George Dunning

George Garnett Dunning

(1920-11-17)November 17, 1920

February 15, 1979(1979-02-15) (aged 58)

Animator, Producer, Director

Biography[edit]

Dunning was born in Toronto and studied at the Ontario College of Art & Design, then worked as a freelance illustrator. In 1943, he became the second artist to be recruited by the National Film Board of Canada's Norman McLaren.[1] Between 1944 and 1950, he co-created ten films, including the award-winning Cadet Rousselle,[2] and developed his skills at animating articulated, painted, metal cut-outs.[3]


In 1948, Dunning traveled to Paris and spent a year working for UNESCO under the mentorship of the Czech animator Berthold Bartosch and furthering his experiments with painting on glass. He returned to Canada in 1949, and he and colleague Colin Low took a leave of absence to work on an adaptation of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (the production was too ambitious and the film was abandoned).[4] Dunning made one more film for the NFB–Family Tree, which he animated and co-directed with Evelyn Lambart. It won two international awards, and a special Canadian Film Award for "outstanding animation".[5]


In 1950, Dunning and colleague Jim MacKay left the NFB to found Toronto's first private animation studio, Graphic Associates,[6] which produced commercials (including the first colour commercial produced in Canada), design work and educational film-strips. It also gave first jobs to budding artists such as Michael Snow, Joyce Wieland and Richard Williams. But the company was not profitable. In 1955, Dunning left for New York; McKay turned Graphic Associates into the successful production company Film Design Ltd.[7]


Dunning moved to New York to accept a post with United Productions of America (UPA) and spent a year as an animator on the series The Gerald McBoing-Boing Show. In 1956, UPA sent him to London to manage its office there, but UPA was in financial trouble and the London office was soon shut down. Dunning decided to start his own production company; he had met John Coates, a London producer who was the nephew of film mogul J. Arthur Rank. Dunning needed someone to manage the business side of his company and the two went into partnership, founding TV Cartoons Ltd. in 1957.[8] By 1961, TVC was producing about one hundred commercials a year, but Dunning also made many personal short films noted for their surrealistic atmosphere and Kafkaesque themes. The Flying Man earned him the Annecy Festival Grand Prix in 1962,[9] while The Apple won the 1963 BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film.[10]


TVC's other 'bread-and-butter' work was training films for the National Coal Board, for which he created the memorable characters Thud and Blunder.[11] In 1967, Dunning created the film Canada is My Piano for the triple rotating screen at the Canadian Pavilion at Expo 67. His 1973 anti-drug film The Maggot won another Annecy Festival award, for Best Information Film.[12]


From 1965 to 1967, Dunning was the main producer of the cartoon series The Beatles. This led to the assignment for Yellow Submarine. The job was highly problematic. While a Disney feature took four years to make, Dunning was given one year, and just $1 million. To meet the deadline, Dunning quadrupled his staff and, aided by Coates and art director Heinz Edelmann, supervised as many as 200 artists. He quarreled with his client, Al Brodax at King Features Syndicate, and the Beatles weren't interested in being involved, only agreeing at the last minute to take part in a live-action epilogue. As Dunning made the film for a flat fee, and made up budget over-runs with his own funds, TVC lost money on the film. But "Yellow Submarine" was a smash hit, bringing Dunning a New York Film Critics Circle award and immense prestige.[13][14]


While he is not credited, it is believed that Dunning was responsible for the opening credits of Blake Edwards' A Shot in the Dark, along with a series of shorts, including The Digger, for the BBC's Vision On series. His final project, an animated version of Shakespeare's The Tempest, was never completed.[15]


By January 1979, long-standing health issues had come to the fore; Dunning died of a heart attack at his home in London on February 15, 1979, at age 58. His 51 percent of TVC London passed to his wife, Faye. However she had cancer and died the following August. The couple had no children, so their shares reverted to Coates who feared that, without Dunning, clients would no longer be interested in working with the firm. That was not the case, and TVC London continued on, very successfully, until it was sold to Varga Studio in 1999.[16]

Envoyons d'l'avant nos gens, Chants populaires No. 2 - animated short, 1943 - animator and co-director with Jean-Paul Ladouceur[17]

National Film Board of Canada

Là-bas sur ces montagnes, Chants populaires No. 3 - animated short, 1943 - animator and co-director with Jim MacKay[18]

National Film Board of Canada

Filez, filez, ô mon navire, Chants populaires No. 4 - animated short, 1943 - animator and co-director with Jim MacKay[19]

National Film Board of Canada

Grim Pastures - cartoon, 1944 - animator, director[20]

National Film Board of Canada

Keep Your Mouth Shut - animated short, , Norman McLaren 1944 - animator[21]

National Film Board of Canada

Back to Normal - documentary short, 1944 - producer, director[22]

National Film Board of Canada

The Three Blind Mice - animated film, 1945 - director, co-animator with Robert Verrall and Grant Munro[23]

National Film Board of Canada

Cadet Rousselle - documentary short, 1946 - director, co-animator with Colin Low[24]

National Film Board of Canada

Christmas Carols - animated film, 1947 - director, co-animator with Robert Verrall, Grant Munro, Colin Low, Helen MacKay and Lyle Enright[25]

National Film Board of Canada

Family Tree - documentary short, 1950 - animator, co-director with Evelyn Lambart[26]

National Film Board of Canada

The Show - The Election/The Fifty-First Dragon/Twirlinger Twins in the Ballet Lesson -TV series episode, United Productions of America 1956 - animator

Gerald McBoing-Boing

The Wardrobe - cartoon, TV Cartoons 1958 - animator, producer, director

[27]

The Story of the Motor Car Engine - animated documentary, Industrial Animation for , Erwin Broner and Richard Williams 1958 - producer[28]

Ford Motor Company

Power Train - animated training film, Industrial Animation for Ford Motors, 1960 - writer, producer[29]

Jimmy T. Murakami

Redemption of a Retailer - animated film, TV Cartoons, Bill Sewell 1961 - producer, director

[30]

The Ever-Changing Motor Car - animated documentary, TV Cartoons for 1962 - co-producer with Robert Adams, co-director with Alan Ball[31]

Ford Motor Company

The Flying Man - cartoon, TV Cartoons 1962 - animator, producer, director

[32]

The Apple - animated short, TVC London 1962 - animator, director

[33]

Mr. Know-How in Hot Water - animated short, Industrial Animation, Bill Sewell 1962 - producer

[34]

Mr. Know-How in All-Round Comfort - animated short, Industrial Animation, Bill Sewell 1963 - producer

[35]

Discovery - Penicillin - documentary, TVC London, Denis Rich 1964 - producer

[36]

The First Adventures of Thud and Blunder - training film, , Bill Sewell 1964 - producer[37]

National Coal Board

Thud and Blunder: Knock-Off Time - training film, , Alan Ball 1964 - producer[38]

National Coal Board

Thud and Blunder: Haulage Hazards - training film, , Bill Sewell 1964 - producer[39]

National Coal Board

The Insects - animated film, TVC London, 1964 - co-producer with Jimmy T. Murakami[40]

Jimmy T. Murakami

Charley -TV movie, TVC London 1965 - producer, director

[41]

Kindred Spirit Scotch Whisky's Guide to International Relations - animated TV film, TVC London, Alan Ball, 1965 - producer

[42]

The Loco - training film, , 1965 - producer, director[43]

National Coal Board

- TV series, TVC London et al. 1965-1967 - producer (33 episodes)

The Beatles

The Helmet - training film, , 1966 - producer, director[44]

National Coal Board

The Roof - training film, , 1966 - producer, director[45]

National Coal Board

Safety Boots - training film, , 1966 - producer, director [46]

National Coal Board

Thud and Blunder: Materials Handling - training film, , Bill Sewell 1966 - producer[47]

National Coal Board

Canada is My Piano - animated short film, and Expo 67 - writer, producer, director[48]

National Film Board of Canada

The Chair - short film, Bill Sewell 1967 - producer

[49]

The Ladder - short film, 1967 - producer, director

[50]

Shaped for a Living - animated film, 1967 - creator, co-producer with John Arnold[51]

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Tidy Why - training film, , Bill Sewell 1964 - producer[52]

National Coal Board

- feature, TVC London/Apple Corps/King Features Syndicate 1968 - animator, director

Yellow Submarine

Lazy River - animated film, TVC London 1968 - producer, director

[53]

Discovering Radar - animated film, TVC London, and John Fletcher 1968 - producer[54]

Jim Duffy

Cod Fishing - animated film, TVC London, Bill Sewell 1969 - producer

[55]

Hands, Knees and Bumps a Daisy - training film, , 1969 - producer, director[56]

National Coal Board

A Sense of Responsibility - training film, , Alan Ball 1970 - producer[57]

National Coal Board

The Self-Breathing Apparatus - documentary short, TVC London, Alan Ball 1970 - producer

[58]

Moon Rock -short film, TVC London 1970 - producer, director

[59]

Horses of Death - training film, 1972, producer, co-director with Jim Duffy[60]

National Coal Board

Damon the Mower - short film, TVC London 1972 - animator, producer, director

[61]

How Not to Keep a Head While Shot-Firing - training film, , 1973 producer, co-director with Jim Duffy[62]

National Coal Board

The Maggot - short film, TVC London 1973 - producer, director

[63]

Plant a Tree - documentary short, 1973 - director, producer[64]

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dandruff - cartoon, TVC London, 1973 - co-producer with Jim Duffy[65]

Jim Duffy

Five Problems in Communications - training film, , Jim Duffy 1974 - producer[66]

National Coal Board

- documentary short, Bell Canada, Peter Pearson 1974 - animator

Along These Lines

Teamwork - training film, , Jim Duffy 1975 - producer[67]

National Coal Board

Safety Senses - training film, , Jim Duffy 1975 - producer[68]

National Coal Board

The Devil May Care - training film, , Jim Duffy 1975 - producer[69]

National Coal Board

Filmfestival del Garda, : Award of Merit, 1949

Gardone Riviera

American Film and Video Festival, New York: Blue Ribbon, 1960

Columbus, Ohio: Chris Statuette, 1961

Columbus International Film & Animation Festival

Columbus, Ohio: Chris Certificate, Education, Art and Music, 1961

Columbus International Film & Animation Festival

Cadet Rousselle (1946)[70]


Family Tree (1950)[71]


Buffoons (1950)


The Flying Man (1962)


The Apple (1962)


Yellow Submarine (1968)


The Maggot (1973)

Axelrod, Mitchell. Beatletoons: The Real Story Behind The Cartoon Beatles. Wynn, 1999. Lenburg, Jeff. Encyclopedia Of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books, 1999.

Lehman, Christopher P. American Animated Cartoons of the Vietnam Era: A Study of Social Commentary in Films and Television Programs, 1961-1973. McFarland, 2007.

TV.com.

The Big Cartoon Database.

A publication of The Film Reference Library/a division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group

Canadian Film Encyclopedia

at the BFI's Screenonline

George Dunning biography and credits

at IMDb

George Dunning