17 Facts About Gerald Potterton

Gerald Potterton was a Canadian director, animator, producer and writer.

Gerald Potterton is best known for directing the cult classic Heavy Metal and for his animation work on Yellow Submarine.

Gerald Potterton won a place to study art at the Hammersmith Academy; upon graduation, in 1949, he was drafted to fight in the Korean War.

Gerald Potterton spent two years in the Royal Air Force; after his discharge, a neighbour suggested that he apply at Halas and Batchelor, the studio which was doing the animation work for the film Animal Farm, which would be Britain's first animated feature.

Gerald Potterton met Norman McLaren, the Scottish animator who was already on his way to becoming the star filmmaker at the National Film Board of Canada.

Gerald Potterton was hired by the NFB; his first project was the 1955 animated training film Huff and Puff.

Gerald Potterton left the NFB, moved to New York and worked at the firm for one year; he disliked living in New York and returned to the NFB, which had moved its offices to Montreal.

Gerald Potterton was then assigned to film a comedic travelogue of Canada, in which Buster Keaton rides 4,000 miles in a Railroad speeder.

Gerald Potterton pitched the result to NBC; it aired as NBC's Experiment in Television: Pinter People.

Gerald Potterton worked with various clients, notably Reader's Digest and Cinar, to produce several children's programs.

Gerald Potterton produced Peter Sander's The Selfish Giant and Larry Kent's Fleur Bleue in 1971, as well as Mike Mills' The Happy Prince in 1974 and, in 1975, The Little Mermaid and The Christmas Messenger.

Gerald Potterton had a large roster of ad agency clients for whom he produced commercials.

In 1981, Gerald Potterton was hired by producer Ivan Reitman to direct the animated feature Heavy Metal for Columbia Pictures.

Gerald Potterton supervised all of the film's eight sequences, and the work of 65+ animators in Canada, England and the US While reviews were mixed at release, Heavy Metal was the top-selling video for four consecutive weeks in the US when it was released on video in 1998.

In 1988, Gerald Potterton created and directed The Smoggies, a 53-episode animated series which aims to entertain and educate young children about environmental issues.

Gerald Potterton was a life-long aircraft buff, and created large, accurate, highly detailed paintings of planes; just before he died, he'd completed a painting of the Memphis Belle.

Gerald Potterton continued to produce cartoons; his last project was Peter Piper and the Plane People, which was completed by Pascal Blais.