Here’s a wonderful Krazy Kat stop-motion animation that was directed by Derek Mogford back in 1996, for an abandoned BBC Arena episode on the strip’s creator, George Herriman.
It’s been online for some years, but incredibly, I’d never seen it before, and only have now thanks to a Facebook post highlighted by downthetubes contributor and comics editor Peter Duncan, so my thanks to him for that.
Derek previously directed The Strip Show a year earlier – featuring character designs by Hunt Emerson. Both animations were from Spitting Image Productions, working in partnership with the Hearst Corporation.
(As an aside, Krazy was an influence on Hunt’s hilarious Calculus Cat, which you should really check out, if you haven’t already!).
The puppets in the film were made by Mackinnon & Saunders and the serves as a delightful introduction to Herriman’s kooky love triangle of Kat, Mouse and Pup.
Krazy Kat had been animated often before, of course starting with successful the Krazy Kat cartoons in some form or another running from 1916 to the end of the 1930s shown in cinemas.
The character was also brought back for a television series in the 1960s – but this BBC Arena film was the first time Krazy Kat was brought to life using stop-motion animation.
Derek Mogford
Director Derek Mogford has directed several stop-motion children shows, including Charlie Chalk, Postman Pat, Bertha, and, most recently, Rastamouse.
Between 2000 and 2011, he directed a popular campaign of TV commercials produced by McKinnon & Saunders for Procter & Gamble’s Puffs Tissues through Publicis, New York. The first two ads won Mobius awards.
With thanks to Rory Milne via Hunt Emerson
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
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