Roland Frederick Godfrey MBE (27 May 1921 – 21 February 2013) was an English animator whose career spanned more than fifty years.

He is probably best known for the children's cartoon series Roobarb (1974), Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk (1977) and Henry's Cat (1980) and for the Trio chocolate biscuit advertisements shown in the UK during the early 1980s. However, he also produced a BAFTA and Academy award-winning short film Great (1975), a tongue-in-cheek biography of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Further Academy Awards nominations received were for Kama Sutra Rides Again (1971), Dream Doll (1980), with Zlatko Grgic, and Small Talk (1994).

Godfrey was born in West Maitland, Australia, but his British parents returned to England while he was still a baby. He attended school in Ilford, Essex and Leyton Art School. at first working at Lever Brothers as a graphic artist during the 1930s.

 During World War II he served as a Royal Marine and was involved in the D-Day landings.

He was taken on by the Larkins Studio in 1950 where he worked with Peter Sachs before leaving to set up Biographic with Keith Learner and Jeff Hale. Other members joined them later, including Nancy Hanna and Vera Linnecar in 1957.

 He worked at Larkins Studio for a period with Peter Sachs before leaving to set up Biographic with Keith Learner and Jeff Hale. Other members joined them later, including Nancy Hanna and Vera Linnecar in 1957. The company, set up to meet the demand for commercials for the new ITV, was responsible for the first animated commercial to be shown on the network. While still working at Larkins Godfrey made Big Parade (1952) and Watch the Birdie (1954), a film inspired by a painting by Paul Klee, both were filmed in the basement of his flat.

He subsequently made Do It Yourself Cartoon Kit (1961) which satirises animation and commercial advertising.[1] The use of different animated forms, materials and techniques makes it one of his most exciting films to watch. The use of cutout animation for the narrator pre-dates Terry Gilliam's use of the technique, and the film is often mis-credited as being produced by Gilliam. Michael Bentine provided the narration for the film and worked with Godfrey on a number of films and commercials.

Godfrey's animated work during the later 1950s and 1960s continued to appear in TV commercials, but in 1964 he started his own company Bob Godfrey's Movie Emporium to develop his own creative projects including the children's cartoons.

He was also responsible for a number of slightly risqué cartoons satirising British sexual habits, such as Henry 9 To 5, which was also awarded a BAFTA in 1971. He also animated the cartoon Alf, Bill and Fred.

As well as animation he produced live action commercials and short films. A number of them starred the artist Bruce Lacey who appeared in Battle of New Orleans, The Hanging Tree. His interest in live action included a number of appearances in self-directed commercials and minor film roles including The Beatles' film Help! (1965) and Casino Royale (1967). In 1965 he animated four episodes of The Beatles, an animated television series featuring the pop band, which had been sub-contracted out to different studios. Godfrey also worked as an uncredited adviser on Yellow Submarine (1968).

Kama Sutra Rides Again (1971), initially banned, was selected by Stanley Kubrick for screening with the UK release of his film A Clockwork Orange.

In 1974 he presented Do-It Yourself Film Animation Show on BBC1 which encouraged children to do animation; each episode had established animators talking about their work and different animation techniques. Guests included Richard Williams and Terry Gilliam. The series has subsequently been acknowledged by a new generation of animators, including Nick Park, as a significant influence on them making animated films. With both Roobarb (1974), Noah and Nelly in... SkylArk (1977), Richard Briers was the voice-over artist.

In the Thames Television documentary The Thief Who Never Gave Up, broadcast in the late 1980s, animator Richard Williams credits Godfrey with giving him his start in the business, "Bob Godfrey helped me...I worked in the basement and would do work in kind, and he would let me use the camera...[it was] a barter system".

He was awarded an MBE in 1986 and received the newly established Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bradford Animation Festival on 18 November 2007, with the festival including a retrospective of his films. Later films including social, political satires based on the work on Steve Bell which included Beaks to the Grindstone and A Journalist's Tale. He worked with Bell again on the series Maggie Where I am Now?

He appeared on a number of programmes and documentaries on animation over the years, including the BBC 2 documentary The Craftsmen and the documentary series Animation Nation, shown on BBC Four in 2005.

Bob Godfrey, born 27th May 1921, died 21st February 2013.

References

• Keeping the British End Up: Four Decades of Saucy Cinema by Simon Sheridan (Reynolds & Hearn Books) (third edition) 2007