“I knew that I could
never compete with Disney – the magnificent job he had done. Instead, I chose
to put animated cartoon characters on live-action backgrounds. (The technique)
is nothing new in the film industry, but it is quite rare”, Yoram Gross (in Beck,
2004: 264).
 |
| Yoram Gross |
Born in Krakow, Poland, in 1926, Yoram Gross became
Australia’s leading animation director/producer. He and his family were Jewish,
and were on Oskar Schindler’s list, forcing them to live in hiding. Gross had a
love of music, which he studied at Krakow University. He entered the film
industry at the age of 20, and began his career as an assistant to Polish film
directors Buczowski, Cenkalski and Dutch director Yoris Ivens. In addition, he
studied scriptwriting under Carl Forman.
In 1950, he moved to Israel, where he worked as a cameraman
for newsreels and documentaries, before becoming an independent film producer,
earning him numerous prizes at film festivals worldwide. These films include Joseph the Dreamer (1961), a biblical
adaptation, and comedy One Pound Only (1964).
Throughout his career he amassed more than 80 awards for his films. In 1968, he
and his wife and family relocated to Sydney, Australia, where they established
Yoram Gross Film Studios (which later became Flying Bark Productions).
 |
| Dot and the Kangaroo (1977) |
Since 1977, Gross has been noted in particular for his
animated features and series, establishing a number of prizes in his name,
including the Yoram Gross Award for Best Animated Film at the Sydney Film
Festival, and the Yoram Gross Best Animation Award at the Flickerfest
International Film Festival. A key distinguishing aspect of Gross’ work was not
so much the utilisation of live-action backgrounds (as seen in their first
feature Dot and the Kangaroo (1977)),
but a focus on Australian life in particular. Dot and the Kangaroo, won the first prize at the Television
Children’s Film Festival in Teheran. Despite its predominantly ‘Australian’
appeal, it was translated into a number of foreign languages and was well-received
worldwide.
 |
| Blinky Bill (1992) |
Numerous other ‘Dot’ movies followed throughout the following
decade, before attention was drawn to Gross’ 1992 animated TV show Blinky Bill, a faithful adaptation of
Dorothy Wall’s stories about a mischievous koala. Gross’ work mostly pertained
to younger audiences, corroborated by his numerous appearances at the
Australian Children’s International Film Festival. In 1995, he was awarded the
Order of Australia, for his achievements in film. Gross celebrated his 60th
anniversary in the industry in 2007, further honoured by a screening of his
career highlights by the New South Wales Film and Television Office. Other
notable works by Gross include feature The
Magic Riddle (1991), inspired by classic fairy-tales, Tabaluga, a TV series about a little dragon, and Flipper and Lopaka, about a boy and his
unique ability to talk to sea creatures. Latter works such as these TV shows
were largely produced as part of a collaboration with European company EM-TV.
 |
| Blinky Bill (StudioCanal, 2015) |
Yoram Gross died on the 21st September 2015,
leaving behind a vast catalogue of films, animated features, TV series and
books. A key figure in Australia’s animated film industry, Gross’ work
continues to charm and delight worldwide. Plans for a feature film adaptation
of Blinky Bill were revealed in early
2015.
Sources:
Beck, J. Animation
Art: From Pencil to Pixel, the Illustrated History of Cartoon, Anime and CGI. (2004)
London: Flame Tree Publishing.
The Hollywood Reporter
– Yoram Gross, Australian Animation Pioneer, Dies at 88: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/yoram-gross-australian-animation-pioneer-826069
Yoram Gross: http://www.yoramgrossfilms.com.au/bio2.html
Image Sources:
1993-1995 The
Adventures Of Blinky Bill – OPENING THEME: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6Ngc5mYuBg
BLINKY BILL THE MOVIE
OFFICIAL TRAILER [AUSTRALIA] September 17/24: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc9SSM8PuBc
Dot and the Kangaroo
(1977): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WojuR_qI434
Yoram Gross: http://www.yoramgrossfilms.com.au/bio1.html
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