''The Happy Prince'' is an animated short film adaptation of
the short story by
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
. The film was produced in 1974 by the Canadian-based
Potterton Productions as a follow-up to its 1971 film ''
The Selfish Giant''.
Plot
A royal statue makes friends with a small swallow. The statue is moved by the suffering he sees around him and asks the swallow to peel off his gold covering leaf by leaf and give it to various poor and needy people.
BFI synopsis
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Artists
*Written for the screen and directed by Michael Mills
*Master animator: Jim Hiltz
*Animators: Robert Browning, Paul Driessen, Sebastian Grunstra, Julian Harris, Terence Harrison, Geoff Loynes, Gary Mooney, Paul Sabella, Paul Schibli, Don Stearn, Mike Stuart
*Background design: Sue Butterworth, John Dawson, Diane Desrosiers, Timothy Elliott, Michel Guerin, Caroline Price
*Sound editors: Peter Hearn, Gerard Senecal
Music
Howard Blake was originally hired to score the film, and after writing a theme for the bird, and a song, he called the director and found out they had hired Ron Goodwin
Ronald Alfred Goodwin (17 February 19258 January 2003) was an English composer and conductor known for his film music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years. His most famous works included ''Where Eagles Dare'', ''Battle ...
without telling him.
References
External links
BFI (UK): ''The Happy Prince''
*
1974 in Canadian television
Canadian television specials
CTV Television Network original programming
Canadian animated short films
Films based on short fiction
Films based on works by Oscar Wilde
Films scored by Ron Goodwin
1974 television films
1974 films
1970s Canadian films
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