Morph (character)
Encyclopedia
Morph is an animated Plasticine
stop-motion character that appeared with the late Tony Hart
, beginning in 1977, on several of his UK
TV programmes, notably Take Hart
and Hartbeat
.
by Aardman Animations
, later famous for Wallace and Gromit
.
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.
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 and the other plasticine characters could change their morphology. Sometimes they would become spheres in order to move around, or extrude themselves into cylinders to pass to different levels. They could also mimic other objects, or creatures.
Morph lived in an artist's wooden pencil box, and he and Chas both loved to eat strawberry shortcakes, 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.
Morph and Chas appeared in shorts on the British children's TV programme SMart
from 1994 onwards.
In March 2009, shortly after Hart's death, a flashmob
of Morph characters was organised in London outside the Tate Modern
art gallery.
In 2009, the BBC drama Ashes to Ashes
featured Morph in a guest appearance as a representation of a present-day medic.
Plasticine
Plasticine, a brand of modelling clay, is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. The name is a registered trademark of Flair Leisure Products plc...
stop-motion character that appeared with the late Tony Hart
Tony Hart
Norman Antony "Tony" Hart was an English artist and children's television presenter. He was famous for television shows such as Vision On, Playbox, Take Hart and Hartbeat.-Early life:...
, beginning in 1977, on several of his UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
TV programmes, notably Take Hart
Take Hart
Take Hart is a British children's television show about art, fronted by the late Tony Hart. It took over from Vision On, and ran from 1977 until 1983. The show featured Hart and the animated Plasticine character Morph, and other characters created by David Sproxton like 'Smoulder the Moulder',...
and Hartbeat
Hartbeat
Hartbeat was a Children's BBC television arts programme presented by the late Tony Hart. It was broadcast between 1984 and 1993. The series was a follow on from Take Hart and taught children how to design art features and use everyday items to make objects.-History:Like its predecessor Take Hart,...
.
Details
Morph was produced for the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
by Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations
Aardman Animations, Ltd., also known as Aardman Studios, or simply as Aardman, is a British animation studio based in Bristol, United Kingdom. The studio is known for films made using stop-motion clay animation techniques, particularly those featuring Plasticine characters Wallace and Gromit...
, later famous for Wallace and Gromit
Wallace and Gromit
Wallace and Gromit are the main characters in a series consisting of four British animated short films and a feature-length film by Nick Park of Aardman Animations...
.
Morph's 30th Birthday was celebrated in 2007 by creator Peter Lord
Peter Lord
Peter Lord CBE is a British film producer, director and co-founder of the Academy award-winning Aardman Animations studio, an animation firm best known for its clay animated films and shorts, particularly those featuring plasticine duo Wallace & Gromit.-Biography:In cooperation with David...
and celebrity fan and comedian Phill Jupitus
Phill Jupitus
Phillip Christopher Jupitus is an English stand-up and improvised comedian, actor, performance poet, musician and podcaster....
at events for the Encounters Film Festival in Bristol.
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
Gobbledygook
Gobbledygook or gobbledegook is any text containing jargon or especially convoluted English that results in it being excessively hard to understand or even incomprehensible...
but with meaningful gestures. Later on, Morph was joined by cream-coloured Chas, who was much more badly behaved.
Morph and the other plasticine characters could change their morphology. Sometimes they would become spheres in order to move around, or extrude themselves into cylinders to pass to different levels. They could also mimic other objects, or creatures.
Morph lived in an artist's wooden pencil box, and he and Chas both loved to eat strawberry shortcakes, 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.
Morph and Chas appeared in shorts on the British children's TV programme SMart
SMart
SMart was a British CBBC television programme based on the subject of art, which began in 1994. The programme was recorded at BBC Television Centre in London, previously it had been recorded in Studio A at BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham. The format is similar to the Tony Hart programmes Take Hart...
from 1994 onwards.
In March 2009, shortly after Hart's death, a flashmob
FlashMob
FlashMob is a band formed in Nashville, Tennessee featuring Meghan Kabir. The band signed a record deal with Warner Brothers in spring 2010....
of Morph characters was organised in London outside the Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
art gallery.
In 2009, the BBC drama Ashes to Ashes
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
featured Morph in a guest appearance as a representation of a present-day medic.
Appearances
| 1977–1983 | Take Hart Take Hart Take Hart is a British children's television show about art, fronted by the late Tony Hart. It took over from Vision On, and ran from 1977 until 1983. The show featured Hart and the animated Plasticine character Morph, and other characters created by David Sproxton like 'Smoulder the Moulder',... |
| 1980–1981 | The Amazing Adventures of Morph |
| 1984–1993 | Hartbeat Hartbeat Hartbeat was a Children's BBC television arts programme presented by the late Tony Hart. It was broadcast between 1984 and 1993. The series was a follow on from Take Hart and taught children how to design art features and use everyday items to make objects.-History:Like its predecessor Take Hart,... |
| 1994–2008 | SMart SMart SMart was a British CBBC television programme based on the subject of art, which began in 1994. The programme was recorded at BBC Television Centre in London, previously it had been recorded in Studio A at BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham. The format is similar to the Tony Hart programmes Take Hart... |
| 1995 | The Morph Files |
| 1997 | Morph TV (with Tony Hart) |
| 1998 | On Your Marks |
| 1999–2000 | Smart Hart |
| 2006 | Morph (TV Series) |
| 2009 | Ashes to Ashes Ashes to Ashes (TV series) Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009... (guest appearance) |
Characters
- Morph - the main character with terracotta skin.
- Chas - Morph's very cheeky cousin with cream skin
- Nailbrush - Morph's 'canine' companion (a nailbrush)
- Grandmorph - a long-bearded grandpa version of Morph, probably Morph's grandpa
- Delilah - a bossy female character in a yellow dress with brown skin
- Folly - a tin-foil girl (renamed Holly for The Morph Files - see DVD)
- Gillespie - a blue, dimwitted but benign giant-like character
- The Very Small Creatures - an array of small plasticine balls with eyes
- Goobledygook - An alien (who arrived on the table by accident piloting a milk bottle-like craft in the original series - in the Morph Files, he arrived by accidentily printing him from the 'space raiders' style game)
1980
- Narrator: Tony Hart
- Animated, Scripted and Directed by: Peter Lord, David Sproxton
- Special Effects: Peter Harwood
- Editor: Alan Trott
- Producer: Patrick Dowling
- Executive Producers: David Hamilton, Claire Derry
1995
- Narrator: Neil Morrissey
- Animators for Aardman Animations: Mike Booth, Gary Cureton, Dave Osmond
- Computer Animation: Alan Snow
- Dubbing Editor: James Mather
- Special Sounds: Peter Harwood
- Writer: Andy Walker
- Editor: Andrew Hassenruck
- Special Thanks to: The Staff of Aardman Animations
- Producer: Jacqueline White
- Executive Producers: Peter Lord, David Sproxton
- For Link Licensing: David Hamilton, Claire Derry
- Directed by: Peter Lord
External links
- Official Morph web-site
- Information about Morph, with photograph
- B3taB3taB3ta is a high-profile British website, described as a "puerile digital arts community" by The Guardian. It was founded in 2001 by Rob Manuel, Denise Wilton and Cal Henderson....
interview with Tony Hart which discusses Morph - A fond farewell to Morph: Tony Hart article about Morph
- Animation archive up in smoke: BBC News article about Aardman's warehouse fire
- Morph's page on Tony Hart's official site
- Limited edition Morph prints created for Morph's 30th anniversary
- Morph Plasticine Model
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/oct/11/arts.media