FilmFair

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

FilmFair was an animation studio founded by Gus Jekel in 1968 in Los Angeles, California. Jekel had asked Graham Clutterbuck to open an office in Europe, so he opened one in Paris and later moved the office to London. The company's productions over the years include Paddington Bear, Astro Farm, Huxley Pig and The Wombles. In 1987, the company was acquired by Central Independent Television. Central sold FilmFair to the Storm Group in 1991, and FilmFair's American branch was acquired by AGC (which was purchased by Discovery Communications (now WBD) in 2003). In 1996, Storm Group sold FilmFair London to the Canada-based CINAR. CINAR later got into a financial scandal in 2000, and CINAR was sold to an investor group who changed the name to Cookie Jar Entertainment in 2004. Currently, the FilmFair London library is now owned by WildBrain.

1st Logo (February 12, 1968-1976)

Visuals: On a yellow square, there is a carousel horse and either next to the square or below the square, there are the words "Produced by FilmFair, London" in black. Sometimes, the copyright will be below.

Variants:

Technique: Varies depending on the show - either stop-motion animation, cel-animation, or a still photograph.

Audio: The ending theme of the show or none.

Availability:

  • Seen on most shows from FilmFair produced during this time period such as The Herbs, The Adventures of Parsley, The Wombles, and Paddington Bear, among others.
  • They also remain intact on VHS and DVD releases, as it's an in-credit logo.

2nd Logo (March 5, 1997-2004)


Visuals: On a black background, there is a carousel with blue windows, yellow flags and a red top. "FilmFair" in dark blue letters with sparks around it, appears. "ANIMATION" is under it in a red, green, and blue pattern.

Variants:

  • On the remastered version of Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings, a variant featuring a cloud background is used, while the carousel is seen spinning.
  • On the 1997 revival of The Wombles, the logo appears in-credit, without the text.
  • On The Upstairs Downstairs Bears, the logo is shown below the Imagination Production logo.

Technique: Simple fade transitions, or for the animated variant, simple animation.

Audio: The ending theme of the show or none.

Availability:

  • This logo can be found affixed to the end of remastered versions of the company's shows such as The Shoe People, Paddington Bear, The Wombles, The Adventures of Portland Bill, Nellie the Elephant, Bangers and Mash, and Huxley Pig, respectively.
  • It was also later seen on CINAR's 1997 revival of The Wombles and The Upstairs Downstairs Bears on the former Teletoon and TBN's digital subchannel Smile, respectively.

See Also

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