''Four-Mations'' was a regular

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

strand broadcast in the United Kingdom on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

in the 1990s. The series featured short animated films, tributes, and sometimes a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

on animation. The series was notable for co-financing some films and broadcasting animated films from around the world. The series was first broadcast in 1990 and finished in 1998. In 2008 a website made for people to upload, view and share animated films and games 4mations, borrowing the 4 Mation title.

Notable animations

Notable animations broadcast as part of 4 Mations: *

George Pal George Pal (born György Pál Marczincsak; ; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after ...

–

Puppetoons ''Puppetoons'' is a series of animated puppet films made in Europe (1930s) and in the United States (1940s) by George Pal. They were made using replacement animation: using a series of different hand-carved wooden puppets (or puppet heads or limbs ...

Knick Knack ''Knick Knack'' is a 1989 American animated short film produced by Pixar that was written and directed by John Lasseter. The short is about a snow globe snowman who wants to join the other travel souvenirs in a summer-themed party. However, the ...

in its uncut form *

Red's Dream ''Red's Dream'' is a 1987 American animated short film written and directed by John Lasseter and produced by Pixar. The short film, which runs four minutes, stars Red, a unicycle. Propped up in the corner of a bicycle store on a rainy night, Re ...

Tin Toy A tin toy, or tin lithograph toy, is a mechanical toy made out of tinplate and colorfully painted by chromolithography to resemble primarily a character or vehicle. History Tinplate was used in the manufacture of toys beginning in the mid-19th ...

Luxo Jr. ''Luxo Jr.'' is a 1986 American animated short film produced and released by Pixar. Written and directed by John Lasseter, the two-minute short film revolves around one larger and one smaller desk lamp. The larger lamp, named Luxo Sr., looks ...

* Films by Candy Guard – Fatty Issues, Hair, Alternative Fringe etc. *

Nick Park Nicholas Wulstan Park (born 6 December 1958) is an English filmmaker and animator who created '' Wallace & Gromit'', '' Creature Comforts'', '' Chicken Run'', '' Shaun the Sheep'', and '' Early Man''. Park has been nominated for an Academy ...

–

Creature Comforts ''Creature Comforts'' is a British stop-motion comedy franchise originating in a 1989 animated short film of the same name. The film matched animated zoo animals with a soundtrack of people talking about their homes, making it appear as if the ...

* Daddie's Little Piece of Dresden China * Films by David Anderson such as Deadsy and The Door *

Ah Pook Is Here ''Ah Pook Is Here'' was a collaboration between author William S. Burroughs and artist Malcolm Mc Neill. It began in 1970, when Burroughs was living in London and Mc Neill was in his final year of art school. It first appeared under the title ''Th ...

* The Springer and the SS by

Jiří Trnka Jiří Trnka (; 24 February 1912 – 30 December 1969) was a Czechoslovak puppet-maker, illustrator, motion-picture animator and film director. In addition to his extensive career as an illustrator, especially of children's books, he is be ...

* Films by

Dianne Jackson Dianne Jackson (28 July 1941 – 31 December 1992) was an English animation director, best known for ''The Snowman'', made in 1982 and repeated every Christmas on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. She was born Dianne Hillier in 1941 and attend ...

* Paul Driessen – Tip Top, Elbowing,

The Killing of an Egg ''The Killing of an Egg'' ( Dutch title ''Ei om Zeep'', literally "Egg for Soap") is an animated short directed by Paul Driessen and produced by Nico Crama in the Netherlands in 1977. Synopsis The film starts with a bald, obese man in a bright ...

, Sunny Side Up, On Land, at Sea and in the Air etc. *

Bob Godfrey Roland Frederick Godfrey MBE (27 May 1921 – 21 February 2013),Alf, Bill and Fred ''Alf, Bill and Fred'' is a 1964 short animated film directed by Bob Godfrey and written by Stan Hayward. Summary The plot and the moral are both very simple. The three titular multi-species characters are friends who like to bounce a lot. Bill ...

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

– Taking a Line for a walk *

Bill Plympton Bill Plympton (born April 30, 1946) is an American animator, graphic designer, cartoonist, and filmmaker best known for his 1987 Academy Award–nominated animated short '' Your Face'' and his series of shorts featuring a dog character starting ...

– Push Comes to Shove *

Phil Mulloy Phil Mulloy (born 29 August 1948) is an Irish-English animator. He was born in Wallasey, Merseyside and studied both painting and filmmaking. Mulloy worked as a screenwriter and director of live-action films until the late 1980s before becomin ...

– Cowboys *

Chage and Aska were a Japanese popular music duo composed of male singer-songwriters from Fukuoka Prefecture: and . To date they have sold over 31 million albums and singles in Japan. History They were formed in the late 1970s at the suggestion of the A& ...

–

On Your Mark ''Ghibli Experimental Theater On Your Mark'' ( Japanese: ジブリ実験劇場 On Your Mark, Hepburn: ''Jiburi Jikkengekijō On Yua Māku'') is an animated music video created by Studio Ghibli for the song " On Your Mark" (also released in E ...

* Yellow Submarine *

The Smurfs ''The Smurfs'' (; ) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was created and introduced as a series of comic characters by ...

– I've Got a Little Puppy * The Blue Gum Boy (film) (Banned Fourmation)

References

External links

BFi Film & TV Database listing for four mations
1990 British television series debuts 1998 British television series endings 1990s British animated television series 1990s in animation Channel 4 animated television series {{UK-tv-prog-stub