FilmFair
| Industry | Television production and film studio |
|---|---|
| Fate | Absorbed into DHX Media and Discovery Communications |
| Successor |
|
| Founded | 1968 |
| Defunct | 1996 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles; London |
|
Key people
|
|
FilmFair was a production company and animation studio that produced children's television series, animated cartoons, educational films, and television advertisements. The company is perhaps best remembered for its stop-motion films using puppets, clay animation, and cutout animation.
FilmFair was founded by American animator Gus Jekel in Los Angeles. After working with Walt Disney Productions and other Hollywood animation studios in the 1930s, Jekel incorporated FilmFair because he wanted the freedom to create live action work as well. The studio was in "Animation Alley", a stretch of Cahuenga Boulevard that runs through Studio City in northern LA.
Jekel's company produced television advertisements—some animated, others live-action—and was extremely successful; even Disney was a client.
In the late 1960s, Jekel asked an English colleague, Graham Clutterbuck, to start a European office for FilmFair. Clutterbuck had been producing and coordinating television ads for European advertising agencies, and had just lost his job as director general of Les Cinéastes Associés in Paris. Although he was not well-acquainted with animation, Clutterbuck accepted. Clutterbuck established FilmFair's European office in Paris. It was there that he met Serge Danot, who pitched his ideas for a children's series, but Clutterbuck turned him down. Soon after, Danot signed a contract with the BBC to produce the series The Magic Roundabout. He invited Clutterbuck to watch them film. There Clutterbuck met the series' co-creator, Ivor Wood. Later, the two men agreed that Wood would make animated films for FilmFair. The success of The Magic Roundabout paved the way for more stop-motion animation at the BBC. Soon, Wood came up with the idea for The Herbs, which premiered on BBC1 in 1968.
...
Wikipedia