主播大秀

Last week I had the pleasure of opening the first event here in MediaCityUK in Salford. Organised by the Children鈥檚 Media Conference, the event was an opportunity for animators to come together to discuss audience trends; commissioning; co-productions and the marketplace.

For me it was the opportunity to take some time to think about why animation matters 鈥� why it matters to children and why the animation sector matters to the UK.

Most adults living in the 1960s could say where they were when JFK was shot. Younger people are more likely to remember how they felt when Bambi鈥檚 mother was shot. Animation in all its forms is an important part of childhood; shaping your view of the world, creating memories and inspiring imagination and play.

Away from the cinema when I was a child, animation - or cartoons as they were called in those days - was a hugely important part of any childhood. I grew up watching and loving the Clangers, The Herb Garden, Noggin the Nog, Pogles Wood, Magic Roundabout, Ivor the Engine, Roobarb and Custard, Trumpton and Mr Benn.

And as a counterpoint to these short-form British classics, the bulk of after-school kids TV cartoons were off-the-shelf US content, mostly produced by Hanna Barbera, such as The Flintstones, Top Cat, Yogi Bear and Wacky Races.

You know from the simple pleasure of remembering the cartoons that you loved as a kid just how much animation means to children.

Animated stories have dominated the childhood memories of every generation since the magic lantern. But why?

Walt Disney said: Animation can explain whatever the mind of man can conceive. This facility makes it the most versatile and explicit means of communication yet devised for quick mass appreciation.

And he was right.

Animation allows children and adults to go places no TV live action could ever take them. Or afford to take them. Things can happen to characters that couldn鈥檛 ever be done with real people in real places. ANYTHING can happen, and often does, though for the curious child, and most children are, there aren鈥檛 any scary real-world consequences.

Animation brings them arresting colour palettes, cute characters, strong storytelling, humour, non-ambiguous characterisation, full and dynamic soundtracks, comedy, characters being able to do things people can't, adventure and "safe" jeopardy.

Because the characters are developed to specifically convey their attributes and role quickly, it鈥檚 much easier to understand who they are, and what they鈥檙e about, which is great for kids who are trying to make sense of the world around them and how things work.

Now, as then, though, animation is often regarded by those who don鈥檛 watch it, or don鈥檛 watch children鈥檚 TV, as cheap stuff to fill the gaps between the 鈥減roper stuff鈥� and, when I was a kid, there was some truth to that.

I believe that animation on children鈥檚 TV today is richer and of higher-quality than any period I can remember. And it鈥檚 not cheap.

On CBeebies and C主播大秀, animation is definitely not something to watch whilst waiting for the proper stuff 鈥� quite the opposite. Nearly all initiated in the UK, and increasingly made here, distinctive animation like Postman Pat, Cloudbabies, Strangehill High, Baby Jake, and Abney and Teal, drive the reach and share of CBeebies and C主播大秀, and they鈥檙e the audience鈥檚 favourites.

As well as being the highest quality entertainment, many of our animated titles help us deliver on the 主播大秀鈥檚 public purposes, with programmes like What鈥檚 The Big Idea, Charlie and Lola, Raa Raa The Noisy Lion, Octonauts, Tree Fu Tom and Rastamouse, amongst many others, encouraging children to think about relationships, good versus bad, concepts like consequences, families and friendship, being a good citizen, the natural world, and countless other worthwhile thoughts.

It all seems a like a great improvement on my childhood viewing, where a small, plucky band of whimsical British short-form stood up to the mighty battalions of Hong Kong Phooey and friends.

But animation shouldn鈥檛 just matter to children. It should matter to all of us 鈥� both parents and producers.

Animation fuels children鈥檚 imaginations, but parents and policy-makers rightly want that fuel to be culturally relevant and UK produced animation is much more likely to provide that. Language, cultural understanding and citizenship can all be encouraged through seeing an animated version of the people and places a bit like the people and places you know 鈥� however fantastic or exaggerated.

UK animation has a long and proud track record of producing iconic, world-class animation. The Smallfilms classics of my childhood, Danger Mouse, Wallace and Gromit and all things Aardman, Peppa Pig, Bob the Builder, Paddington, Chorlton and the Wheelies and a thousand more have provided the cultural glue to millions of childhoods; they鈥檝e inspired play, and bolstered both spoken English and our particular sense of humour - for generations.

DangerMouse, Roobarb and Custard, Ivor the Engine, Willo the Wisp, Paddington Bear, Horrid Henry and Shaun the Sheep are amongst the cultural gems that have shaped the quirky British humour of the generations who are now themselves creating kids comedy and animation.

Comedy is superbly suited to animation, and comedy is one of the most powerful storytelling genres for helping children and adults understand how things work and, of particular importance to children, how people work, in this funny old land in which they鈥檙e growing up.

And what is good for audiences is often good for business, and a huge chain of downstream value starts with UK animation. Play is vitally important to children鈥檚 development, and engaging with their favourite characters through toys, games and now visitor attractions and apps is 鈥� and always has been 鈥� an important part of growing up.

The wider economic impact of the animation business is also significant and, with tax credits, has the potential to be even bigger. UK animation companies provide employment for around five thousand people. Not a huge number but the influence and importance of their work is huge.

The growth of digital consumption by children also offers enormous opportunities for animation, as short form cartoons are one of the things children seek out most on their tablets and smartphones.

UK animation has the opportunity once again to be a world leader in quality and creativity and I鈥檓 particularly delighted that the North West of England, for many years a centre of excellence for animation, is in the vanguard.

From early magic lantern images, via the latest 2D, 3D, stop motion, CGI and the HyperVynorama of our own Strangehill High, the North West has always been at the forefront of animation. And by making Salford the home of 主播大秀 Children鈥檚 we hope that we can help make it THE centre for children鈥檚 content production in the UK.

In a world of shrinking opportunities for British children to see lives like theirs reflected on TV, I think it鈥檚 more important than ever to support UK animation. At the 主播大秀 we take our commitment to that very seriously. For example of the shows we currently have under offer for CBeebies, over 90% are UK IP, and subject to getting their funding, over 90% will to be totally produced in the UK.

UK animation matters 鈥� it matters to children, children matter to the 主播大秀, and the 主播大秀 matters for UK production and I hope that together with our partners we can continue to bring our kids world-class but home-grown animation.

Joe Godwin is Director, 主播大秀 Childrens