Animation: A World History

3

Europe

Great Britain: The Wonderful Years¹

It is not possible to discuss British animation² from the 1990s onwards without talking about Channel 4.

Channel 4 was created in 1981 as a public utility by an Act of Parliament. Its purpose was to be an alternative to BBC and ITV, and it started broadcasting on 2 November 1982. Unlike the public utility that was the BBC, Channel 4 – though public – didn’t receive any public funding. All of its programs were financed by its commercial activities, including advertising.³

British animation peaked at the end of the 1980s. From 1989 to 1996 it was dominated by short films that vied for the Oscar category,⁴ mostly commissioned by Channel 4. It was extraordinary that a television channel – an entity usually ...