Conversations with some of the animation industry's most celebrated independent creators.
"I didn't know anything about animation when I got into it.” confesses Paul Driessen, one of the world’s most popular and prolific independent animators. Sixty years later, his instantly recognizable award-winning cartoons get you laughing from the very first frame. In this conversation with his old friend Marv Newland (Bambi Meets Godzilla), Driessen discusses his long storied career. From the beginnings in the 1960s with Yellow Submarine to his Oscar-nominated shorts, Driessen tells us how he animates, why he animates and his simple use of the line. No trees were harmed during the course of this interview.
SPEAKER
Paul Driessen
Animator // Independent
(The 2 Shoes, The Origin of Sound, Cat meets Dog, 3 Misses)
Paul Driessen—born 1940—is a Dutch film director, animator and writer. His short films have won more than fifty prizes all over the world, including the Life Achievement Awards at both Ottawa and Zagreb animation festivals, and an Academy Award nomination for 3 Misses. After studying graphic design and illustration at the Art Academy in Utrecht, Driessen began animating TV commercials in the Netherlands in the '60s, although he had no training in that art at all. When George Dunning, in search of talent, found Driessen at the Cine Cartoon Centre in Hilversum, he hired him as an animator for his feature animation film Yellow Submarine (1968). He also helped Driessen to emigrate to Canada, where he became a member of the National Film Board of Canada in 1972. Driessen's unique style can be easily recognized by the delicate quality of his ever-moving and wiggly lines, as well as by the fluid, but awkward movements of his characters. His storytelling sometimes splits up the screen into three, or even six different parts, with all actions nicely woven into each other.
In the 1980s, Driessen taught animation at the University of Kassel, Germany. Two of his students' films won Academy Awards. His films, 3 Misses and 2D or Not 2D, were included in the Animation Show of Shows.
Marv Newland
Director // International Rocketship
(Katalog of Flaws, Scratchy, Gary Larson's Tales From the Far Side, Bambi Meets Godzilla)
Marv Newland began a career in animation with the animated short film Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969). After a brief period working in TV commercial studio Spungbuggy Works, Los Angeles, Marv rode a dinosaur to Toronto, Canada (1970). Here he freelanced for Film Design Ltd, Cinera and Phos-Cine (New York City). In 1972, he arrived on a Clipper ship in Vancouver, Canada. In 1975, he founded animation studio International Rocketship Limited. At Rocketship, he designed and directed TV commercials, MTV, YTV, Nickelodeon and Sesame Street IDs. In 1980 Marv directed the animated short Sing Beast Sing which won film festival prizes and helped to launch the production of many other short films including Anijam (1984), Black Hula (1988) Pink Komkommer (1991) Postalolio (2008). International Rocketship also produced short films for other directors including The Butterfly (1982) by Dieter Mueller, Lupo the Butcher (1987) by Danny Antonucci, Dog Brain (1988) by J. Falconer, Pollen Fever (1991) by Debra Dawson. In 1994, Newland directed Gary Larson's Tales from the Far Side produced at Rocketship as a CBS television special. It won the Grand Prix at Annecy International Animation Festival, France. He directed Tête à Tête à Tête (2005) and CMYK (2010) for the National Film Board of Canada. He has also designed and/or directed animated TV series including Barbapapa, Being Ian and The PJs. Currently, Newland is an instructor in the classical animation department of the Vancouver Film School.
Conversations with some of the animation industry's most celebrated independent creators.
"I didn't know anything about animation when I got into it.” confesses Paul Driessen, one of the world’s most popular and prolific independent animators. Sixty years later, his instantly recognizable award-winning cartoons get you laughing from the very first frame. In this conversation with his old friend Marv Newland (Bambi Meets Godzilla), Driessen discusses his long storied career. From the beginnings in the 1960s with Yellow Submarine to his Oscar-nominated shorts, Driessen tells us how he animates, why he animates and his simple use of the line. No trees were harmed during the course of this interview.
SPEAKER
Paul Driessen
Animator // Independent
(The 2 Shoes, The Origin of Sound, Cat meets Dog, 3 Misses)
Paul Driessen—born 1940—is a Dutch film director, animator and writer. His short films have won more than fifty prizes all over the world, including the Life Achievement Awards at both Ottawa and Zagreb animation festivals, and an Academy Award nomination for 3 Misses. After studying graphic design and illustration at the Art Academy in Utrecht, Driessen began animating TV commercials in the Netherlands in the '60s, although he had no training in that art at all. When George Dunning, in search of talent, found Driessen at the Cine Cartoon Centre in Hilversum, he hired him as an animator for his feature animation film Yellow Submarine (1968). He also helped Driessen to emigrate to Canada, where he became a member of the National Film Board of Canada in 1972. Driessen's unique style can be easily recognized by the delicate quality of his ever-moving and wiggly lines, as well as by the fluid, but awkward movements of his characters. His storytelling sometimes splits up the screen into three, or even six different parts, with all actions nicely woven into each other.
In the 1980s, Driessen taught animation at the University of Kassel, Germany. Two of his students' films won Academy Awards. His films, 3 Misses and 2D or Not 2D, were included in the Animation Show of Shows.
Marv Newland
Director // International Rocketship
(Katalog of Flaws, Scratchy, Gary Larson's Tales From the Far Side, Bambi Meets Godzilla)
Marv Newland began a career in animation with the animated short film Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969). After a brief period working in TV commercial studio Spungbuggy Works, Los Angeles, Marv rode a dinosaur to Toronto, Canada (1970). Here he freelanced for Film Design Ltd, Cinera and Phos-Cine (New York City). In 1972, he arrived on a Clipper ship in Vancouver, Canada. In 1975, he founded animation studio International Rocketship Limited. At Rocketship, he designed and directed TV commercials, MTV, YTV, Nickelodeon and Sesame Street IDs. In 1980 Marv directed the animated short Sing Beast Sing which won film festival prizes and helped to launch the production of many other short films including Anijam (1984), Black Hula (1988) Pink Komkommer (1991) Postalolio (2008). International Rocketship also produced short films for other directors including The Butterfly (1982) by Dieter Mueller, Lupo the Butcher (1987) by Danny Antonucci, Dog Brain (1988) by J. Falconer, Pollen Fever (1991) by Debra Dawson. In 1994, Newland directed Gary Larson's Tales from the Far Side produced at Rocketship as a CBS television special. It won the Grand Prix at Annecy International Animation Festival, France. He directed Tête à Tête à Tête (2005) and CMYK (2010) for the National Film Board of Canada. He has also designed and/or directed animated TV series including Barbapapa, Being Ian and The PJs. Currently, Newland is an instructor in the classical animation department of the Vancouver Film School.
