Ivor Wood

Ivor Sydney Wood (4 May 1932 – 13 October 2004) was a prolific Anglo-French stop motion director, producer, animator and writer known for his work on children's television series.[1]

Ivor Wood
Born
Ivor Sydney Wood

(1932-05-04)4 May 1932
Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Died13 October 2004(2004-10-13) (aged 72)
London, England
OccupationStop-motion animator
Years active1960–2004
Spouse(s)Josiane
Children1 son

Born in Leeds to an English father and a French mother, his family moved to the mountains near Lyon, France, after the Second World War, where he was educated.[2] He studied fine art in Paris, and later worked in an advertising agency in Paris, where he met Serge Danot. Together they made the acclaimed French series Le Manège Enchanté (known in English as The Magic Roundabout), with Wood as the animator.[3]

Following the success of The Magic Roundabout in the UK, Wood partnered with the London-based animation company FilmFair. Wood became both animator and director for a number of FilmFair's animated children's programmes, starting with The Herbs in 1968. During the 1970s he animated and directed Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings, Hattytown Tales, The Adventures of Parsley, The Wombles and Paddington.

Woodland Animations

Woodland Animations was founded in 1973 by Ivor Wood and his wife Josiane, specifically to produce stop-motion animated series for the BBC. The company produced a number of programmes, the earliest and most popular of which was Postman Pat.

Productions

Following the high popularity of Postman Pat, new seasons of it were made starting with specials in 1991, 1994 and 1996, and the show has been produced ever since. In 2001, Woodland Animations was sold to Entertainment Rights, now part of DreamWorks Classics, which was subsequently acquired by NBCUniversal as part of their purchase of DreamWorks Animation.[4]

References
  1. "Ivor Wood". Daily Telegraph. London. 22 October 2004. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  2. Naughton, Philippe; Sage, Adam. "Ivor Wood – Times Online Obituary". Times. London. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  3. "Ivor Wood – Obituaries, News – The Independent". Independent. London. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  4. The Guardian


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