John Albert Stokes (2 April 1920 – 20 March 2013) was a British animation director best known for his work on the 1968

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

film '' Yellow Submarine''.

Life and career

Jack Stokes began his training at Southend College of Art. After serving in the RAF during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Stokes was fortunate to be taken on as a trainee animator at David Hand's Gaumont British Animation studio which at the time had recently opened at Moor Hall in

Cookham Cookham is a historic River Thames, Thames-side village and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north-eastern edge of Berkshire, England, north-north-east of Maidenhead and opposite the village of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, Bourne ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. He served as an animator for the ''Animaland'' division led by Bert Felstead. Such opportunities were almost unknown in Britain in the post-war years. By the early 1960s he had established his own studio, Stokes Cartoons, producing work for cinema and television. It was during this time that he began working with the Canadian film-maker

George Dunning George Garnett Dunning (November 17th. 1920 - February 15th. 1979) was a Canadian filmmaker and animator. He is best known for producing and directing the 1968 film '' Yellow Submarine''. Biography Dunning was born in Toronto and studied at the ...

, and with his friend John Coates who ran another London animation studio, TVC. In 1965 TVC produced an animated series for US television entitled simply ''The Beatles'' which, although it was very successful in the United States was never shown on British television. Following on from this, Stokes was commissioned to create animations for the title sequences of the Beatles' 1967 film, ''

Magical Mystery Tour ''Magical Mystery Tour'' is a record by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a double EP in the United Kingdom and an LP in the United States. It includes the soundtrack to the 1967 television film of the same title. The E ...

''. Then in 1968, along with Bob Balser, he created his most well-known animations, from the work of illustrator

Heinz Edelmann Heinz Edelmann (20 June 1934 – 21 July 2009) was a Czech-German illustrator and designer. His art direction and character designs for the Beatles' 1968 animated film '' Yellow Submarine'' brought him additional recognition around the world. ...

, for the film '' Yellow Submarine'', directed by Dunning. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s he worked on a number of films and television series, including episodes of ''

Roobarb ''Roobarb'' (also known as ''Roobarb and Custard'') is an animated children's television series, created by Grange Calveley and originally shown on BBC1 just before the evening news. Each cartoon of the original series, written by Calveley and d ...

'' and adaptations of

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Heelis (; 28 July 186622 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( ), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' ...

's ''

The Tailor of Gloucester ''The Tailor of Gloucester'' is a Christmas Children's literature, children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, privately printed by the author in 1902, and published in a trade edition by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1903. The ...

'' and

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the workin ...

's '' The Water Babies''. In 1975–76, Richard Williams chose him and

Gerald Potterton Gerald Potterton (8 March 1931 – 23 August 2022) was a Canadian director, animator, producer and writer. He is best known for directing the cult classic '' Heavy Metal'' and for his animation work on '' Yellow Submarine''. Potterton won one ...

to represent the London contingent of Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure. He retired in his 80s, and died on 20 March 2013, aged 92.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Filmography on the British Film Institute website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, Jack 1920 births 2013 deaths British animated film directors British animators Royal Air Force personnel of World War II