Here’s some more Pearly Oyster favourites.
The Kings Of Siam. Conceived, animated and directed by GED HANEY. Words and music by GED HANEY. Produced by Lee Stork. Pearly Oyster Productions 1992 © Channel four.
This is the story of a pair of siamese twins. The action takes place almost entirely within the confines of the fairground in which they live and work. The only times that we see beyond the confines of this little world are in the twins’ dreams of breaking free; of the fairground and one another.
One twin dreams of scoring a hat- trick for England in the 1966 World Cup Final, while the other twin dreams of being Elvis Presley with hordes of screaming fans drooling over every little wiggle of his hips. These two incompatable fantasies serve to highlight the twins’ alienation from the fairground and their detestation of each other.
Ultimately, and at it’s most basic level, The Kings of Siam is about the conflicting elements that combine to make up a single personality, and how should one or more of these elements remain unfulfilled or undernourished, this can escalate downwards into mental illness.
Special Jury Prize Cinanima Portugal, Norman Mclaren Award Edinburgh Film Festival.
The Drummer. Conceived, animated and directed by EMMA CALDER and GED HANEY. Words and music by GED HANEY. Produced by EMMA CALDER. Pearly Oyster Productions 1989 ITV.
The Drummer was one of the winning entries in ‘The Magic Mirror’ competition to find new animators for children’s stories. The main condition was that the stories had to be adapted from existing fairy or folk tales. The series was sponsored by Kelloggs and the series producer was Anne Wood of Ragdoll Productions.
An itinerant drummer boy is visited in his sleep by a beautiful princess. She requests his help in escaping from an evil witch who has entrapped her on the glass mountain. He sets out to find the mountain and is helped on his way by a rather pathetic old giant and a magic butterfly who lends him a pair of wings. Finally, he arrives at his destination and the witch sets him to work on three impossible tasks ……..
Shown on ITV, world wide TV and Video.
Locopath. Conceived, animated and directed by CHRISTOPH SIMON. Produced by Emma Calder. Pearly Oyster Productions 1997 for Locomotion TV.
Animated sequence for the Locomotion TV Station South America.
Special Jury Prize Hiroshima, best TV Graphics British Animation Awards.