Cosgrove Hall Films is an animation studio based in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester that is a major producer of children's television programmes. Cosgrove Hall's programmes are now seen in over eighty countries.

History

Founded in 1976 by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall, Cosgrove Hall Films was part of Thames Television until 1993. Its first series was Chorlton and the Wheelies.

Dangermouse was one of the studios earliest international successes. The studio made 117 episodes between 1981 and 1992. In each one, Dangermouse, the worlds greatest secret agent, and his well-meaning but useless sidekick Penfold, outwit the evil Baron Silas Greenback and assorted baddies.

In 1983 the studio made a 75 minute film of the The Wind in the Willows based on Kenneth Grahames classic story. It won a BAFTA award and an international Emmy award. Subsequently the studio made 52 episodes based on characters from the Wind in the Willows between 1984 and 1990.

Count Duckula, one of studios most successful series, was first shown in 1998, A spoof on the Dracula legend its title character is the worlds' only vegetarian vampire. He aspires to be rich and famous.

Truckers, the first book in The Bromeliad, was the studios first collaboration with the best-selling author, Terry Pratchett. The series, made in 1991, follows the efforts of a group of nomes whose spaceship crash-landed on Earth 15,000 years ago, to return home. In 1997 Cosgrove Hall films produced two series for Channel 4 based on Pratchetts Discworld series.

One of the studios specilialites is producing programmes for young children. They made 39 epsidoes of Noddy (1992-1999) and 52 of Bill and Ben (2001) for the BBC. Like Bill and Ben, the 52 episodes of Andy Pandy (2002) are based on the classic characters from the 1950s.

The studio also made the Ghosts of Albion (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ghosts/) (2003) for the BBCs first fully animated webcast. This gothic tale is set in a 19th century London swarming with demons. Website visitors can learn about the production and help to develop the story. The studio has produced epsidoes of Dr Who for the BBC website.

Other animations made by the studio include Jamie and the Magic Torch, Fetch The Vet and Albie. They have also been involved in the new episodes of Postman Pat.

External link

• Cosgrove Hall Films (http://www.chf.co.uk)

Sources

• Some text modified from the Animation Gallery of the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television