Granpa (film)

Infobox_Film
name = Granpa


director = Dianne Jackson
producer = John Coates
writer = John Burningham (book)
starring = Peter Ustinov (as Granpa)
Emily Osborne (as Emily)
music = Howard Blake
Sarah Brightman
Wroughton Middle School Choir
distributor = Channel 4 (broadcast)
Universal Studios (VHS)
released = 31 December 1989
runtime = 26 min.
language = English

"Granpa" is a 1989 English family-oriented animated film, based on a 1984 children's illustrated story book by John Burningham. The film initially appeared on Channel 4 Television and was later released on VHS by Universal Studios. " [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00004CJ5J Granpa] " VHS, Universal Studios, released 12 September 1994.]

Directed by Dianne Jackson, who had previously adapted Raymond Briggs's "The Snowman" into an animated film, it is hand-illustrated with coloured pencil in imitation of the style of the original Burningham book. In common with "The Snowman", the music is by Howard Blake, who also wrote the script for the film, which is referred to as an "animated children's opera". The voices of Granpa and Emily are by Peter Ustinov and Emily Osborne respectively.

A costly film to produce, it won the Prix Jeunesse International award for excellence in children's television programming in 1990.

Plot

The film celebrates the relationship between a small girl, Emily (voiced by Emily Osborne), and her kindly but ailing grandfather (voiced by Peter Ustinov). Emily's playful innocence is contrasted with Granpa's increasing frailty. Aware that his days are numbered, he shares his memories of adventures and days gone by. These memories are vividly brought to life by the images imagined by her grandfather, beginning with a description of Granpa's childhood and youth in the early part of the 20th Century. Other adventures include a chivalrous tale of Saint George and the Dragon imagined on a bedcover, a fishing trip which ends with a journey down the Thames on a blue whale, a trip to the seaside which culminates in a re-enactment of the Battle of Britain and a Noah's Ark-influenced story, where Granpa's house is submerged and the pair have to accommodate exotic animals. The final jungle section is left intentionally incomplete. As the seasons pass, Granpa grows frailer, and eventually Emily is left alone with an empty chair and the old man's loyal dog.cite web |url=http://www.fandango.com/granpa_v20508/summary |title=Plot summary at Fandando.com |accessdate=2008-05-24 |publisher= |date= ]

Production

In 1984, following the success of the animated Christmas film "The Snowman", Channel 4 commissioned another animation from TVC studios; producer John Coates approached Dianne Jackson and composer Howard Blake, suggesting Burningham's picture book "Granpa". Blake was initially reluctant due to the book's upsetting ending, but was convinced after witnessing his own daughter's reaction to her grandfather's death that year.cite web |url=http://www.howardblake.com/music/Film-TV-Scores/594/GRANPA-an-animated-film.htm |title=Howard Blake official site |accessdate=2008-05-24 |publisher= |date= ]

The film was entirely financed by Channel 4 and cost over one million pounds to make according to Coates.cite web |url=http://www.savekidstv.org.uk/supporters/john-coates/ |title=John Coates interview at savekidstv.org.uk |accessdate=2008-05-24 |publisher= |date= ] It was first broadcast on the channel on New Year's Eve 1989 at 6.30pm.cite web |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/435281 |title="Granpa" |accessdate=2008-05-24 |publisher=British Film Institute |date= ]

Music

The musical score was written and composed by Howard Blake and is almost in the form of a miniature opera, with many of the tales within the animation sung by the lead characters, along with children from the Wroughton Middle School choir (winners of BBC Choir of the Year) and a forty-piece orchestra (the Sinfonia of London).

The end title song "Make Believe" is performed by Sarah Brightman and has the theme of "Auld Lang Syne" as a counter-melody. The song was released as a single at the time.cite web |url=http://www.early-sarah-brightman.com/makebelieve.htm |title= "Make Believe" at Early Sarah Brightman.com |accessdate=2008-05-24 |publisher= |date= ]

Reception

The film won the Prix Jeunesse International award for excellence in children's television programming in 1990.cite web |url=http://www.noblepr.co.uk/Press_Releases/snowman_enterprises/tvc.htm |title= Press release at Noble PR |accessdate=2008-05-24 |publisher= |date= ] The film review site Rotten Tomatoes has called the film "a sensitive and life-affirming animated adaptation".cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/granpa/ |title= "Granpa" |accessdate=2008-05-24 |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes |date= ]

The film has rarely been repeated, nor released on DVD, perhaps due to its subject matter. The "Toonhound" review suggest that the film takes the tone of the ending of "The Snowman" even further, "exploring an aspect of life rarely approached in animated form."cite web |url=http://www.toonhound.com/granpa.htm |title= "Granpa" at Toonhound.com |accessdate=2008-05-24 |publisher= |date= ]

References

External links

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* " [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/435281 Granpa] " at the British Film Institute
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* " [http://www.toonhound.com/granpa.htm Granpa] " at Toonhound.com
* " [http://www.fandango.com/granpa_v20508/summary Granpa] " at Fandando.com
* [http://www.howardblake.com/music/Film-TV-Scores/594/GRANPA-an-animated-film.htm Howard Blake official site]
* [http://www.howardblake.com/listen.php?play=Granpa Samples of "Granpa" music scores] by Howard Blake