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Home , Aardman Animations, David Sproxton, Nick Park, Peter Lord, Vision On

AGENDA ITEM NO 3

COUNCIL MEETING

11 SEPTEMBER 2006

REPORT OF THE LORD MAYOR OF

Title: PROPOSAL TO CONFER THE HONOUR OF THE “FREEDOM OF THE CITY” ON PETER DUNCAN FRASER LORD CBE, NICK WULSTAN PARK CBE AND DAVID ALAN SPROXTON CBE, OF AARDMAN .

Ward: Citywide

Presentation of the Report: The Lord Mayor of Bristol

1. Report Summary

To propose the granting of the “Freedom of the City” to Peter Duncan Fraser Lord CBE, Nick Wulstan Park CBE and David Alan Sproxton CBE, of .

2. Recommendation

(i) That the Freedom of the City of Bristol be conferred upon Peter Duncan Fraser Lord CBE, Nick Wulstan Park CBE and David Alan Sproxton, of Aardman Animations who have successful produced animated motion pictures from studios in Bristol;

(ii) That their name be placed on the Roll of Honorary Freeman of the City; and

(iii) That the foregoing be engrossed, sealed with the Common Corporate Seal and presented to Peter Duncan Fraser Lord CBE, Nick Wulstan Park CBE and David Alan Sproxton CBE at an appropriate occasion. 3. Policy

The proposal is made in accordance with the provision of the Local Government Act 1972.

4. Consultation

The City Council's Party Group Leaders.

5. Background and Assessment

The Citation attached to this report outlines the distinguished and eminent service to the City rendered by Peter Duncan Fraser Lord CBE, Nick Wulstan Park CBE and David Alan Sproxton CBE, of Aardman Animations.

6. Legal and Resource Implications

Legal: The Local Government Act 1972 provides for the Council to grant the “Freedom of the City”.

(Legal Advice provided by Stephen McNamara, Head of Legal Services)

Financial:

(a) Revenue The estimated cost of recognising the granting of the “Freedom of the City” would be less than £200 and would be met within existing budgets.

(b) Capital None.

Land None

Personnel: None

Appendix 1: Citation outlining the distinguished and eminent service to the City rendered by Peter Duncan Fraser Lord CBE, Nick Wulstan Park and David Alan Sproxton CBE of Aardman Animations.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION Background Papers: None

Peter D.F. Lord, Nick W. Park & David A. Sproxton

Peter Lord and , an ambitious pair of animators, founded Aardman as a small backyard project when students in 1972 and operated from its premises on a small industrial site on Gas Ferry Road, Bristol. Although the company initially produced short films the pair’s ultimate dream was to produce an animated motion picture, which they were eventually to achieve with great success.

Their first big break, however, came with the creation of , a simple clay character who appeared first in animated sequences on the children’s art series , then later on Take Hart. His ingenious movements and mannerisms, created by painstaking animation, coupled with his hilarious antics were surely a sign of bigger things to come from Peter, David and their fledgling company.

Following this, Aardman then produced a series of five shorts that used real- life conversations as soundtracks but Peter and David decided that it was time to hire more animators to share the workload. Whilst Peter directed two of the shorts, one of the remaining three was directed by . Nick’s short, , earned Aardman its first Oscar and this union is one that has remained ever since and has been instrumental in Aardman’s many other achievements and accolades over the years.

This success was then built upon with Nick’s creation of the ultimate one man and his dog: the wide mouthed, wacky inventor Wallace and his silent but clever canine sidekick Gromit. The first of three shorts in 1989 was ‘’, a wildly inventive tale about this unlikely duo who decide to fly to the moon in their rocket for cheese to spread on their crackers, rather than just go to their local shop, which wouldn’t have been anywhere near as exciting.

Nick followed up this short with Wallace & Gromit appearing in the hilarious ‘’ in 1993 and ‘’ in 1995, both of which picked up Oscars, to truly cement his and Aardman’s ever growing reputation for producing highly creative, inventive and entertaining animation, for children and adults alike.

Not content to rest on their laurels, however, Peter, David and Nick continued to push the boundaries of animation further and further until, in the year 2000, the animated motion picture ambition was finally realised when Aardman’s first feature film was finally produced. ‘’ was not only a worldwide box-office hit but was the first film produced in a five picture deal with the massive American film corporation US Dreamworks. Aardman were now reaching every corner of the world.

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To emphasise the painstaking process involved in producing clay model animation the second film of the five was brought to the screen 5 years later in 2005. Not only did it bring Wallace & Gromit back to the screen after a ten year break but the film, yet another truly original, inventive and entertaining one entitled ‘Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit’, picked up the Oscar for best full-length animated film and was the fifth highest earning film in the UK in 2005, as well as being the fifth highest earning UK film released in the USA and Canada in 2005.

To further emphasise the desire of this company to keep growing and progressing forward it is breaking from the clay model animation form with its next project and has produced the C.G.I feature film, entitled ‘’. Indeed, the company is widely considered to be a leading exponent of C.G.I, as well as stop frame, animation so it offers many potential opportunities for future Bristol creatives.

Around 15% of all jobs in the South West region are in the Creative Industries sector and this sector is growing faster than any other region in the UK, contributing over £1 billion to the regional economy. In addition, Bristol and its surrounding area account for about 28% of the media sector in the South West in terms of employment, number of businesses and contribution to the economy. Aardman has been instrumental in linking Bristol with both creativity and commercial success, locally, nationally and internationally.

In addition to the massive commercial success Aardman has achieved with its shorts, commercials and feature films, the company is a life-time supporter of Bristol as the city to work and live in and it is a passionate advocate of British talent and style of humour. Also, Aardman and its key personnel are strong supporters and advocates of training and development of new entrants into the industry and the company was instrumental, along with the University of the West of , in setting up the Bristol School of Animation and this Programme is now a world renowned course which includes the support of other key Bristol animation companies.

The contribution to Bristol, the UK and the world from these three men has been, and continues to be, immense. Their creative flair and determination to succeed has helped make animation a force to be reckoned with on TV and in the cinema. With Aardman continuing to operate from Bristol, and by their involvement with aspiring animators in the area and other key Bristol animation companies, they have ensured that the city’s name is synonymous with cutting edge, creative, inventive animation and the success that hard work and determination in this field can bring.

It is for all these reasons that , Nick Park and David Sproxton are worthy recipients of the "Freedom of the City of Bristol".

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