In 1975 Bob Godfrey made a half hour musical about Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Great won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, and Bob became the first British animator to win an Oscar.
The making of Great
Bob had just finished Kama Sutra Rides Again when he read about Brunel. A small man in a very tall hat who built railways, tunnels, bridges and the largest ship of his age was a gift of a subject for an animator, and the idea became a musical biography in seven songs.
The script and lyrics were written by Colin Pearson. He disliked the music that had been set to his words so much that he wrote asking for his name to be taken off the credits, which is why it is missing from the press booklet further down this page. When the film was nominated for an Oscar, he asked to be put back.
Drawings from Great
These were drawn during the production of Great.
Left out of the film
Animation that was drawn and shot for Great but never made it into the finished cut.
The press booklet
British Lion printed a gatefold booklet for the film's release. Keep scrolling and it opens. Select the open spread to read it at full size.
Credits, from the back of the booklet
- Directed by
- Bob Godfrey
- Produced by
- British Lion
- Voices
- Richard Briers, Harry Fowler, Barbara Moore, Angus Lennie, Peter Hawkins, Dick Graham, Imogen Claire, Cyril Shaps
- Script
- Richard Taylor, Bob Godfrey, Joe McGrath, Robin Smyth, Paul Weisser, Colin Pearson (uncredited)
- Music
- Jonathan P. Hodge
- Animation directors
- Jeff Goldner, Anne Jolliffe
- Animators
- John Challis, Mark Shepherd, Bob Godfrey, Graeme Jackson, Moo, Denis Rich, Kevin Attew, Hester Coblentz, Chris Jelley, Video Animation Ltd.
- Graphic designer
- Mark Shepherd
- Character designer
- Oscar Grillo
- Layouts and backgrounds
- Oscar Grillo, John Challis, Mark Shepherd, Bob Godfrey, Gerry Capelle, Graeme Jackson, Iain Cowan, Chris Jelley, Anna Brockett
- Trace and paint
- Marianne Roof, Anna Brockett, Kevin Attew
- Sound effects, opening sequence
- Ron Geesin
- Sound recording
- John Wood Studios, The Music Centre
- Film processing
- Studio Film Laboratories
- Live action
- Alan More, Ray Andrews
- Animation camera
- Julian Holdaway, Kent Houston
- Assistant director
- Paul Weisser
- Production supervisor
- Hester Coblentz
- Edited by
- Tony Fish and Peter Hearn
The songs
- We're Victoria's
- I.K.B. (Isambard Kingdom Brunel)
- Get a Big Top Hat
- It Can't Be Done
- G.W.R. (Great Western Railway)
- One or Two Things He Didn't Invent
- O Cor Blimey What A Size printed in the booklet as It's a Big One
Winning the Oscar
Great was the first British animated short to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Bob received the Oscar in 1976.
After British Lion
Not long after Great was made, British Lion, the company that produced it, shut down. The film went with it into other hands, and over the years the rights ended up with StudioCanal.
Forty years on
As the 40th anniversary came round, we wanted to put Great back in front of audiences with a run of screenings. The more we looked into it, the clearer it became that the sensible route was to buy the rights back from StudioCanal. Alongside the screenings we started a documentary, going back to the people who made the film with Bob.
The negotiations took far longer than anyone expected. In the end the documentary was only ever shown once, at Manchester Animation Festival in 2015.
Great on Blu-ray
After a great deal of delay, the Blu-ray is nearly here. Thank you to everyone who has waited so patiently for it.
The film has been scanned by R3store Studios and the soundtrack restored by Film Sound Restoration. The clips below show two shots from the new scan, first ungraded and then graded.
Two shots from the new scan, before and after grading. There is no sound on this clip.
Every Blu-ray has already been pre-ordered, but we'll review the situation depending on demand.
For film festivals and screenings, Great can be provided as a DCP. To arrange one, get in touch using the email address at the bottom of this page.
