Morph is an animated plasticine stop-motion comedy franchise, featuring the eponymous
character that appeared with Tony Hart, beginning in 1977, on several of his UK TV programmes,
notably Take Hart and Hartbeat.
Details Morph was produced for the BBC by Aardman
Animations, later famous for Wallace and Gromit.
Morph's 30th birthday was celebrated in 2007 by creator Peter Lord and celebrity fan and
comedian Phill Jupitus at events for the Encounters Film Festival in Bristol.
Morph appeared mainly in one minute "shorts" interspersed throughout the show.
These were connected to the main show by having Hart deliver a line or two to Morph who would
reply in gobbledygook but with meaningful gestures.
Later on, Morph was joined by cream-coloured Chas, who was much more badly behaved.
Morph and the other plasticine characters could change their morphology.
Sometimes they would become spheres in order to move around, or extrude themselves into
cylinders to pass to different levels.
They could also mimic other objects, or creatures.
Morph lived in an artist's wooden pencil box, and he and Chas both loved to eat Dee's tofu,
as seen in many of the shorts.
Some of the early plasticine models of Morph were destroyed in a fire at the warehouse
they were being stored on 10 October 2005.
Morph and Chas appeared in shorts on the British children's TV programme SMart from 1994 onwards.
In March 2009, shortly after Hart's death, a flashmob of Morph characters was organised
in London outside the Tate Modern art gallery.
In 2009, the BBC drama Ashes to Ashes featured Morph in a guest appearance as a representation
of a present-day medic.
In 29 October 2013, Peter Lord created a fund raising project on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter.
The campaign set a target of £75,000 to be used to fund 12 new one minute episodes.
The target was reached on 6 November 2013 after only 9 days, attracting contributions
from over 1,700 backers who will receive a variety of rewards, including early access
to the new animations and a small box of clay used in the production, depending on the individual's
level of funding.
In January 2014, Peter Lord and Aardman started production on 15 brand new episodes of Morph,
with the help of donations from fans.
The series is to be premiered on Morph's official YouTube channel on the 4th of July.
Films, shorts, and TV series Characters
Morph - The curious and creative main character with terracotta skin.
Chas - Morph's mischievous cream-skinned friend]].
Nailbrush - Morph's 'canine' companion, a barking nailbrush.
Grandmorph - Morph's elderly, bearded grandpa, who travels by skateboard and frequently invents
things.
Delilah - A bossy, bespectacled female character in a yellow dress with dark purple skin.
Folly - A scatter-brained girl made of tin-foil.
Gillespie - A large, blue, dimwitted but peaceable friend of Morph's.
The Very Small Creatures - An array of small plasticine balls with eyes who travel in a
swarm; the smallest of the group, Little Green, features prominently on his own in a number
of episodes.
Goobledygook - A green, omnivorous alien child.
Rick The Cleaner - A hairless sweaty character who is insincere and over familiar, particularly
to Chas & Folly.
Credits 1980
Narrator: Tony Hart Animated, Scripted and Directed by: Peter
Lord, David Sproxton Special Effects: Peter Harwood
Editor: Alan Trott Producer: Patrick Dowling
Executive Producers: David Hamilton, Claire Derry
1995 Narrator: Neil Morrissey
Animators for Aardman Animations: Mike Booth, Gary Cureton, Dave Osmond
Computer Animation: Alan Snow Dubbing Editor: James Mather
Special Sounds: Peter Harwood Writer: Andy Walker
Editor: Andrew Hassenruck Special Thanks to: The Staff of Aardman Animations
Producer: Jacqueline White Executive Producers: Peter Lord, David Sproxton
For Link Licensing: David Hamilton, Claire Derry
Directed by: Peter Lord See also
List of The Morph Files episodes Gumby
References
External links Official Morph website
Information about Morph, with photograph B3ta interview with Tony Hart which discusses
Morph A fond farewell to Morph: Tony Hart article
about Morph Animation archive up in smoke: BBC News article
about Aardman's warehouse fire Morph's page on Tony Hart's official site
Limited edition Morph prints created for Morph's 30th anniversary
Guardian article about Aardman's warehouse fire
Kickstarter project to fund new production