Allison Bosonnet takes a look at the emergence of the Irish animation industry, the support it receives and its successes.

The animation industry in Ireland is crying out for talented animators. Animation is a long process, requiring a lot of staff to produce even short features. Presently, Irish TV stations rely on imported animation, in particular from the United States. The opportunities are there, all that is required by individuals is the talent and the know how!

Up until the mid-1980's, the Irish film animation industry was practically non-existent. In response to this, the IDA offered enticing incentives for foreign animation studios to relocate to Ireland. This resulted in three American film animators setting up shop in Ireland. Two of which are now the major animation studios in Ireland, Quateru and Fred Wolf Films. Until recently, the Don Bluth Studios employed over 200 people and produced one animation feature a year in Ireland. Some of it's well known productions include 'An American Tale' (1986), All Dogs go to Heaven' (1989) and 'The Land Before Time' (1994). The Don Bluth Studios had strong links with the Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design, which runs a course in animation. In fact, this course was set up in response to the entry of these studios to Ireland and is now ranked among the best in the world.

In the past 5/6 years, several smaller animation studios have been set up in Ireland, most of them around Dublin. Among them are Rocket, Brown Bag, Monster Animations and Terraglyph, who are currently working on the feature 'Carnival'. These smaller studios produce everything from children's animation to CD-ROM games and computer animated programmes. This coincides with the evolution of online animation shows on websites.

As a result of the influx of American animators in the 80's, the Irish animation industry has suffered from an overwhelming American influence. This was particularly evident in 'All Dogs go to Heaven', which despite being produced, created and funded in Ireland lacked any sense of 'Irishness'. However, the flip side of this is that the animation industry would not exist in Ireland without the American presence; the animation courses themselves have evolved from employment opportunities offered by these studios, as have supporting industries such as sound recording and digital effects studios.

However, recent developments in the industry have served to tone down this American influence which has, to all intents and purposes, shaped the entire animation industry in Ireland.


3. Industry Support

The Arts Council, in conjunction with the Irish Film Board and RTE, now provides a funding scheme for new animators interested in producing their own films, called the 'Frame Works Award'. It gives independent animators the chance to make a name for themselves and has led to animation features with a strong Irish theme being made in the past five years.

• 'An Bonnan Bui' (1995), by independent animators Edith Pieperhoff and Maire Murray, took its inspiration from an Irish language song of the same name. This production was a landmark in the industry as it broke the mould of Americanism in Irish animation.

• The documentary style animation feature '1848' followed two years after 'An Bonnan Bui'. Set in the time of the Famine, it is another example of how the 'Frame Works Awards' has given a boost of 'Irishness' to the animation industry.

• 'Ship of Fools' was another landmark production as it was the first attempt at an Irish political animation feature.