After 22 years of retirement, Ray Harryhausen has teamed with Los Angeles-based stop-motion studio Screen Novelties, Intl. to complete a new short film entitled THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE. Originally begun in 1952 as part of his MOTHER GOOSE series, the project was shelved when Ray's career began to take off. He had always intended to finish the film and now, fifty years later, Harryhausen, along with Mark Caballero and Seamus Walsh of Screen Novelties, Intl., have completed the project. According to Screen Novelties, Harryhausen supplied them with the original puppets and camera he used when he began the film. The puppets were minimally refurbished, and Harryhausen provided the animators with sketches and instructions on set construction, and even animated a few scenes himself! Remaining faithful to the style of the previous fairytales, the team completed the film, including restoring and incorporating the original footage from the 1950s. The TORTOISE AND THE HARE will have its festival premiere at the Ottawa International Animation Festival, October 2-6, 2002.
Read more about Ray Harryhausen, his MOTHER GOOSE series of shorts and his astonishing career in the Animation World article "A Chat With Ray Harryhausen."
