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Morph (TV series)

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Morph
A model of Morph on display at the National Media Museum, Bradford
First appearanceTake Hart, 15 February 1977
Created byPeter Lord

Morph is a clay stop-motion comedy animation, featuring the eponymous character that appeared with Tony Hart, beginning in 1977, on several of his UK TV programmes, notably Take Hart and Hartbeat.

History

Morph was produced for the BBC by Aardman Animations, later famous for the "Sledgehammer" music video and Wallace and Gromit. Morph appeared mainly in one minute "shorts" interspersed throughout the show. These were connected to the main show by having Hart deliver a line or two to Morph who would reply in gobbledygook but with meaningful gestures. Later on, Morph was joined by cream-coloured Chas, who was much more badly behaved.

Morph can change shape, he would become spheres in order to move around, or extrude into cylinders to pass to different levels. He can also mimic other objects, or creatures. Morph lived in a wooden microscope box on an artists desk, and he and Chas both loved to eat cake, as seen in many of the shorts.

Some of the early plasticine models of Morph were destroyed in a fire at the warehouse they were being stored on 10 October 2005.[1]

Morph and Chas appeared in shorts on the British children's TV programme SMart from 1994 onwards.

Morph's 30th birthday was celebrated in 2007 by creator Peter Lord and celebrity fan and comedian Phill Jupitus at events for the Encounters Film Festival in Bristol.

In March 2009, shortly after Hart's death, a flashmob of Morph characters was organised in London outside the Tate Modern art gallery.[2]

In 2009, the BBC drama Ashes to Ashes featured Morph in a guest appearance as a representation of a present-day medic.[3]

In 29 October 2013, Peter Lord (co-founder of Aardman Animations) created a fund raising project on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. The campaign set a target of £75,000 to be used to fund 12 new one minute episodes. The target was reached on 6 November 2013 after only 9 days, attracting contributions from over 1,700 backers who will receive a variety of rewards, including early access to the new animations and a small box of clay used in the production, depending on the individual's level of funding.[4][5]

In January 2014, Peter Lord and Aardman started production on 15 brand new episodes of Morph, with the help of donations from fans. The new series premiered on Morph's official YouTube channel on 4 July 2014.

In 2015, a morph experience will open at Land's End. The Land’s End signpost will be rebranded 'Lamb’s End' with original sets, models and characters from a range of Aardman productions. Visitors can also star in a real Shaun the Sheep scene, using green screen technology, and meet other characters from the Aardman family, including Shaun The Sheep and Wallace & gromit. [6]

In 2015, Morph will return to TV on CBBC on The New Adventures of Morph.[7]

Films, shorts, and TV series

1977–1983 Take Hart
1980–1981 The Amazing Adventures of Morph
1984–1993 Hartbeat
1994–2005 SMart
1995 The Morph Files
1997 Morph TV (with Tony Hart)
1998 On Your Marks
2006 Morph (TV series)
2009 Ashes to Ashes (guest appearance)
2012 Ricky's Radical Reinventions
2014–Present Brand New Morph

Series overview

Season Episodes
Season premiere Season finale
1 19 November 4, 2013 June 26, 2014
2 17 July 4, 2014 March 6, 2015

Season 1: 2013-2014

The First Season of Morph was aired on November 4, 2013 and Ended on June 26, 2014.

# Episode Original airdate
101 Hats November 4, 2013
102 No Entry November 4, 2013
103 Magic Boots November 4, 2013
104 Invisimorph November 4, 2013
105 Sweet Showdown November 4, 2013
106 The Amazing Mimic November 6, 2013
107 Get The Picture November 11, 2013
108 Cake November 14, 2013
109 Robomorph March 27, 2014
110 Messy April Fools April 1, 2014
111 Card Trick May 1, 2014
112 Ice Cream May 8, 2014
113 Row Your Boat May 15, 2014
114 Sailors May 22, 2014
115 Cleaning May 29, 2014
116 Minimorph June 5, 2014
117 Football June 12, 2014
118 Sitting Comfortably? June 19, 2014
119 Pudding Time June 26, 2014

Season 2: 2014-2015

# Episode Original airdate
201 Twin Decks July 4, 2014
202 Portable Hole July 18, 2014
203 Great Outdoors August 1, 2014
204 Stand Up August 15, 2014
205 Fetch August 29, 2014
206 Bin It To Win It September 12, 2014
207 Stick Up September 26, 2014
208 Hiccups October 10, 2014
209 Box of Tricks October 24, 2014
210 Selfie November 7, 2014
211 Clean Sweep November 21, 2014
212 Goal December 5, 2014
213 Xmas December 19, 2014
214 Sloped World January 2, 2015
215 Chas Express January 17, 2015
216 Picture Perfect January 30, 2015
217 Red Nose Day March 6, 2015

Characters

  • Morph - The curious and creative main character with terracotta skin.
  • Chas - Morph's mischievous cream-skinned cousin.
  • Nailbrush - Morph's 'canine' companion, a barking nailbrush.
  • Gran-Morph - Morph's elderly, bearded grandfather, who travels by skateboard and frequently invents things.
  • Delilah - A bossy, bespectacled female character in a yellow dress with dark purple skin.
  • Folly - A scatter-brained girl made of tin-foil.
  • Gillespie - A large, blue, dimwitted but peaceable friend of Morph's.
  • The Very Small Creatures - An array of small plasticine balls with eyes who travel in a swarm; the smallest of the group, Little Green, features prominently on his own in a number of episodes.
  • Goobledygook - A green, omnivorous alien child (who arrived on the table by accident piloting a milk bottle-like craft in the original series - in the Morph Files, he arrived by accidentally printing him from the 'space raiders' style game).

Credits

1980

  • Narrator: Tony Hart
  • Animators: Peter Lord, David Sproxton, Nick Park (since 1985)
  • Modelmaker: Chris Entwistle
  • Lighting/Camera: Nat Sale
  • Special Effects: Peter Harwood
  • Editor: Alan Trott
  • Executive Producers: David Hamilton, Claire Derry
  • Produced by: Patrick Dowling
  • Written and Directed by: Peter Lord, David Sproxton

1995

  • Narrator: Neil Morrissey
  • Animation by: Aardman Animations
  • Storyboard: Andy James
  • Stop-Motion Animation: Mike Booth, Gary Cureton, Dave Osmond
  • Modelmaker: Chris Entwistle
  • Lighting/Camera: Nat Sale
  • Computer Animation: Alan Snow
  • Sound Designers: Tom Myers and Will Norte
  • Dubbing Editor: James Mather
  • Special Sound Effects: Peter Harwood
  • Special Visual Effects: Alan Snow
  • Foley Artist: Jana Vance
  • Licensing & Marketing: Link Licensing
  • For Link Licensing: David Hamilton, Claire Derry
  • Special Thanks to: Nick Park, Peter Lord, David Sproxton, Aardman Animations Staff
  • Music by: Julian Nott
  • Film Editor: Andrew Hassenruck
  • Production Designer: Peter Lord
  • Director of Photography: Nick Park
  • Executive Producers: Peter Lord, David Sproxton
  • Produced by: Jacqueline White
  • Written by: Andy Walker
  • Directed by: Peter Lord

See also

References

  1. ^ Curses, Gromit! Fire destroys animation firm's history on eve of box office triumph
  2. ^ Morph Flashmob outside the Tate Modern gallery
  3. ^ 1980s kids' plasticine star Morph to star in Ashes To Ashes
  4. ^ 'Bring back Morph' campaign launched by Aardman
  5. ^ All New Adventures of Morph from Aardman Animations
  6. ^ http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Shaun-Sheep-friends-star-Land-s-End-experience/story-23723823-detail/story.html
  7. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/11617581/Morph-returns-to-TV-after-15-years-with-new-CBBC-show.html
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