Somewhere along the line - round about 1977, Tony Hart came up with a terracotta coloured plasticine man called Morph who gradually became a regular feature of "Take Hart" and "Hartbeat". Morph starred in short scenes on Tony Hart's studio desk where there were paintbrushes, rubbers, rolls of tape and various other everyday items. The concept was both simple and endearing.
Much later, Morph was adopted bt the Aardman animations people who spawned Wallace and Gromit as well as Shaun the Sheep. But I think I am right in saying that Morph was the plasticine daddy of them all. He came first and later he was joined by his mischievous pal Chas who was lighter in colour but otherwise looked just like Morph.
Recently, I introduced my granddaughter Phoebe to Morph and at present she loves him. She has watched a lot of funny Morph shows. He and Chas do not speak in intelligible phrases but you always know what they are saying. Each mini-episode is put together brilliantly by patient animators who are clearly still very much enthused by their work - just as Tony Hart was.
Here are two more recent "Morph" episodes I have picked to share with you. He has come a long way since Tony Hart first moulded him. Enjoy!
I'm with Chas when it comes to camping -- I'd much rather watch movies and drink milkshakes.
ReplyDeleteI had totally forgotten about Morph and how much my kids liked him. Unless I am now remembering something else that was very similar.
ReplyDeletePoor old Morph, he had a very frustrating camping trip.... but toasted marshmallows always save the day!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'd be sitting in my chair slurping a shake, too!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely love this. I will definitely be introducing this character & animation to my grandkids. Recently, I showed them The Swedish Chef and now when we FaceTime, they sing, "bork bork bork." Ha!
ReplyDeleteI don't recall it being shown here but it looks like good fun for children.
ReplyDeleteWho could forget Morph? I never put Nick Park and Hart together. I remember when the Aardman Animations first hit the tv screens. Bristol made, they took voices of voices from the street and then married their voices to a wild assortment of animals. Which then sparked another memory. Bristol Zoo and taking my quota of children (8) on a school trip. An elephant squirted water over me much to the children's delight, obviously its party trick. Then, as we made it back to the coach, the children spied polar bears and dashed off. In a panic I counted 7 heads in the jostle of the crowd but luckily the 8th head popped up, I had not lost a child to the pit below!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was little, one of the few shows for children on German TV also involved a pair of plasticine characters. My sister and I loved their short scenes. I can‘t remember their names; we usually referred to them collectively as Knetmännle (little men made of plasticine).
ReplyDeleteI loved those videos. Morph was a favourite of mine, back in the day.
ReplyDeleteStill makes me smile.
I hardly ever saw it because it was after my time, but Tony Hard was very original and probably underrated.
ReplyDeleteI can see why Aardman bought the Morph concept and can see the relation with Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I'd never heard of Morph. Wallace and Gromit made it across the pond, but to my knowledge, Morph has not!
ReplyDeleteI forgot, plasticine was first made in a factory just outside Bath in 1900. asmall village called Bathampton.
ReplyDeleteTony Hart was an artistic genius.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can remember Tony Hart and Morph. Very simple humour - glad that Phoebe enjoys the videos.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of Morph but he's great! We love Shaun the Sheep around here too.
ReplyDeletei'll watch the episodes later - i once emailed Tony Hart to ask for some "vision on" logo artoworks for some tshirts i wanted to make and he was very kind and sent me some lovely stuff to work with - no doubt i lost the email like everything else i ever do..... but i confirm he was a nice bloke!!
ReplyDeleteReminds me of Gumby or Mr. Bill.
ReplyDeleteI loved him
ReplyDeleteThose are cute. I love Shaun the Sheep.
ReplyDeleteI did like Tony Hart and Morph. Such a gentle-sounding man.
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