Janet Perlman
Encyclopedia
Janet Laurie Perlman is a Canadian animator and children's book author and illustrator whose work includes the short film The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin
, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 54th Academy Awards
and received a Parents' Choice Award
. Her 13 short films have received 60 awards to date. She was married to the late animation producer Derek Lamb
. After working with Lamb at the National Film Board of Canada
in the 1980s, they formed their own production company, Lamb-Perlman Productions. She is currently a partner in Hulascope Studio, based in Montreal
. Perlman has produced animation segments for Sesame Street
and NOVA
. Working with Lamb, she produced title sequence
s for the PBS series Mystery!
, based on the artwork of Edward Gorey
, and was one of the animators for R. O. Blechman
's adaptation of The Soldier's Tale for PBS's Great Performances
. She has also taught animation at Harvard University
, the Rhode Island School of Design
and Concordia University
. She and Lamb were divorced but remained creative and business partners until his death in 2005.
characters. Her short film The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin was adapted as the children's book Cinderella Penguin. Her satirical graphic novel
Penguins Behind Bars was adapted as a 2003 Hulascope/NFB animated short of the same name, which received four awards including the Platinum Award for Independent Short Subject at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. She has also written and illustrated the books The Emperor Penguin's New Clothes and The Penguin and the Pea.
, which is a "tongue-in-cheek look at doublespeak and bafflegab." She was an animator on The Hottest Show on Earth (1977) and co-directed Why Me? with Derek Lamb (1978), and contributed animation work to Alison Snowden
and David Fine's Oscar-winning NFB co-produced short Bob's Birthday
.
, including her short film Bully Dance
, which received thirteen awards, including the Award for Best Animated Short Film from the Children's Jury and the Grand Prix de Montréal for Best Short Film at the Festival International du film pour enfants and First Prize in short film & video animation in recognition of outstanding achievement in children's media from the Chicago International Children's Film Festival
. Another of Perlman's films for the series, Dinner For Two, received a dozen awards including a Grand Prix des Amériques at the Montreal World Film Festival
and a UNICEF Jury Award for Best Short Film at the Berlin International Film Festival
. Dinner for Two was later adapted by Perlman as the book The Delicious Bug.
, and co-written by Perlman with Derek Lamb.
before it even existed. With the film due at the festival in just two weeks, Perlman quickly assembled Llama Cookin with animation outtakes from her computer. Unhappy with the results, she tried to withdraw the film from the festival online but couldn't figure out how to do so. So she changed the title of the film to Sorry Film Not Ready in the online entry form, hoping festival organizers would get the message. But when the two-week deadline came, Perlman received a notification that they had yet to receive a film entitled Sorry Film Not Ready and were extending the deadline. So Perlman completed a one-minute film under the title Sorry Film Not Ready and it was accepted by the Ottawa festival.
At the 1994 Ottawa International Animation Festival, Perlman's short My Favourite Things That I Love proved popular but confusing to the audience, and the jury awarded her a tongue-in-cheek "Best Bad Taste Award" for the film. The film then went on to receive a "Most Horrible Music Award" from the Annecy International Animated Film Festival
.
The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin
The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin is a 1981 animated short by Janet Perlman that comedically adapts the tale of Cinderella with penguins. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 54th Academy Awards, losing to...
, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 54th Academy Awards
54th Academy Awards
The 54th Academy Awards were presented March 29, 1982 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Johnny Carson....
and received a Parents' Choice Award
Parents' Choice Award
The Parents' Choice Award is an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It is considered a "prestigious" award among children's products, and has been...
. Her 13 short films have received 60 awards to date. She was married to the late animation producer Derek Lamb
Derek Lamb
Derek Lamb was an animation filmmaker and producer. While serving as Executive Producer of the National Film Board of Canada's English Animation Studio from 1976 to 1982, he produced the Oscar-winner Special Delivery, directed by John Weldon and Eunice Macaulay, and produced and scripted Eugene...
. After working with Lamb at the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
in the 1980s, they formed their own production company, Lamb-Perlman Productions. She is currently a partner in Hulascope Studio, based in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. Perlman has produced animation segments for Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
and NOVA
Nova
A nova is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion in a star caused by the accretion of hydrogen on to the surface of a white dwarf star, which ignites and starts nuclear fusion in a runaway manner...
. Working with Lamb, she produced title sequence
Title sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
s for the PBS series Mystery!
Mystery!
Mystery! is an episodic television series that debuted in 1980 in the USA. It airs on PBS and is produced by WGBH...
, based on the artwork of Edward Gorey
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey was an American writer and artist noted for his macabre illustrated books.-Early life:...
, and was one of the animators for R. O. Blechman
R. O. Blechman
R. O. Blechman is an American animator, illustrator, children's-book author, graphic novelist and editorial cartoonist whose work has been the subject of retrospectives at the Museum of Modern Art and other institutions...
's adaptation of The Soldier's Tale for PBS's Great Performances
Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
. She has also taught animation at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
and Concordia University
Concordia University
Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
. She and Lamb were divorced but remained creative and business partners until his death in 2005.
Penguin-related projects
Perlman has created several films and books with penguinPenguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
characters. Her short film The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin was adapted as the children's book Cinderella Penguin. Her satirical graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
Penguins Behind Bars was adapted as a 2003 Hulascope/NFB animated short of the same name, which received four awards including the Platinum Award for Independent Short Subject at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. She has also written and illustrated the books The Emperor Penguin's New Clothes and The Penguin and the Pea.
National Film Board of Canada
In addition to The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin and Penguins Behind Bars, Perlman's NFB credits include the 1976 animated short Lady Fishbourne's Complete Guide to Better Table Manners, winner of first prize in the instructional films category at the Ottawa International Film Festival, and the 2005 short Invasion of the Space Lobsters, a co-production of the NFB with the Canadian Labour CongressCanadian Labour Congress
The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in English Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.- Formation :...
, which is a "tongue-in-cheek look at doublespeak and bafflegab." She was an animator on The Hottest Show on Earth (1977) and co-directed Why Me? with Derek Lamb (1978), and contributed animation work to Alison Snowden
Alison Snowden
Alison Snowden Alison Snowden Alison Snowden (born in Alison Snowden (born in Alison Snowden (born in [[Nottingham 4 April 1958) is a voice actress, producer, and screenwriter best known for [[Bob and Margaret]].- Life and work :...
and David Fine's Oscar-winning NFB co-produced short Bob's Birthday
Bob's Birthday
Bob's Birthday is a 1993 animated short by Alison Snowden and David Fine, winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 67th Academy Awards. The 12 minute 18 second film features a humorous look a wife's plans to throw a surprise birthday party for her husband on his 40th...
.
ShowPeace Series
While at the NFB, Perlman developed the ShowPeace animation series conflict resolutionConflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
, including her short film Bully Dance
Bully Dance
Bully Dance is a 2000 animated short film by Janet Perlman about bullying. In this 10-minute short film without words, a community is disrupted when a bully victimizes a smaller member of the group...
, which received thirteen awards, including the Award for Best Animated Short Film from the Children's Jury and the Grand Prix de Montréal for Best Short Film at the Festival International du film pour enfants and First Prize in short film & video animation in recognition of outstanding achievement in children's media from the Chicago International Children's Film Festival
Chicago International Children's Film Festival
Founded in 1975, Facets Multi-Media, located at 1517 W. Fullerton Avenue, Chicago, 60614 Facets Multi-Media is the largest conservator dedicated to the exhibition, distribution & education of foreign, independent & classic cinema...
. Another of Perlman's films for the series, Dinner For Two, received a dozen awards including a Grand Prix des Amériques at the Montreal World Film Festival
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival , founded in 1977, is one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF...
and a UNICEF Jury Award for Best Short Film at the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
. Dinner for Two was later adapted by Perlman as the book The Delicious Bug.
Hulascope Studio
With film composer and former NFB colleague Judith Gruber-Stitzer, Perlman formed Hulascope Studio to producer animated projects for television. Penguins Behind Bars, a parody of the women in prison films of the of the 1950s, was co-produced by Hulascope and the NFB for Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
, and co-written by Perlman with Derek Lamb.
Other works
Perlman's latest film, originally entitled Llama Cookin, which was entered into the Ottawa International Animation FestivalOttawa International Animation Festival
-History:In 1976, the Canadian Film Institute founded the biennial Ottawa International Animation Festival . First held August 10 to 15, 1976, the OIAF created a gathering place for North American animation professionals and enthusiasts to ponder the craft and business of animation...
before it even existed. With the film due at the festival in just two weeks, Perlman quickly assembled Llama Cookin with animation outtakes from her computer. Unhappy with the results, she tried to withdraw the film from the festival online but couldn't figure out how to do so. So she changed the title of the film to Sorry Film Not Ready in the online entry form, hoping festival organizers would get the message. But when the two-week deadline came, Perlman received a notification that they had yet to receive a film entitled Sorry Film Not Ready and were extending the deadline. So Perlman completed a one-minute film under the title Sorry Film Not Ready and it was accepted by the Ottawa festival.
At the 1994 Ottawa International Animation Festival, Perlman's short My Favourite Things That I Love proved popular but confusing to the audience, and the jury awarded her a tongue-in-cheek "Best Bad Taste Award" for the film. The film then went on to receive a "Most Horrible Music Award" from the Annecy International Animated Film Festival
Annecy International Animated Film Festival
The Annecy International Animation Film Festival was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring every two years, the festival became annual in 1998...
.