Award winning character animation for online and broadcast.
Animation companies Manchester
The big bang in Manchester animation was Cosgrove Hall Films’ creation in 1976. A traditional 2D and 3D studio, it not only created RTS and BAFTA winning shows, like ‘Dangermouse’, ‘Wind in the Willows’ and ‘Chorlton and the Wheelies’, but also gave a start to the people who would go on to form Mackinnon and Saunders, Factory, Hoopla, Flix, Hot and Gadzooks. It’s where we started too.
Even though CHF is long gone it created an environment which attracted companies such as the BBC and ITV to the region and allowed a diverse range of studios to spring up.
Some of these are smaller concerns in their first few years, some like Traveller’s Tales are huge companies who employ hundreds of people and make games played around the world.
One tradition many of these companies have taken from Cosgrove Hall, is to make their own films and encourage new talent. Barry Purves, Paul Berry and Ian MacKinnon were graduates of CHF, competing for the Animated Short Oscar in 1992. Now we have companies like ourselves, Flipbook, Strange Acre, Gadzooks and One 6th making films which have competed for and won awards at all levels, around the world.
The range of what Manchester has to offer and the level it works at, is constantly surprising. Chances are you’ve enjoyed something made in Manchester, without realising it. A little like the music scene in the 80s and 90s.
We’ve made a grid of local companies above, but there actually too many to fit, including ourselves. Apologies for these omissions.
For more on Manchester, here’s an article from Steve Henderson, one of the founders of Manchester Animation Festival, another great product of the city.
