I've been getting into the deeper depths of British animation lately, as there is a lot of great shows produced over the years that most Americans like myself haven't gotten exposed to much before the internet. I first began getting into it when some of my artist friends from the UK had suggested that my artwork reminds them of some of the shows they grew up with.
They seem to have a great number of 5-minute story type of cartoons, cartoons where all the voices are usually done by one guy and the animation is done on the cheap, with simple stories and without any lipsync (perhaps for easier translation for international broadcasts).
Willo the Wisp is one of those shows that early on deviated from this tired formula, with slightly more polished animation, actual lipsync, and perhaps most importantly great writing -- almost Fractured Fairytales-esque -- and characters vocalized with impressive range by Kenneth Williams, who before had worked together with famed animator Richard Williams (no relation) on at least one short feature.
The Moomins, a Finnish/Japanese co-production, had a substantial run in the UK, although it is much more popular in Scandinavian and Asian countries. Adapted from a series of chapter books and comic strips originally written in the 50s and 60s, the show stars various races of abstract creatures who often get themselves into adventures of exciting and eerie, and perhaps all too relatable to the human condition. While the original chapter books range in tone from classic fantasy to allegorical drama, and the comic strips being much more satirical, the 90s TV series finds a nice blend for all these sources.
Count Duckula is another really spectacular show that they even tried out here in the States for a time, but never really took off. It too has quite a bit of Bullwinkle inspired humor and wordplay, and pretty decent animation for its time. Incidentally, Marvel Comics had once published a series of comic books pairing it with stories based on its more popular predecessor Danger Mouse, which I've yet to see.
My most recent obsession in British animation would have to be
SuperTed, one of the first Welsh-produced cartoons, featuring a bizarre cast of characters who somehow all work very well off eachother.
I had the great honor of speaking with one of the main writers of the show, Robin Lyons, who had some fascinating stories to tell of his experiences in British showbiz.
And apart from animation, the UK also has a great history with puppet shows! Somehow puppetry was always more hip over there. We Americans had Bil Baird, Howdy Doody, Kukula and Ollie, several local-market characters and of course the Muppets, but they had heaps and heaps of nationally famous puppet stars: Sooty and Sweep, Ed the Duck, Gordon Gopher, Basil Bush, Doobie Duck and his Duck Truck, my personal favorites are
Pinky and Perky, two pigs who are kind of like the Chipmunks, in that they sing popular songs in sped-up voices. They had a TV series in the 60s that, like the Muppet Show, focused on the behind-the-scenes goings-on in creating and preforming a show, only it took place in a pirate TV studio instead of a theater.
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