Famous Fred
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Famous Fred |
| Country of production | Great Britain |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1996 |
| length | 25 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Joanna Quinn |
| script | Joanna Quinn |
| production |
John Coates Catrin Unwin |
| music | Danny Chang |
| cut |
Jane Murrell William Oswald |
Famous Fred is a 1996 British animated short directed by Joanna Quinn . It is based on the children's book Fred by Posy Simmonds .
action
The tomcat Fred, the pets of the children Sophie and Nick, died of cat flu. The word gets around in the street and the children and adults remember Fred, who took every possible opportunity to sleep. Together with their parents, Sophie and Nick bury Fred in the courtyard and paint him a simple grave plate.
At night both children wake up from the noise outside their window. Outside stands the tomcat Ginger in tails and top hat, looking at his watch. Sophie and Nick sneak out of the house and find themselves surrounded by cats and tomcats who have come to the memorial service for the famous Fred. When the children explain that Fred could not possibly have been famous because he literally did nothing, the others explain: Fred performed as a singer at night and was a star in the cat world. Kenneth, the guinea pig of the two children, suddenly pushes through the cat flap. In jeans and a leather jacket, he introduces himself to both of them as Fred's former manager and begins to tell his story.
Fred came to Sophie and Nick as a birthday present for the mother of the family. By chance he got to know rock'n'roll and secretly practiced singing in a shed. Kenneth, who was still living in the wild at the time, heard him here and decided to take over the training of Fred. He was "found" by Sophie's and Fred's parents and accepted as a pet. At night he managed Fred, made costumes for him and rehearsed dancing with him. Soon Fred was able to perform in public at night and the fan base grew steadily. When the backyards were no longer enough for Fred's audience, they both went on a world tour, while Sophie and Nick distributed little notes in the streets to find their missing pets. Fred's dissolute lifestyle, however, made diseases more and more common, which resulted in higher and higher veterinary bills. In the end, Fred eventually fell ill with cat flu and passed away.
Kenneth blames himself. The funeral continues with gospel singing and Sophie and Nick are sad that they never heard Fred sing. However, Ginger has one of Fred's last tapes with him and the funeral is moved to Sophie's and Nick's house. The cats dance to Fred's music and empty the fridge. When morning dawns, everyone disappears and Kenneth and Sophie send them to bed too. Kenneth laboriously cleans the kitchen, so that the next morning the parents only wonder why the previously filled refrigerator is suddenly empty. Meanwhile, Kenneth is sitting in the guinea pig pen and listing the different cat lives that Fred had lost over time in various accidents. It turns out that cat flu is only Fred's eighth depleted cat life. However, since every cat has nine lives, Kenneth exclaims excitedly that Fred still has one life left. And Fred actually sneaks out of the grave.
production
Famous Fred is based on Posy Simmonds ' children's book Fred . The film was released on January 1, 1996. Lenny Henry sings various songs as Fred in the film, including One Last Song, composed by Danny Cheng and written by Rob Reed and Nigel Crowle .
synchronization
| role | Original speaker |
|---|---|
| Fred | Lenny Henry |
| Kenneth | Tom Courtenay |
| Ginger | David Robb |
| Sophie | Jessica Lynam |
| Nick | David John Barker |
| father | Matthew Marsh |
| mother | Joanna Quinn |
Awards
Famous Fred was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Animated Short Film in 1997.
The film received an Oscar nomination in 1998 in the category “ Best Animated Short Film ”, but could not prevail against Geri's Game .