Harold Jackson Whitaker (5 June 1920 – 26 December 2013) was a British

animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...

, whose credits included ''

Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to crea ...

'' in 1954 and '' Heavy Metal'' in 1981. He first worked for

Anson Dyer Anson Dyer, born Ernest J. Anson Dyer (Brighton, 18 July 1876 – Cheltenham, 22 February 1962), was an English director, screenwriter, animator, and actor. His company Stratford Abbey Films, based in Stroud, was the only Technicolor production ...

, before spending thirty years as an animator for

Halas and Batchelor Halas and Batchelor was a British animation company founded by husband and wife John Halas and Joy Batchelor. Halas was a Hungarian émigré to the United Kingdom. The company had studios in London and Cainscross, in the Stroud District of Glouces ...

. He made a comic strip adaptation of ''Animal Farm'' in 1954. Whitaker was born on 5 June 1920 in Cottingham,

East Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to th ...

. He was raised in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and studied drawing at Macclesfield art school. In 1981, Whitaker published a book, ''Timing for Animation''. ''Timing for Animation'' was republished in 2002 to include an introduction written by

John Lasseter John Alan Lasseter (; born January 12, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, voice actor, and the head of animation at Skydance Animation. He was previously the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, ...

, the President of

Pixar Studios Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American Computer animation, computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in E ...

. Whitaker later worked as an animator and storyboard artist on several films such as ''

The Magic Voyage ''The Magic Voyage'' (german: Die Abenteuer von Pico & Columbus, lit=The Adventures of Pico and Columbus) is a 1992 German animated fantasy film produced and directed by Michael Schoemann. It was released in Germany by Bavaria Film on 14 Februar ...

'', ''

Stowaways on the Ark ''Stowaways on the Ark'' is a 1988 German animated adventure film, released theatrically in Germany as ''In der Arche ist der Wurm drin'' ( ''The Worm Is in the Ark'') by United International Pictures on 24 March 1988. It's inspired by the story ...

'', ''

The Twelve Tasks of Asterix ''The Twelve Tasks of Asterix'' (''Les Douze travaux d'Astérix'') is a 1976 Belgian/French animated feature film based on the ''Asterix'' comic book series, and the third in the animated franchise. René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, the crea ...

'', ''Doctor in the Sky'', '' When the Wind Blows'', ' and the television series ''

The Dreamstone ''The Dreamstone'' is a British animated television series that ran for four series, with 13 episodes per series between 1990 and 1995. The original concept and artwork were created by Michael Jupp, and the series was written by Sue Radley ...

'' and ''

Poddington Peas ''The Poddington Peas'' is a British animated television series that was created by Paul Needs and Colin Wyatt of Cairnvale Productions for Poddington PLC; it has thirteen five-minute episodes, and was aired on BBC One as part of the Children's B ...

''. Whitaker died on 26 December 2013 at the age of 93.

References

External links

*https://www.lambiek.net/artists/w/whitaker_harold.htm *
BBC Gloucestershire article about Halas & Batchelor animator Harold Whitaker
1920 births 2013 deaths British animators British comics artists British storyboard artists People from Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire {{animator-stub