Nationality English Alma mater Manchester School of Art | Years active 1966–present | |
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Full Name Brian Joseph Cosgrove Born 1934 (age 82–83) Manchester, England Occupation Animator, director, producer, designer, sculptor Notable work Danger Mouse
The Wind in the Willows
Count Duckula
The BFG Awards British Academy Television Award for Best Short Animation Nominations British Academy Television Award for Best Animated Film Movies and TV shows Danger Mouse, The BFG, Chorlton and the Wheelies, Alias the Jester, Victor & Hugo: Bunglers Similar Brian Trueman, David Jason, Amanda Root, Angela Thorne, Jimmy Hibbert | ||
Brian Joseph Cosgrove (born 1934) is an English BAFTA Award winning director, producer, animator, designer and sculptor best known as the creator of the animated children shows Danger Mouse and Count Duckula.
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Early life
Born in North Manchester, Cosgrove studied at Manchester College of Art and Design, there he met his future work partner Mark Hall.
Career
Cosgrove started career by producing television graphics at Granada Television. He later on joined Stop Frame Productions, which Mark Hall founded, there he worked on many public service films, commercials for companies like TVTimes and directing and produced animated shows such as The Magic Ball and Sally And Jake.
After Stop Frame Productions was shut down both Cosgrove and Hall founded Cosgrove Hall Films there they produced some of the most well known animated children's shows and films in Britain such as Danger Mouse, Count Duckula, The Wind in the Willows, which would later become a 52-episode TV series, Noddy's Toyland Adventures, Bill and Ben and Fifi and the Flowertots until 2009.
In 1989, Cosgrove directed and produced the animated feature film The BFG, based on the Roald Dahl novel of the same name. According to Cosgrove, this is one of the only adaptations, based on one of Roald Dahl's novels, that Dahl himself actually liked.
When we finished, we ran a screening in Soho, and Dahl and his family came along. They were sitting at the back, and when the film finished they stood up and applauded. He could be quite vocal, Dahl, if he didn't like something. He didn't like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at all, the 1971 Gene Wilder one. So it was a real relief that he liked our film.'
Since 2011, Cosgrove has been the creator and executive producer of Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment.
Personal life
Cosgrove is good friends with actor and comedian Sir David Jason, who has been a loyal collaborator with most of his projects.