To stop your minds from wandering

In episode 82 of the Skwigly Animation Podcast we look back on George Dunning’s iconic contribution to British animated cinema Yellow Submarine some fifty years on.
The film will be celebrating the lead-up to its 50th anniversary this Sunday (July 8th) through a number of newly-restored theatrical screenings across the UK in association with organisations such as Anim18, the BFI, Everyman Cinemas and Picturehouse Cinemas. Keep your eyes on the Anim18 website for future events including a screening at Birmingham’s MAC on the anniversary itself (July 17th) and a number of special interactive ‘singalong’ screenings from August.
This one gave me an excuse to feature a segment with my father Lynn who was among the weekend workers doing cel painting on the film in the mad rush to get it done. Also Laura-Beth speaks with Gillian Lacey, one of the film's Assistant Animators who would go on to set up the Leeds Animation Workshop and teach at the National Film and Television School.
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Also discussed in this episode: The legacy of Smallfilms founder Peter Firmin who passed away earlier this month and whose own body of work (alongside co-founder Oliver Postgate) included such classic UK series as The Clangers and Bagpuss. Peter also guested on the podcast in episode 60 a couple years' back:

Golden Oldies

For our sixtieth episode of the Skwigly Animation Podcast we’re proud to feature an interview from this year’s Canterbury Anifest in which Skwigly contributor Neil Whitman meets Peter Firmin of Smallfilms, the production company that brought the UK such timeless classics as Bagpuss, The Clangers, Noggin the Nog and Ivor the Engine. Joining Peter is Daniel Postgate, son of the late Smallfilms co-founder Oliver Postgate who has actively continued and commemorated his father’s legacy through the recent Clangers revival, presently in production on its second series.
Also discussed in this episode – the staying power of animated preschool classics, the end of a modern TV animation era as Adventure Time and Archer draw to a close, Disney’s questionable propensity toward ‘live-action’ remakes of their animated features plus a preview of the exciting events on offer at this year’s forthcoming edition of the Manchester Animation Festival.
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