Suzie Templeton facts for kids

Suzanah Clare Templeton (born in 1967) is a talented British animator. She is famous for her film Peter and the Wolf. This film won many awards, including an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2008.

About Suzie Templeton

Her Early Life

Suzie Templeton grew up in Highfield, Southampton, England. She started animating as a child with her older brother. They made special effects for his home movies. Even though she was interested in animation, Suzie first studied science at University College London.

After college, she traveled the world and did many different jobs. She later decided science wasn't for her. In her mid-twenties, she became an English teacher at a women's shelter and orphanage in India. Suzie's mother gave her a picture of Nick Park's Wallace and Gromit. This inspired Suzie to start working with sculptures, models, and puppets for stop-motion animation.

Her Family Life

Suzie Templeton is a mentor to other creators. In 2014, she helped at the Animateka film festival. Her husband, Rosto, was a Dutch filmmaker and musician. He passed away in 2019. Suzie and Rosto have a son named Max and a daughter named Rosie.

Suzie's Animation Career

Starting in Animation

Suzie Templeton began her professional animation journey at age 28. She studied at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design. This school is now called the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham. After earning her degree there, she went to the Royal College of Art (RCA). She graduated from RCA in 2001.

Suzie loved stop-motion animation because it was a quiet and slow process. It allowed her to build models and be creative. At RCA, she improved her skills in making 3D art and telling stories. She also found her own unique style. At first, she thought she would make cartoons like Wallace and Gromit. But her films often explore deeper, more serious topics. Animation became a way for her to express strong emotions.

Famous Films and Awards

While at RCA, Suzie made two short films. Her first film was Stanley (1999). Her graduate project was Dog (2001). Both films won many awards.

After graduating, Suzie started working on a modern version of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. Filmmaker Hugh Welchman and conductor Mark Stephenson asked her to create an animated film. It would be shown during a live orchestra performance. Suzie began working on the film by herself at home.

The film turned out to be a huge project. She moved to a studio in Poland to finish it. Over 200 people worked on the film for more than five years. Peter and the Wolf was released in 2006. It won many awards, including the Academy Award for Best Short Film in 2008.

Future Projects

In 2008, Suzie Templeton joined Tandem Films as an animation director. She mentioned that her next project might be a short film. It would be based on Lauren Child's children's book The Pesky Rat. She also planned to make a feature film.

In 2020, news came out about her new plans. She is working on a feature film called Spitsbergen. She is also making a medium-length film called Return to Nix. A Parisian company called Autour de minuit is helping to produce both projects.

Suzie Templeton's Filmography

• Stanley (1999)
• Dog (2001)
• Peter and the Wolf (2006)

Awards and Recognition

• Stanley (1999) won the Golden Sun Award in 2001. It also won the Best College Student Animation Award at the Nashville Independent Film Festival in 2000. It received the Best Animation Award at the International Short Film Festival of Berlin in 2000, and many others.
• Dog (2001) won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for Short Animation in 2002, among other honors.
• Peter and the Wolf (2006) won the Academy Award for Best Short Film in 2008. It also won the British Animation Award for Best TV Special in 2006. Other awards include the Pulcinella Ward for Best European Programme in 2007. It received the Grand Prix and Audience Award Annecy at the French Animation Festival in 2007. It also won the Golden Rose for Performing Arts at the Rose D'or Festival in Switzerland in 2007. The film received a Special Prize at the Ukraine Animated Film Festival in 2007. Finally, it won the Special Jury Award of the Lucca Animation Festival in Italy in 2008.