Illuminated Film Company

UK studio of animated films

Not to be confused with Illumination (company).

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Illuminated Film Company" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

The Illuminated Film Company

Company type| Production company
Industry| Entertainment
Founded| 1993; 32 years ago (1993)
Founders| Iain Harvey
Headquarters|

Hammersmith, London

England

Website| www.illuminatedfilms.com

The Illuminated Film Company[1] is a British animation company founded in 1993 by Iain Harvey.[2] It has produced the series Little Princess[3] (2006-2022) and the ITV children's surreal comedy series The Rubbish World of Dave Spud[4] (2019–present) and other 2D-animated productions such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Stories,[5] A Bear Named Wojtek,[6] War Game[7] and On Angel Wings.[8]

## History

[edit]

Early in 1993, Iain Harvey formed The Illuminated Film Company, now located in Hammersmith, London.

Under Illuminated, he produced The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Stories, based on Eric Carle's books. This programme was released in America on the Disney video label.

Illuminated has completed four series, as well as two 22 minutes specials, of the four times BAFTA nominated animated pre-school series Little Princess (135 x 11 mins and 2 x 22 mins). It was first broadcast in the UK in October 2006 by Channel 5 on its Milkshake platform. Little Princess has now been sold and broadcast to over 140 territories around the world. The show won a Cairo Golden Award for Best TV Film, the first prize for Best TV film in The Fifth Tehran International Festival and first prize in the Best Animated Series category at The 14th Stuttgart International Festival. It has also received four BAFTA nominations.

In 2014, Illuminated Films completed production on a 30-minute animated special – On Angel Wings which is based upon a picture-book by world-renowned author Michael Morpurgo.

In 2019, Illuminated produced a commercial for the designer brand Barbour featuring the character Father Christmas[9] by Raymond Briggs for their Christmas campaign. Following its success, Illuminated Films produced a second commercial for Barbour[10] in 2020 for their Christmas campaign featuring Father Christmas.

By way of contrast, Illuminated has completed production of a new surreal comedy series The Rubbish World of Dave Spud commissioned by ITV[11] for broadcast in the UK and sold to ABC (Australia), SVT (Sweden) and Beta Films for international distribution. Following successful ratings from the first series, ITV have commissioned a second series of 52 episodes that is currently airing on CITV.

## Future

[edit]

In 2020, Illuminated Films was awarded funding from the BFI Young Audience Content Fund[12] for a half-hour special called A Bear Named Wojtek. It is based on a true story about an orphaned bear named Wojtek in WWII that is enlisted into the Polish army and travels to Scotland before ending up at Edinburgh Zoo. It is currently in production and due to be released in 2024.

The film was shortlisted for the 97th Academy Awards[13] for Best Short Animation. It was also nominated for Best Special Production at the Annie Awards.[14]

## List of productions

[edit]

Illuminated Films Company has produced a number of animated features, shorts, and TV series, as well as adverts.

* The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Stories (1993 (UK)/1994 (Australia)/1995 (US))
* T.R.A.N.S.I.T. (1998)
* Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001)
* War Game (2002)
* Little Princess (TV series) (2006-2011, 2019)
* On Angel Wings (2014)
* The Rubbish World of Dave Spud (2019–present)
* A Bear Named Wojtek (2023)

## Adverts

[edit]

* Barbour Christmas (2012)
* Barbour Christmas (2019)
* Barbour Christmas (2020)

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Year  | Award  | Category  | Production  | Result

|
|
|
|

2024  | Broadcast Awards | Best Children's Programme  | The Rubbish World of Dave Spud | Nominated[15]
2022  | RTS Programme Awards | Children's Programme  | The Rubbish World of Dave Spud | Won[16]
2022  | British Animation Awards | Writers Award  | The Rubbish World of Dave Spud Twinfestation – Madeleine Brettingham  | Nominated[17]
2022  | British Animation Awards | Best Use of Sound  | The Rubbish World of Dave Spud Burning Wheels - shared with Fonic  | Nominated[18]
2022  | Broadcast Awards | Best Children's Programme  | The Rubbish World of Dave Spud | Nominated[19]
2021  | Broadcast Awards | Best Children's Programme  | The Rubbish World of Dave Spud | Nominated[20]
2020  | British Animation Awards | Best Voice Performance  | The Cast - The Rubbish World of Dave Spud | Nominated[21]
2020  | British Animation Awards | Best Children's Series award  | The Rubbish World of Dave Spud | Nominated[22]
2008  | BAFTA | Best Pre-School Series  | Little Princess (TV series) | Nominated
2007  | BAFTA | Best Pre-School Series  | Little Princess (TV series) | Nominated
2002  | British Animation Awards | Children's Choice Award  | War Game | Won
1998  | LAFCA Award | Best Animation  | T.R.A.N.S.I.T  | Won

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "With Illuminated Film Company (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)". IMDb. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
2. ^ "BFI Film & TV Database". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
3. ^ Skwigly (2017-02-13). "Channel 5's Milkshake commissions new "Little Princess"". Skwigly Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
4. ^ "ITV Takes On 'Rubbish World of Dave Spud' | License Global". www.licenseglobal.com. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
5. ^ Goff, Andrew (1993-01-01), The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Stories (Animation), Brian Cummings, Linda Gary, Jonathan Benair, Illuminated Film Company, retrieved 2025-01-16
6. ^ Scotland, Screen (2021-10-01). "Green light for animated film 'A Bear Named Wojtek'". Screen Scotland. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
7. ^ "War Game". IMDb.
8. ^ "British Council Film: On Angel Wings". film-directory.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
9. ^ "Barbour Christmas: The History of Raymond Briggs' Father Christmas". www.barbour.com. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
10. ^ Clark, Terry (2020-11-09). "Barbour Launches New Heartwarming Christmas Campaign Based On A True Customer Story - Retail News And Events". Retrieved 2025-01-16.
11. ^ "The Rubbish World of Dave Spud". The Rubbish World of Dave Spud. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
12. ^ "Young Audience Content Fund greenlights further production and development awards". BFI. 2020-12-17. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
13. ^ "97TH OSCARS® SHORTLISTS IN 10 AWARD CATEGORIES ANNOUNCED". press.oscars.org. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
14. ^ "52nd Annual Annie Awards". annieawards.org. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
15. ^ "Best Children's Programme".
16. ^ "Winners of the RTS Programme Awards 2022 announced". 30 March 2022.
17. ^ "British Animation Awards 2022 - Nominations for the BAAs 2022". 10 February 2022.
18. ^ "British Animation Awards 2022 - Nominations for the BAAs 2022". 10 February 2022.
19. ^ "Best Children's Programme".
20. ^ "Shortlist 2021 - Broadcast Awards". Archived from the original on 2022-01-10. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
21. ^ "BAA 2020 Finalists Announced". 14 February 2020.
22. ^ "BAA 2020 Finalists Announced". 14 February 2020.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Animation industry in the United Kingdom

Active animation
studios/companies|

* Aardman Animations
* Aniventure
* Art You Grew Up With
* Bird Studios
* Blue Zoo Animation Studio
* BreakThru Films
* Cake Entertainment
* Collingwood & Co.
* Cinesite
* Framestore
* Gateway Films
* Hasbro Entertainment UK
* Astley Baker Davies
* Isle of Man Film
* Illuminated Film Company
* King Rollo Films
* Light Chaser Animation Studios
* The Line
* Littlenobody
* Locksmith Animation
* LTL Production
* Magic Light Pictures
* Melendez Films
* Nexus Productions
* Passion Pictures
* Ragdoll Productions
* Red Kite Animation
* Smallfilms
* Spite Your Face
* Splash Entertainment
* Straandlooper
* Studio AKA
* Studio Liddell
* Synthetic Dimensions
* The Imaginarium Studios
* Warner UK
* Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe
* WildBrain
* Spark

Defunct animation
studios/companies|

* Amblimation
* bolexbrothers
* Bumper Films
* CHF Entertainment
* Chapman Entertainment
* Chorion
* Silver Lining Productions
* Clearwater Features
* Contender Entertainment Group
* Cosgrove Hall Films
* Entertainment Rights
* FilmFair
* Fine Arts Films
* Gullane Entertainment
* HiT Entertainment
* Halas and Batchelor
* HOT Animation
* Woodland Animations
* Jellyfish Pictures
* Qurios Entertainment
* Renga Media
* Seville Pictures
* Fairwater Films

Related topics|

* Arthur Melbourne-Cooper
* Jerry the Troublesome Tyke

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template