Shakespeare: The Animated Tales

Banquo and Fleance from the "Macbeth" episode.

Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (also known as The Animated Shakespeare) comprised two six-part television series, first broadcast in 1992 and 1994. Each episode was an animated half-hour adaptation of one of Shakespeare's plays.

The series was commissioned by BBC Wales for the Welsh language channel S4C (although it was commissioned in English). Production was co-ordinated by the Dave Edwards Studio in Cardiff, and executed by well-known Russian directors and animators in Moscow. The scripts were written by children's author Leon Garfield, using mainly Shakespearian language. The academic consultant was professor Stanley Wells.

For the English-language version, the productions generally used British actors for the voices, including Hugh Grant. A Russian dubbing was recorded afterwards. After the success of the first series, the voice actors in the second series tended to be "bigger names".

The series was noted for its wide range of animation techniques. The animation was done completely in Moscow at Christmasfilms Studio, by a selection of Russia's most renowned animators. Other animated adaptations produced by the same team include Operavox (1995) and The Canterbury Tales (1998–2000).

In the United States, the series aired on HBO and was hosted by Robin Williams.


List of episodes

Documentary (BBC2, 2 November 1992)

Series 1 (BBC2, 9 November–14 December 1992)

Series 2 (BBC2, 2 November–14 December 1994)

External links