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Directors (1788)
"n" (47)

Eliot Noyes, Jr (2)

Eliot Noyes, Jr

An acclaimed animator from the US, Eli Noyes, Jr (October 18, 1942–March 23, 2024) directed 10 animated films and made creative contributions to 11 television series. He is known for his film Clay or the Origin of the Species (1964), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and established claymation as a medium. Noyes is also recognized for his artistic contribution to the internationally acclaimed TV series Sesame Street. He was the son of renowned architect Eliot Noyes. 

Credited as Eliot Noyes, Jr., he directed two award-winning films with the NFB that were shown at festivals in Argentina, France, Spain and the US. The hand-drawn animation Alphabet (1966) is an energetic romp through the letters of the alphabet, while In a Box (1968), another of Noyes’ hand-drawn shorts, suggests the predicament of people who find themselves boxed-in by life. It takes only a few deft strokes of Noyes’ pen to show how people’s lives are limited by their own view of things. After the NFB, he created animated productions for all the major US film producers and distributors, including HBO, Nickelodeon and Disney. In 2009, Noyes directed the animation sequences for two documentaries, Under Our Skin and The Most Dangerous Man in America, which were shortlisted for Academy Awards.

 

  • In a Box
    In a Box
    Eliot Noyes, Jr 1968 4 min
    A short animated film of line drawings suggesting the predicament of people who find themselves boxed in by life. It takes only a few deft strokes of the animator's pen to show how people's lives are limited by their own view of things. The box they are in may not fit; it may be uncomfortable in many ways, but they rush back to its familiarity, if not security, even though brief sorties outside may show them a bigger world.
  • Alphabet
    Alphabet
    Eliot Noyes, Jr 1966 6 min
    This short animation is an energetic romp through the letters of the alphabet, A for Apple, Z for Zebra. None, however, retains the expected form for long, fading, changing at the artist's whim. Appropriate for anyone at the reading-readiness stage, young or old.

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