Once upon a time there was a brave British
toon studio which hoped to conquer
new animated heights. It was called GB-Animation
(short for Gaumont-British)
and it was set up at Moor Hall in Cookham-on-Thames
in 1949, by the highly
regarded American animator David Hand, with backing from
J Arthur Rank.
Hand came to Britain via Disney, having been
employed on the likes of
“Snow White”, “Pinnochio”
and “Bambi”. Under his leadership, a crew
of some 200 personnel were assembled, and production
began on two
series of short animated films; nine “Animaland”cartoons
and ten more
Musical Paintbox
shorts.
Of the two, the “Animaland” cartoons
are best known. These featured a host
of colourful critters at play. Four of them
starred a chipper squirrel called
Ginger Nutt and his pals Loopy the Hare, Corny
the Crow and Dusty Mole,
as well as Ginger’s sweetheart Hazel. The
studio was grooming young Ginger
for animated stardom, and several licensing deals
were struck in his name.
The other five toons in the series adopted
a “mockumentary” approach, observing
animal antics from a distance with the aid
of a narrator. But these sat rather
awkwardly next to the Ginger Nutt films. Ginger’s
antics took place in a specfic
woodland, with talking characters, whereas
most of the fauna in this
second selection were non-speaking. Even so,
they were umbrellred beneath
the same “Animaland” title, and
both sets of critters were united in one
celebratory film “Ginger Nutt’s Christmas
Circus”.
Sadly, the “Animaland” shorts failed
to find their audience. Technically,
they were faultless. Each toon was lushly
painted and the characters
had great vigour. But critics pointed to poor
storylines and characterization
which seemed merely a paler imitation of the
American short form, rather than
something distinctly British. And it’s true that
the critters inhabiting these
toons might well have stepped straight off a Disney
sketchpad.
Their voices were awkward too. Our “star”,
Ginger Nutt had a particularly
weedy intonation. His
four films featured some lively interplay and hijinx,
but the hero just lacked that certain winning
sparkle.
In the end, GB-Cartoons folded within three short
years of its launch.
But the studio’s legacy lives on, and although
the story and character flaws
remain, the modern-day viewer can now look back
and marvel at the
draughtmanship on display in these underappreciated
gems. Seriously,
you can’t find fault with a film like “The
Cuckoo”, which features a
delicious, dark interlude and some dazzling
design. It’s surely one
of the very best cartoons this country has
produced..
GB-Animation
stars
Some notable folk passed through the doors
at Moor Hall (though not all
of them stayed!).
•
Animators Arthur Humberstone and Nick Spargo both went on to join
Halas & Batchelor. Arthur later
scaled the heights of Watership
Down,
whilst Nick eventually invited
us in to Doyley Woods.
• Michael
Bentine and Bob Monkhouse were part of the Moor Hall
writing pool. Bob also voiced
several of the Animaland critters.
• Another
famous name of the writing credits was that of cartoonist
Reg
Parlett.
• But
perhaps most famously, that antipodean import Bob
Godfrey was
actually turned down as a GB-Cartoons
trainee!
The Animaland cartoons
Here are the nine toons, with synopses
and credits.
It’s interesting to note that the five
“mockumentary” films don’t mention
the animals’ names. Many are only latterly
revealed when the animals
assemble for “Ginger Nutt’s Christmas
Circus”. And further names are
only revealed off-screen, in the tie-in
books and publications.
Oh, and one thing you really won’t find
here are voice credits.
These aren’t present on the credit cues,
so we can only guess at
who did what – although it’s often reported
that comedian Bob
Monkhouse gave voice to Ginger Nutt’s
pal Corny Crow. As to
the others….?
The Cuckoo (1948)
starring:
Mr & Mrs Sparrow, Chirpy Sparrow, Cocky Sparrow,
Cooky
the Cuckoo, Willie Weasel
An off-screen Narrator encourages us
to observe Mr and Mrs Sparrow
as they play unwtting hosts to a greedy
young cuckoo. Their other
legitimate child, Chirpy, has a nightmare
time before losing his place
in the nest. Poor Chirpy soon finds
himself in the clutches of Willie
Weasel, until his cuckoo half-brother
intervenes – although a rescue
isn’t quite what’s on his mind….
This was the first and best of the “Animaland”
cartoons. The tone
is blacker than black throughout, and
the action is interrupted with
a fabulous musical interlude.
The song, “A
Cuckoo Ain’t So Cuckoo
After All” is accompanied by stark
and outlandish cuckoo caricatures.
much like the Pink Elephants who marched
through Dumbo’s alcoholic
dreams. It’s a gem.
direction: Bert
Felstead
story
supervision: Ralph
Wright
animation: Frank
Noysey, John Wilson,
Stan
Pearsall, Arthur Humberstone
set design: John
F. Reed, Pete Banks,
Bettina Hansford, Jeff Martin,
George Hawthorn
story:
Reg Parlett
musical dir: Henry Reed
The Lion (1948)
starring: Zimmy the Lion, Estelle the
Elephant, Boko Parrot,
Lena the Lioness, Biffy and Buffy Buffalo
In Darkest Africa a Naturalist ponders
the myth of the lion.
Is he really King of the Beasts? The
observed lion cub looks fairly
clueless as he tangles with an elephant.
Three years later the same
lion is witnessed preening for a mate, as
Boko the Parrot intervenes,
and our hero has the tables turned on
him. Finally, nine years later,
our same lion is comes unstuck as he
hunts buffalo. As the Naturalist
mocks his efforts once more, so our
hero changes tack and swallows
the buffon whole!
The tie-in books and apparel promoted Zimmy
as a lovable lion
cub, but this toon exposes him a far-less
appetizing man-eater!
direction: Bert
Felstead
story
supervision: Ralph
Wright
animation: Stan
Pearsall, Ted Percival,
Bill
Hopper, John Wilson,
Chick Henderson
story: Pete
Griffiths
set designs: Pete
Banks, Erik Rickus
backgrounds: Geo Hawthorn, Betty
Hsnsford
musical dir: Henry
Reed
The House-Cat (1948)
starring: Chester the Cat, Felia, Casper
the Alley-cat
An off-screen Narrator asks us to study
a kitten playing with the ring
on a blind. The youngster pretends it’s prey
of various guises for him
to torment. Then we pick up on the same cat
in adolescence,
competing for the affections of a flirty
feline, and almost coming
unstuck as he battles an outraged alley-cat…
The film features a splendid musical
interlude as we hear about
“The
Cat’s Meow”. And the climactic fight has our hero shedding
8 1/2 of his 9 Lives. The departing Lives
then bombard the enemy
with their halos, driving him away and winning
the fight for our hero!
direction: Bert
Felstead
story
supervision: Ralph
Wright
animation: Frank
Moysey, Arthur Humberstone,
Bill
Hopper, Chick Henderson,
Ted Percival
set designs: Pete
Banks, Eric Rickus,
George
Hawthorn, Betty Hansford
story: Reg
Parlett, Nobby Clark
musical dir: Henry
Reed
The
Australian Platypus (1949)
starring: Digger Platypus, Dinkum Platypus,
Kobber
and Kate Kookaburra, Wanda Waddle
Our friendly Narrator directs us to
a pretty female platypus dusting
down her home, just before a young male moves
in next door. The
two squabble and compete for each other’s
affection, to the amusement
of the watching kookaburras. After a
brief case of mistaken identity
the couple take to the water together,
and it all ends happily ever after
with the arrival of their own young platypus
child. Not so for kookaburras,
who are now tormented by their own chittering
offspring!
This final waterbound frolics are
beautifully arranged, reminding us
of those classic Harman & Ising cartoons
of the same era.
direction: Bert
Felstead
story
supervision: Ralph
Wright
animation: Stan
Pearsall, Bill Hopper,
Arthur
Humberstone, George Jackson
story: Reg
Parlett
set design: Pete
Banks
backgrounds: Geo Hawthorn, Betty
Hansford
musical dir: Henry
Reed
The Ostrich (1949)
starring: Oscar Ostrich, Sandy Ostrich
After some tomfoolery between an ostrich
and its hatching egg,
the big bird and its new hatchling
stumble upon some Eqgyptian
hieroglyphics and a musical number kicks
in…
There’s
no Narrator here, either off-screen or on. And Oscar and Sandy
appear to have stepped straight out of “Fantasia”.
However, “Don’t
Hide
Your Head in the Sand” is a grand
little ditty, well-staged, and it
helps paper over a painfully thin plot.
direction: Bert
Felstead
animation: John
Wilson, Frank Moysey,
Chick
Henderson, Ted Percival
musical dir: Henry
Reed
story: Reg
Parlett
set designs: Eric
Rickus, Perc Poynter
backgrounds: Geo Hawthorn, Betty
Hansford
vocals: The
Radio Revellers
Ginger Nutt’s Bee-Bother (1949)
starring: Ginger Nutt, Hazel, Corny
the Crow,
Loopy
the hare, Dusty the Mole
Ginger Nutt receieves a letter from Hazel,
arranging
a rendezvous.
And she’s expecting flowers from her sweetheart.
But Corny pieces
the letter together for his own amusement
and he, Loopy and Dusty
can’t help but interfere as Ginger gathers
a bouquet. The ensuing
antics disturb a meadow bee, with predicatbly
painful results…
direction: Bert
Felstead
animation: Stan
Pearsall, John Wilson,
Frank
Moysey, Bill Hopper
story: Nobby
Clark, Reg Parlett
set design: Pete
Banks
backgrounds: Betty Hansford,
Kay Pearce
musical dir: Henry
Reed
Ginger
Nutt in It’s A Lovely Day (1949)
starring: Ginger Nutt, Corny the Crow, Loopy
the Hare,
Dusty
the Mole
It’s a lovely day all right. Perfect
for fishing. So Ginger sets off for the
river. Only, his pals Corny, Loopy and
Dusty are in eager pursuit.
Ginger confuses them en route, and thinks
he’s shaken them off
But they catch up again as he starts
fishing and they tie an old
boot to his line. As the underwater
japes continue, a pike muscles
in on the scene and sends the trio scurrying
away. Now Ginger
can fish in peace at last…
direction: Bert
Felstead
animation: Stan
Pearsall, Bill Hopper,
Arthur
Humbertsone, George Jackson
story: Pete
Griffiths, Nobby Clark
set design: Pete
Banks, Perc Poynter
backgrounds: Geo Hawthorn, Betty
Hansford
musical dir: Henry
Reed
Ginger Nutt’s Christmas Circus (1949)
starring: Ginger Nutt, Hazel, Boko,
Willie Weasel, Corny,
Dusty,
Loopy, Cooky, Chirpy, Kobber & Kate,
Chester,
Zimmy, Oscar, Digger and Dinkum
The Christmas Circus is about to begin
and all the animals are
invited. All that is, except for Boko
the Parrot, who has to steal
Willie Weasel’s ticket to gain admittence.
As the curtain goes
up on the performance, so Boko must
thwart the efforts of Willie
to regain his seat and flatten the parrot.
But in the end, Willie’s
the one who’s silenced as the applause
rings around the Big Top
and we’re all wished a peaceful Christmas…
All the Animaland characters make an
appearance in this film,
and many are named for the first time
as they perform in the circus.
Ginger is the Ringmaster and Hazel mans
the box office. Chirpy
plays in the brass band, and Cooky Cuckoo
is a One-Bird-Band
on his own. Dusty Mole and Loopy
Hare pretend to be Santa, whilst
Kobber and Kate kookaburra clown around. Chester
Cat attempts
to walk the tightrope, Oscar puts his head in
big Zimmy Lion’s
mouth, Digger
and Dinkum Platypus perform some nifty juggling
and Corny is all set to be a human cannonball…
Or is that “crowball”?
direction: Bert
Felstead
animation:
Stan Pearsall, Frank Moysey,
John Wilson, Arthur Humberstone
story: Reg
Parlett, Pete Griffiths
set design: Pete
Banks
backgrounds: Geo Hawthorn
musical dir: Henry
Reed
Ginger Nutt’s Forest Dragon (1949)
starring:
Ginger Nutt, Hazel, Corny, Loopy and Dusty
Ginger Nutt will do anything to protect
his sweetheart Hazel.
But his oath is overhead by his pals,
and they put it to the test.
Now Ginger must find the courage to
defeat their made-up
Forest Monster…
The was mostly notable for being the
last of Moor Hall films
to be completed. Like the other Ginger Nutt
films, it’s very
well made, just a little bit uninspired.
Indeed, one can argue there
was more going on, creatively, in those “mockumentary”
shorts
than in Ginger’s somewhat predictable adventures.
Oh, but that’s
not saying these are bad. These are
very handsome films, and
Ginger is a mere whisker away from being
a star. Perhaps the time
has now come for a reinvention….?
direction: Bert
Felstead
animation: Stan
Pearsall, Bill Hopper,
Arthur
Humbertsone, Chick Henderson
story: Pete
Griffiths, Reg Parlett
set designs: Perc
Poynter
backgrounds: Betty Hansford,
Kay Pearce
musical dir: Henry
Reed
Animaland animated shorts by GB-Animation 1948-1949
Once upon a time there was a brave British
toon studio which hoped to conquer
new animated heights. It was called GB-Animation
(short for Gaumont-British)
and it was set up at Moor Hall in Cookham-on-Thames
in 1949, by the highly
regarded American animator David Hand, with backing from
J Arthur Rank.
Hand came to Britain via Disney, having been
employed on the likes of
“Snow White”, “Pinnochio”
and “Bambi”. Under his leadership, a crew
of some 200 personnel were assembled, and production
began on two
series of short animated films; nine “Animaland”cartoons
and ten more
Musical Paintbox
shorts.
Of the two, the “Animaland” cartoons
are best known. These featured a host
of colourful critters at play. Four of them
starred a chipper squirrel called
Ginger Nutt and his pals Loopy the Hare, Corny
the Crow and Dusty Mole,
as well as Ginger’s sweetheart Hazel. The
studio was grooming young Ginger
for animated stardom, and several licensing deals
were struck in his name.
The other five toons in the series adopted
a “mockumentary” approach, observing
animal antics from a distance with the aid
of a narrator. But these sat rather
awkwardly next to the Ginger Nutt films. Ginger’s
antics took place in a specfic
woodland, with talking characters, whereas
most of the fauna in this
second selection were non-speaking. Even so,
they were umbrellred beneath
the same “Animaland” title, and
both sets of critters were united in one
celebratory film “Ginger Nutt’s Christmas
Circus”.
Sadly, the “Animaland” shorts failed
to find their audience. Technically,
they were faultless. Each toon was lushly
painted and the characters
had great vigour. But critics pointed to poor
storylines and characterization
which seemed merely a paler imitation of the
American short form, rather than
something distinctly British. And it’s true that
the critters inhabiting these
toons might well have stepped straight off a Disney
sketchpad.
Their voices were awkward too. Our “star”,
Ginger Nutt had a particularly
weedy intonation. His
four films featured some lively interplay and hijinx,
but the hero just lacked that certain winning
sparkle.
In the end, GB-Cartoons folded within three short
years of its launch.
But the studio’s legacy lives on, and although
the story and character flaws
remain, the modern-day viewer can now look back
and marvel at the
draughtmanship on display in these underappreciated
gems. Seriously,
you can’t find fault with a film like “The
Cuckoo”, which features a
delicious, dark interlude and some dazzling
design. It’s surely one
of the very best cartoons this country has
produced..
GB-Animation
stars
Some notable folk passed through the doors
at Moor Hall (though not all
of them stayed!).
•
Animators Arthur Humberstone and Nick Spargo both went on to join
Halas & Batchelor. Arthur later
scaled the heights of Watership
Down,
whilst Nick eventually invited
us in to Doyley Woods.
• Michael
Bentine and Bob Monkhouse were part of the Moor Hall
writing pool. Bob also voiced
several of the Animaland critters.
• Another
famous name of the writing credits was that of cartoonist
Reg
Parlett.
• But
perhaps most famously, that antipodean import Bob
Godfrey was
actually turned down as a GB-Cartoons
trainee!
The Animaland cartoons
Here are the nine toons, with synopses
and credits.
It’s interesting to note that the five
“mockumentary” films don’t mention
the animals’ names. Many are only latterly
revealed when the animals
assemble for “Ginger Nutt’s Christmas
Circus”. And further names are
only revealed off-screen, in the tie-in
books and publications.
Oh, and one thing you really won’t find
here are voice credits.
These aren’t present on the credit cues,
so we can only guess at
who did what – although it’s often reported
that comedian Bob
Monkhouse gave voice to Ginger Nutt’s
pal Corny Crow. As to
the others….?
The Cuckoo (1948)
starring:
Mr & Mrs Sparrow, Chirpy Sparrow, Cocky Sparrow,
Cooky
the Cuckoo, Willie Weasel
An off-screen Narrator encourages us
to observe Mr and Mrs Sparrow
as they play unwtting hosts to a greedy
young cuckoo. Their other
legitimate child, Chirpy, has a nightmare
time before losing his place
in the nest. Poor Chirpy soon finds
himself in the clutches of Willie
Weasel, until his cuckoo half-brother
intervenes – although a rescue
isn’t quite what’s on his mind….
This was the first and best of the “Animaland”
cartoons. The tone
is blacker than black throughout, and
the action is interrupted with
a fabulous musical interlude.
The song, “A
Cuckoo Ain’t So Cuckoo
After All” is accompanied by stark
and outlandish cuckoo caricatures.
much like the Pink Elephants who marched
through Dumbo’s alcoholic
dreams. It’s a gem.
direction: Bert
Felstead
story
supervision: Ralph
Wright
animation: Frank
Noysey, John Wilson,
Stan
Pearsall, Arthur Humberstone
set design: John
F. Reed, Pete Banks,
Bettina Hansford, Jeff Martin,
George Hawthorn
story:
Reg Parlett
musical dir: Henry Reed
The Lion (1948)
starring: Zimmy the Lion, Estelle the
Elephant, Boko Parrot,
Lena the Lioness, Biffy and Buffy Buffalo
In Darkest Africa a Naturalist ponders
the myth of the lion.
Is he really King of the Beasts? The
observed lion cub looks fairly
clueless as he tangles with an elephant.
Three years later the same
lion is witnessed preening for a mate, as
Boko the Parrot intervenes,
and our hero has the tables turned on
him. Finally, nine years later,
our same lion is comes unstuck as he
hunts buffalo. As the Naturalist
mocks his efforts once more, so our
hero changes tack and swallows
the buffon whole!
The tie-in books and apparel promoted Zimmy
as a lovable lion
cub, but this toon exposes him a far-less
appetizing man-eater!
direction: Bert
Felstead
story
supervision: Ralph
Wright
animation: Stan
Pearsall, Ted Percival,
Bill
Hopper, John Wilson,
Chick Henderson
story: Pete
Griffiths
set designs: Pete
Banks, Erik Rickus
backgrounds: Geo Hawthorn, Betty
Hsnsford
musical dir: Henry
Reed
The House-Cat (1948)
starring: Chester the Cat, Felia, Casper
the Alley-cat
An off-screen Narrator asks us to study
a kitten playing with the ring
on a blind. The youngster pretends it’s prey
of various guises for him
to torment. Then we pick up on the same cat
in adolescence,
competing for the affections of a flirty
feline, and almost coming
unstuck as he battles an outraged alley-cat…
The film features a splendid musical
interlude as we hear about
“The
Cat’s Meow”. And the climactic fight has our hero shedding
8 1/2 of his 9 Lives. The departing Lives
then bombard the enemy
with their halos, driving him away and winning
the fight for our hero!
direction: Bert
Felstead
story
supervision: Ralph
Wright
animation: Frank
Moysey, Arthur Humberstone,
Bill
Hopper, Chick Henderson,
Ted Percival
set designs: Pete
Banks, Eric Rickus,
George
Hawthorn, Betty Hansford
story: Reg
Parlett, Nobby Clark
musical dir: Henry
Reed
The
Australian Platypus (1949)
starring: Digger Platypus, Dinkum Platypus,
Kobber
and Kate Kookaburra, Wanda Waddle
Our friendly Narrator directs us to
a pretty female platypus dusting
down her home, just before a young male moves
in next door. The
two squabble and compete for each other’s
affection, to the amusement
of the watching kookaburras. After a
brief case of mistaken identity
the couple take to the water together,
and it all ends happily ever after
with the arrival of their own young platypus
child. Not so for kookaburras,
who are now tormented by their own chittering
offspring!
This final waterbound frolics are
beautifully arranged, reminding us
of those classic Harman & Ising cartoons
of the same era.
direction: Bert
Felstead
story
supervision: Ralph
Wright
animation: Stan
Pearsall, Bill Hopper,
Arthur
Humberstone, George Jackson
story: Reg
Parlett
set design: Pete
Banks
backgrounds: Geo Hawthorn, Betty
Hansford
musical dir: Henry
Reed
The Ostrich (1949)
starring: Oscar Ostrich, Sandy Ostrich
After some tomfoolery between an ostrich
and its hatching egg,
the big bird and its new hatchling
stumble upon some Eqgyptian
hieroglyphics and a musical number kicks
in…
There’s
no Narrator here, either off-screen or on. And Oscar and Sandy
appear to have stepped straight out of “Fantasia”.
However, “Don’t
Hide
Your Head in the Sand” is a grand
little ditty, well-staged, and it
helps paper over a painfully thin plot.
direction: Bert
Felstead
animation: John
Wilson, Frank Moysey,
Chick
Henderson, Ted Percival
musical dir: Henry
Reed
story: Reg
Parlett
set designs: Eric
Rickus, Perc Poynter
backgrounds: Geo Hawthorn, Betty
Hansford
vocals: The
Radio Revellers
Ginger Nutt’s Bee-Bother (1949)
starring: Ginger Nutt, Hazel, Corny
the Crow,
Loopy
the hare, Dusty the Mole
Ginger Nutt receieves a letter from Hazel,
arranging
a rendezvous.
And she’s expecting flowers from her sweetheart.
But Corny pieces
the letter together for his own amusement
and he, Loopy and Dusty
can’t help but interfere as Ginger gathers
a bouquet. The ensuing
antics disturb a meadow bee, with predicatbly
painful results…
direction: Bert
Felstead
animation: Stan
Pearsall, John Wilson,
Frank
Moysey, Bill Hopper
story: Nobby
Clark, Reg Parlett
set design: Pete
Banks
backgrounds: Betty Hansford,
Kay Pearce
musical dir: Henry
Reed
Ginger
Nutt in It’s A Lovely Day (1949)
starring: Ginger Nutt, Corny the Crow, Loopy
the Hare,
Dusty
the Mole
It’s a lovely day all right. Perfect
for fishing. So Ginger sets off for the
river. Only, his pals Corny, Loopy and
Dusty are in eager pursuit.
Ginger confuses them en route, and thinks
he’s shaken them off
But they catch up again as he starts
fishing and they tie an old
boot to his line. As the underwater
japes continue, a pike muscles
in on the scene and sends the trio scurrying
away. Now Ginger
can fish in peace at last…
direction: Bert
Felstead
animation: Stan
Pearsall, Bill Hopper,
Arthur
Humbertsone, George Jackson
story: Pete
Griffiths, Nobby Clark
set design: Pete
Banks, Perc Poynter
backgrounds: Geo Hawthorn, Betty
Hansford
musical dir: Henry
Reed
Ginger Nutt’s Christmas Circus (1949)
starring: Ginger Nutt, Hazel, Boko,
Willie Weasel, Corny,
Dusty,
Loopy, Cooky, Chirpy, Kobber & Kate,
Chester,
Zimmy, Oscar, Digger and Dinkum
The Christmas Circus is about to begin
and all the animals are
invited. All that is, except for Boko
the Parrot, who has to steal
Willie Weasel’s ticket to gain admittence.
As the curtain goes
up on the performance, so Boko must
thwart the efforts of Willie
to regain his seat and flatten the parrot.
But in the end, Willie’s
the one who’s silenced as the applause
rings around the Big Top
and we’re all wished a peaceful Christmas…
All the Animaland characters make an
appearance in this film,
and many are named for the first time
as they perform in the circus.
Ginger is the Ringmaster and Hazel mans
the box office. Chirpy
plays in the brass band, and Cooky Cuckoo
is a One-Bird-Band
on his own. Dusty Mole and Loopy
Hare pretend to be Santa, whilst
Kobber and Kate kookaburra clown around. Chester
Cat attempts
to walk the tightrope, Oscar puts his head in
big Zimmy Lion’s
mouth, Digger
and Dinkum Platypus perform some nifty juggling
and Corny is all set to be a human cannonball…
Or is that “crowball”?
direction: Bert
Felstead
animation:
Stan Pearsall, Frank Moysey,
John Wilson, Arthur Humberstone
story: Reg
Parlett, Pete Griffiths
set design: Pete
Banks
backgrounds: Geo Hawthorn
musical dir: Henry
Reed
Ginger Nutt’s Forest Dragon (1949)
starring:
Ginger Nutt, Hazel, Corny, Loopy and Dusty
Ginger Nutt will do anything to protect
his sweetheart Hazel.
But his oath is overhead by his pals,
and they put it to the test.
Now Ginger must find the courage to
defeat their made-up
Forest Monster…
The was mostly notable for being the
last of Moor Hall films
to be completed. Like the other Ginger Nutt
films, it’s very
well made, just a little bit uninspired.
Indeed, one can argue there
was more going on, creatively, in those “mockumentary”
shorts
than in Ginger’s somewhat predictable adventures.
Oh, but that’s
not saying these are bad. These are
very handsome films, and
Ginger is a mere whisker away from being
a star. Perhaps the time
has now come for a reinvention….?
direction: Bert
Felstead
animation: Stan
Pearsall, Bill Hopper,
Arthur
Humbertsone, Chick Henderson
story: Pete
Griffiths, Reg Parlett
set designs: Perc
Poynter
backgrounds: Betty Hansford,
Kay Pearce
musical dir: Henry
Reed