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FilmFair facts for kids

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FilmFair
Industry Television production and film studio
Fate Library sold to Altschul Group Corporation (FilmFair)
Sold to and absorbed by Cinar Films (FilmFair London)
Founded 1968 (52 years ago)
Defunct 1996 (24 years ago)
Headquarters Los Angeles; London
Key people
  • Gus Jekel
  • Graham Clutterbuck
  • Ivor Wood
Parent Independent (1968-early 80's)
Central Independent Television (early 1980's-1991)
Caspian Group (1991-1996)

FilmFair was a British-American company that made cartoons and TV shows for kids. They also created educational films and TV ads. FilmFair was known for its special way of making cartoons. They often used stop-motion animation. This means they would move puppets, clay figures, or cut-out shapes a tiny bit at a time. Then, they would take a picture of each small movement. When all the pictures were played fast, it looked like the characters were moving on their own!

FilmFair started in 1968 and closed down in 1996. They had offices in both Los Angeles and London. Over the years, they created many popular shows that kids loved.

FilmFair's Amazing Cartoons and Shows

FilmFair made many different kinds of animated shows. They used both traditional animation and stop-motion. Traditional animation is like drawing many pictures that are then played quickly. Stop-motion, as we learned, uses real objects moved frame by frame.

Popular Animated TV Series

Here are some of the well-known TV series FilmFair produced:

Title Original
broadcast		 Network Animation Style Director(s)
The Legends of Treasure Island 1993–95 Central traditional Dino Athanassiou; Simon Ward-Horner
The Legend of White Fang 1992–94 The Family Channel traditional Steve Majaury; Alain Sion
Rod 'n' Emu 1991 Central traditional Ian Sachs; Dick Horn
Nellie the Elephant 1990–91 Central traditional Terry Ward
The Dreamstone 1990–95 Central traditional Martin Gates
Bangers and Mash 1988 Central traditional Ian Sachs
The Shoe People 1987 TV-am traditional Clennell Rawson
The Blunders 1986 Central traditional Ian Sachs
The Perishers 1978–79 BBC1 traditional Dick Horn
Astro Farm 1992–96 Central stop motion David Johnson
The Gingerbread Man 1992 Central stop motion Martin Pullen
Huxley Pig 1989–90 Central stop motion Martin Pullen
Windfalls 1988 Central stop motion Jenny Kenna
Edward and Friends 1987 SeeSaw stop motion Martin Pullen; Jo Pullen; Jeff Newitt
The Adventures of Portland Bill 1983 Central stop motion John Grace
Moschops 1983 Central stop motion Martin Pullen
Paddington 1975–1986 BBC1 stop motion Ivor Wood; Barry Leith (dir. of animation)
Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings 1974–1976 Thames Television traditional Ivor Wood
The Wombles 1973 and 1975 BBC1 stop motion Ivor Wood; Barry Leith (dir. of animation)
The Adventures of Parsley 1970 BBC1 stop motion Ivor Wood
Hattytown Tales 1969–73 Thames Television stop motion Ivor Wood
Stories of the Sylvanian Families 1988 Central stop motion Jo Pullen; Martin Pullen
The Herbs 1968 BBC1 stop motion Ivor Wood

Special TV Episodes

FilmFair also created special longer episodes for some of their popular characters. These were often shown on TV during holidays or special events.

Title Premiere Network Animation Style Director
Paddington Goes to the Movies 1980 BBC1 stop motion Barry Leith
Paddington Goes to School 1984 BBC1 stop motion Martin Pullen
Paddington’s Birthday Bonanza 1986 BBC1 stop motion Glenn Whiting
Totally Minnie 1988 NBC traditional Scot Garen
World Womble Day 1990 Central stop motion Martin Pullen
The Wandering Wombles 1991 Central stop motion Martin Pullen
Brown Bear's Wedding 1991 Central traditional Chris Randall (anim.)
White Bear's Secret 1992 Central traditional Chris Randall (anim.)
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