Frederic Back (1924 - 2013)

Christmas is usually a time of joy and cheer. After all, we are celebrating the birth of Christ, who came down for our sins. Unfortunately, sometimes those are times of sadness, as those are the days of passing for some people. Men like Charlie Chaplin and former Rangers manager Billy Martin died on Christmas Day, while Kurosawa regular Toshio Mifune and former Rangers manager Johnny Oates died on Christmas Eve. Well now we can add another figure to those that died around this time: the great French Canadian animator Frederic Back.

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Module 10: Canada

"Really, Canada?" you ask, but it's true. Canada has had a surprisingly rich history of animation, beginning with the hiring of visionary director Norman McLaren by the National Film Board of Canada. McLaren had many experimental animation efforts, but really put Canada on the map with his Oscar winning film Neighbours, which revolutionized the pixilation technique. The NFB continued to attract talented animators from around the world, leading to great success at the Academy Awards.

Of course NFB is not the only animation studio in Canada. Radio Canada also made a mark in the world of animation, especially with its flagship animator Frederic Back. And there's also Studio DHX, which contributed...well, you'll see in due time. ;)

The module also included some things about South American animation, which is quite memorable as Argentinean animator Quirino Cristiani made the first full length animated film 95 years ago, but the film was eventually lost. They didn't do much after that except Mafalda, and I didn't include it in the discussion.

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