The animation world has lost a legend. The National Film Board of Canada has announced the death of Gerald Potterton on August 24 at the age of 91.
Known for his long career in animation, Potterton has worked on films such as ‘Yellow Submarine’ and directed the highly sought-after ‘Heavy Metal’.
Potterton was born in London in 1931, attended Hammersmith School of Art, and moved to Canada in 1955. in the 1960s, he joined the National Film Board of Canada and began his career in short films.
He was nominated for two Oscars for his short films: ‘My Financial Career’ in 1962, which he directed, and ‘Christmas Cracker’ in 1963, which he co-directed with Norman McLaren, Grant Munro and Jeff Hale. ‘.
Buster Keaton (left) and Gerald Potterton (right) on the set of ‘The Railrodder’ (1965).
Soon after, Potterton established his own studio, Potterton Productions, in 1967. His artistic career continued, however.
His good friend George Dunning invited him back to England to work on the film ‘Yellow Submarine’ starring The Beatles.
In 1981, ‘Heavy Metal’ came out of nowhere. The film, directed by Potterton and distributed by Columbia Pictures, was based on several short stories from the magazine of the same name.
The film’s impressive original soundtrack, which featured many of the famous pop bands of the time, was full of violence and sexual elements.
Audience reviews of the film were mixed, but it achieved some success at the box office.
After its release, the film gained a large number of rabid fans through media and word-of-mouth communication.
Potterton continued to direct and produce animation in the 70s and 80s.
One of his most famous works is ‘Sesame Street’, where he created a series of scenes with Farmer George, filmed in stop-motion animation, teaching the definition of various phrases such as ‘over’ and ‘under’, ‘near’ and ‘far’, and ‘beginning’ and ‘end’. “near” and “far”, and “beginning” and “end”.
Potterton’s other notable works include the Oscar-nominated short film ‘The Selfish Giant’ based on Oscar Wilde’s story of the same name in 1971, ‘The Happy Prince’ based on Oscar Wilde’s story of the same name in 1974, ‘The Little Mermaid’ based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale in 1975, and many others. The Little Mermaid’ based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, etc.
