This film is part of Free
Damon the Mower
A stripped back animated masterpiece from the director of Yellow Submarine (1968), based on an poem by Andrew Marvell
Overview
One of the greatest animated shorts of all time. Though George Dunning will always be best known as the director of the Beatles’ animated feature Yellow Submarine (1968), this is his masterpiece. The process of animation is laid bare; the index card drawings are left naked under the rostrum camera, with even the adhesive tape fixtures and sequence number revealed. The magic of the medium – to animate, to bring to life - becomes all the more extraordinary despite the revelation that it is an illusion.
George Dunning began his animation career in his native Canada under the tutelage of Norman McLaren at the National Film Board. He joined the influential UPA studio, first in New York and then at a new outpost in London opened to coincide with the start of commercial television in the UK. When UPA decided to leave the UK, George remained and started a new company called TV Cartoons (later TVC London) with the producer John Coates. Inbetween commercial work he made a staggering series of independent shorts that cement his legacy as one of the true greats of world animation. After his death in 1979, John Coates continued the studio, most famously producing The Snowman in 1982.
Related
13 Cantos of Hell 13 Cantos of Hell
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1955 20 mins
Follow Dante through Hell in this progressive silhouette animation with a musique concrète soundtrack by talented sculptor Peter King
Green Men, Yellow Woman Green Men, Yellow Woman
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 4 mins
Even Clark Gable doesn’t live up to his image in this off-beat cartoon about a woman fed up with the attentions of little green men
Animated Genesis Animated Genesis
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1952 22 mins
Arachnophobes beware! This colourful allegorical abstraction of life from creation to near destruction casts greed as a giant spider
Xeroscopy Xeroscopy
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1970 1 mins Silent
If you were electrocuted by a photocopier in the 70s and your life flashed before you, it might look a little something like this…
Boolean Procedure Boolean Procedure
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1980 23 mins
Innovative short that is equal parts Beckett, Gilliam, Orwell and life advice for the recently redundant. Yes, really.
Two Faces Two Faces
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1968 4 mins
An abstract poetic tale that tells both one and a thousand stories of love and loss, by a designer on The Beatles Yellow Submarine film
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Dan George of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Trixie Parkin-Christie of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.