ABSTRACT
In 1980, Dudok de Wit starts working for Richard Purdum Productions Studio in London. Collaboration with Richard Purdum and his wife and producer Jill Thomas was formative for the young filmmaker who absorbs the art of Purdum’s animation by merely observing and listening. In the meantime, he also freelances for several other animation London studios such as Richard Williams Animation, Klacto and Passion Pictures. Dudok de Wit draws, animates and directs a great number of successful, stylistically diverse and prize-winning commercials for Richard Purdum Productions and becomes an excellent team player. In 1989, he takes part in the European pre-production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, where he learns about brainstorming sessions of Disney method collaboration. Finally, after twelve years in commercial animation, the filmmaker starts to feel restless and unsatisfied and subsequently makes his first pilot short Tom Sweep (1992) produced by Richard Purdum Productions Studio. The pilot is about a little dustman who collects the garbage that other passers-by drop carelessly behind them on the street. Based on humourous gags, repetitious melody and snappy animation, Tom Sweep will not become a series due to difficulties in obtaining potential financing.
