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 Chas, a lighter clay clone with a
    particular sneaky streak to his character. Chas 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 Chas 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...

      "The Amazing Adventures of Morph" from Aardman Animations    Morph in "The Amazing Adventures of Morph"

    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 morphed from one BBC
    art show to another with his pal Tony Hart through the likes of "Take Hart",
    "Hartbeat" and "Smart Hart". In addition, he was granted two standalone
    series of his very own. The 1980-1981 production of "The Amazing
    Adventures of Morph" drew what was then the largest ever audience for
    its 5.35pm broadcast slot. Fifteen years later, in 1995 we had "The Morph
    Files", which featured actor Neil Morrissey as narrator.

    Though Morph's official tv run ended with "SMart" in 2006, he put in a
    notable guest appearance in the BBC's 2009 timetravel drama series
    "Ashes to Ashes", playing a morphalike medic. And here in 2011, there
    are all sorts of licensed products currently available in our High Street
    stores, and frankly, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him and Chas and
    the gang returning to our screens in some new metamorphic shape or
    or form sometime soon...


     Morph on DVD

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

      The Amazing Adventures of Morph

      animated, scripted and directed
      by Peter Lord and David Sproxton

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

     The Morph Files

     director:                Peter Lord
     producer:              Jacqueline White
     executive
      producers:             Peter Lord, David Sproxton
     for Link Licensing: David Hamilton, Claire Derry
     writer:                   Andy Walker
     animation:            Mike Booth, Gary Cureton, Dave Osmond
     computer
      animation:             Alan Snow
     dubbing editor:      James Mather
     special sounds:      Peter Harwood
     editor:                   Andrew Hassenruck
     special thanks to: The Staff of Aardman Animations
     narration:              Neil Morrissey

      On the web

      Aardman Animations
      The official Aardman site showcases both of Morph's tv series...

      Tony Hart
      Tony passed away in 2009, but his official website lives on
      in cyberspace...

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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 2001-2006 / SMart 2009 -Ashes to Ashes Guest Appearance	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 Chas, a lighter clay clone with a particular sneaky streak to his character. Chas 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 Chas 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 morphed from one BBC art show to another with his pal Tony Hart through the likes of "Take Hart", "Hartbeat" and "Smart Hart". In addition, he was granted two standalone series of his very own. The 1980-1981 production of "The Amazing Adventures of Morph" drew what was then the largest ever audience for its 5.35pm broadcast slot. Fifteen years later, in 1995 we had "The Morph Files", which featured actor Neil Morrissey as narrator. Though Morph's official tv run ended with "SMart" in 2006, he put in a notable guest appearance in the BBC's 2009 timetravel drama series "Ashes to Ashes", playing a morphalike medic. And here in 2011, there are all sorts of licensed products currently available in our High Street stores, and frankly, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him and Chas and the gang returning to our screens in some new metamorphic shape or or form sometime soon... Morph on DVD The Morph Files all 13 episodes / 4 Front Video / April 2004 The Amazing Adventures of Morph animated, scripted and directed by Peter Lord and David Sproxton producer: Patrick Dowling sound effects: Peter Harwood film editor: Alan Trott introduction: Tony Hart The Morph Files director: Peter Lord producer: Jacqueline White executive producers: Peter Lord, David Sproxton for Link Licensing: David Hamilton, Claire Derry writer: Andy Walker animation: Mike Booth, Gary Cureton, Dave Osmond computer animation: Alan Snow dubbing editor: James Mather special sounds: Peter Harwood editor: Andrew Hassenruck special thanks to: The Staff of Aardman Animations narration: Neil Morrissey On the web Aardman Animations The official Aardman site showcases both of Morph's tv series... Tony Hart Tony passed away in 2009, but his official website lives on in cyberspace... index » previous » next »
© Aardman Animation / Morph Ltd / F2011