Rainbow bright tales and anecdotes here with frizzy-haired Crystal and her grey
    grinning dog Alistair. Crystal and Alistair are the best of friends. Together they
    hatch spectacular peacocks, throw custard pies at one another, poke each
    other with extended tickling sticks and float high in the sky in giant bubbles.
    Crystal even has her own big-propellered biplane. In Crystal and Alistair's world
    life is big, bright, splashy fun with ne'er a grown-up in sight, and every day is
    a big-hair day...

    "Crystal Tipps and Alistair" was created by Hilary Hayton and produced by Q3
    of London, who also brought us Fingerbobs. Fifty 5min episodes were made
    as well as an additional 20min special called "Crystal's Christmas Special"
    in which she and Alistair escape the snows of winter for sunnier climes,
    where they encounter Santa Claus off on his holidays too!

    "Crystal Tipps and Alistair" is rightfully famous for its incredible sense of design.
    This Pop-Art world is very much a product of its time, sitting alongside such
    such contemporaries as Yellow Submarine and encouraging other artists, like
    Terry Gilliam to take up the creativve baton and run with it. There's a freewheeling
    combination of materials here, with backgrounds incorporating artwork, photographs
    and material swatches. Anything goes. The characters are cut-outs and they
    teeter-totter along in exaggerated poses and actions, and the story takes us
    where ever it wishes to go. It's told without words and accompanied by an
    expressive score from composer Paul Reade.

    Many "trendy" theorists attempt to apply 70's drug-enhanced suggestiveness to
    the proceedings but, clearly, these films are simply about having fun - not
    only for the characters in the films, but for the filmmakers too, who seem to
    be revelling in the thrill of animation-for-animation's sake. How very different
    to today's animation world, with its over-reliance on "brand development" and
    "target audiences" and "demographics". And how ironic that Crystal Tipps has
    become such an iconic figure now, with a plethora of T-shirts and apparel
    proving so popular of late. "Crystal Tipps and Alistair" isn't for kids, or tweens,
    or adults, it's for everyone!

    Hilary Hayton also created some freewheeling adventures for young Doris and
    a series of Puppydog Tales. "Doris" is particularly special, with lots of mixed
    media design and dreamscapes to savour...

 

     Crystal Tipps on DVD

      The Complete Crystal Tipps and Alistair
                Region 2 / fifty episodes / Contender / June 2004

 

      created by Hilary Hayton

      designed and written by
      Graham McCallum and Hilary Hayton

      director:       Richard Taylor
      producer:     Michael Grafton-Robinson
      animation:   Maggie Clarke
      music:         Paul Reade  



      On the web


      Double:Take
      Double:Take have clip rights to Crystal Tipps, Doris and
      those Puppydog Tales...

 
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