Toonhound - Morph (1978-)

    In the beginning there was modelling clay. And from the clay came forth Morph
    a 6" high terracotta person with the ability to 'morph' into inumerable forms but
    who mostly stayed true to his original human-like form...

    Morph lived in a wooden artbox on the desk of tv artist and presenter Tony Hart
    and he originally appeared in Tony's BBC art series "Take Hart". Morph's little
    stories involved him creating artwork, stumbling upon strange artefacts and
    generally getting himself in a muddle. He never talked to us or Tony, rather
    he gabbled in some speeded-up goobledygook, but the clarity of the animation
    and direction of action meant that we could read his body language, so he
    always made sense. Morph's filmed inserts were only around 1mins duration,
    but he was such a dynamic, original creation that he quickly became
    a star attraction.

    In time, Morph was joined by the irrascible Chaz, a lighter clay clone with a
    particular nasty streak to his character. Chaz would do his very best to outsmart,
    outwit and outperform his friend but invariably, his efforts would backfire, leaving
    him with - um - clay on his face. Eventually there was a whole miniature world of
    clay creations on Tony's desk. Morph and Chaz were joined by elderly Gran-morph,
    bossy yellow-dressed Delilah, a tin-foil girl called Folly, a genial blue giant called
    Gillespie, a 'pet' Nailbrush and an array of small plasticene balls with eyes
    known as The Very Small Creatures. That Artbox home was pretty crowded,
    so the gang were shifted to their own miniature home Under The Table in
    the corner of the art studio...

    Morph was brought in to being by the multi-talented hands of Dave Sproxton
    and Peter Lord, the duo who founded Aardman Animations. They brought
    claymation animation in to our homes and invigorated the british animation
    world with their unique films and series. Their triumphant progression through
    a series of music promos, the "Wallace & Gromit" films and on to movie
    stardom with "Chicken Run" and beyond is well documented and
    detailed, isn't it?

    Following Morph's tv career is a tad more tricky. He seems to have stuck with
    Tony Hart through his successive BBC art series from those first 1978
    appearances right on to the present-day schedules. But Morph and his
    pals have twice had their own series, indepenednt of Mr Hart. In 1980-1981
    they starred in "The Amazing Adventures of Morph" which drew what was
    then the largest ever audience for it's 5.35p.m. broadcast. Fifteen years later,
    in 1995 we were presented with "The Morph Files", now featuring actor
    Neil Morrissey as the narrator...

    Morph has is nudging 30 now, but he hasn't aged a day in all those years.
    And he's kept abreast of of the times as well. He's still popping up
    regularly on the BBC art show "Smart", and you may even have caught
    him morphing onto your mobile phone recently!

     A Magical Morph print



     Now here's a fab celebratory collectable. It's a very special
     Giclee Morph Print from Cult Prints, celebrating the character's
     30th anniversary and it's limited to just 250 editions. What's more,
     each print is numbered and hand-signed by Peter Lord himself!

     "The Many Faces of Morph" measures 46 x 38cm and features a
     montage of some of the original drawings of Morph from Peter's own
     sketchbook, together with an exclusive new illustration of our
     plasticene pal...

     You can find out more about this mouth-watering edition, how to
     buy it, etc. on the Cult Prints site. But I'd hurry if I were you.
     Given Morph's popularity, these probably won't hang around
     for long!

     Morph on DVD

     The Morph Files
                 all 13 episodes / 4 Front Video / April 2004

      animated, scripted and directed
      by Peter Lord and David Sproxton

     producer:        Patrick Dowling
     sound fx:         Peter Harwood
     editor:            Alan Trott
     introduction:   Tony Hart

     Morph Files narration: Neil Morrissey

      On the web

        Aardman Animation
        The official Aardman site showcases both of Morph's tv series.
        They feature series info, credits, and a selection of high-quality
        images. Very nice.

        Tony Hart
        Morph is here at Tony Hart's official website too.There's plenty of
        up-to-date info on the affable, gentlemanly artist and presenter
        and his artistic television career...

      index »    previous »   next »

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			Morph producers: Aardman Animation for the BBC animation: claymation/stop-motion animation
			Morph & Tony Hart 1978-1984 / Take Hart 1985-1994 / Hartbeat 1997 / Morph TV w/ Tony Hart 1998 / On Your Marks 1999-2000 / Smart Hart 2001- present / Smart	The Amazing Adventures of Morph 1980-1981 26 x 5min episodes The Morph Files 1995 13 x10min episodes
		In the beginning there was modelling clay. And from the clay came forth Morph a 6" high terracotta person with the ability to 'morph' into inumerable forms but who mostly stayed true to his original human-like form... Morph lived in a wooden artbox on the desk of tv artist and presenter Tony Hart and he originally appeared in Tony's BBC art series "Take Hart". Morph's little stories involved him creating artwork, stumbling upon strange artefacts and generally getting himself in a muddle. He never talked to us or Tony, rather he gabbled in some speeded-up goobledygook, but the clarity of the animation and direction of action meant that we could read his body language, so he always made sense. Morph's filmed inserts were only around 1mins duration, but he was such a dynamic, original creation that he quickly became a star attraction. In time, Morph was joined by the irrascible Chaz, a lighter clay clone with a particular nasty streak to his character. Chaz would do his very best to outsmart, outwit and outperform his friend but invariably, his efforts would backfire, leaving him with - um - clay on his face. Eventually there was a whole miniature world of clay creations on Tony's desk. Morph and Chaz were joined by elderly Gran-morph, bossy yellow-dressed Delilah, a tin-foil girl called Folly, a genial blue giant called Gillespie, a 'pet' Nailbrush and an array of small plasticene balls with eyes known as The Very Small Creatures. That Artbox home was pretty crowded, so the gang were shifted to their own miniature home Under The Table in the corner of the art studio... Morph was brought in to being by the multi-talented hands of Dave Sproxton and Peter Lord, the duo who founded Aardman Animations. They brought claymation animation in to our homes and invigorated the british animation world with their unique films and series. Their triumphant progression through a series of music promos, the "Wallace & Gromit" films and on to movie stardom with "Chicken Run" and beyond is well documented and detailed, isn't it? Following Morph's tv career is a tad more tricky. He seems to have stuck with Tony Hart through his successive BBC art series from those first 1978 appearances right on to the present-day schedules. But Morph and his pals have twice had their own series, indepenednt of Mr Hart. In 1980-1981 they starred in "The Amazing Adventures of Morph" which drew what was then the largest ever audience for it's 5.35p.m. broadcast. Fifteen years later, in 1995 we were presented with "The Morph Files", now featuring actor Neil Morrissey as the narrator... Morph has is nudging 30 now, but he hasn't aged a day in all those years. And he's kept abreast of of the times as well. He's still popping up regularly on the BBC art show "Smart", and you may even have caught him morphing onto your mobile phone recently! A Magical Morph print Now here's a fab celebratory collectable. It's a very special Giclee Morph Print from Cult Prints, celebrating the character's 30th anniversary and it's limited to just 250 editions. What's more, each print is numbered and hand-signed by Peter Lord himself! "The Many Faces of Morph" measures 46 x 38cm and features a montage of some of the original drawings of Morph from Peter's own sketchbook, together with an exclusive new illustration of our plasticene pal... You can find out more about this mouth-watering edition, how to buy it, etc. on the Cult Prints site. But I'd hurry if I were you. Given Morph's popularity, these probably won't hang around for long! Morph on DVD The Morph Files all 13 episodes / 4 Front Video / April 2004 animated, scripted and directed by Peter Lord and David Sproxton producer: Patrick Dowling sound fx: Peter Harwood editor: Alan Trott introduction: Tony Hart Morph Files narration: Neil Morrissey On the web Aardman Animation The official Aardman site showcases both of Morph's tv series. They feature series info, credits, and a selection of high-quality images. Very nice. Tony Hart Morph is here at Tony Hart's official website too.There's plenty of up-to-date info on the affable, gentlemanly artist and presenter and his artistic television career... index » previous » next »
© Aardman Animation / Morph Ltd / F2007