nick Park (since 1985)
- Modelmaker: Chris Entwistle
- Lighting/Camera: Nat Sale
- Special Effects: Peter Harwood
- Editor: Alan Trott
- Executive Producers: David Hamilton, Claire Derry
- Produced by: Patrick Dowling
- Written and Directed by: Peter Lord, David Sproxton
1995
- Narrator: Neil Morrissey
- Animation by: Aardman Animations
- Storyboard: Andy James
- Stop-Motion Animation: Mike Booth, Gary Cureton, Dave Osmond
- Modelmaker: Chris Entwistle
- Lighting/Camera: Nat Sale
- Computer Animation: Alan Snow
- Sound Designers: Tom Myers and Will Norte
- Dubbing Editor: James Mather
- Special Sound Effects: Peter Harwood
- Special Visual Effects: Alan Snow
- Foley Artist: Jana Vance
- Licensing & Marketing: Link Licensing
- For Link Licensing: David Hamilton, Claire Derry
- Special Thanks to: Nick Park, Peter Lord, David Sproxton, Aardman Animations Staff
- Music by: Julian Nott
- Film Editor: Andrew Hassenruck
- Production Designer: Peter Lord
- Director of Photography: Nick Park
- Executive Producers: Peter Lord, David Sproxton
- Produced by: Jacqueline White
- Written by: Andy Walker
- Directed by: Peter Lord
See also
References
- ↑ Curses, Gromit! Fire destroys animation firm's history on eve of box office triumph
- ↑ Morph Flashmob outside the Tate Modern gallery
- ↑ 1980s kids' plasticine star Morph to star in Ashes To Ashes
- ↑ 'Bring back Morph' campaign launched by Aardman
- ↑ All New Adventures of Morph from Aardman Animations
- ↑ http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Shaun-Sheep-friends-star-Land-s-End-experience/story-23723823-detail/story.html
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/11617581/Morph-returns-to-TV-after-15-years-with-new-CBBC-show.html
- ↑ Financial Times, 31 March 2016
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5jhpTabqJ0
External links
- Official Morph website
- Official Morph YouTube channel
- Information about Morph, with photograph
- B3ta interview with Tony Hart which discusses Morph
- A fond farewell to Morph: Tony Hart article about Morph
- Animation archive up in smoke: BBC News article about Aardman's warehouse fire
- Morph's page on Tony Hart's official site
- Limited edition Morph prints created for Morph's 30th anniversary
- Guardian article about Aardman's warehouse fire
- Kickstarter project to fund new production