Alexander Williams
Encyclopedia
Alexander "Alex" Williams (born October 18, 1967 in London
) is an English
film animator
and cartoonist
. He is the son of animator Richard Williams.
in his father's 1971 television adaptation of A Christmas Carol
. He was educated at Westminster School
, Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, and Merton College, Oxford
.
, a satire
on law
and lawyers, which has appeared in the law pages of The Times
newspaper since 1993, under the pseudonym Steuart and Francis.
A number of collections of the cartoons have been published, by Robson Books and Harper Collins.
Other cartoon strip work includes Writer's Block, published in the books section of The Times
from 2005-6, and The Dealers, published in The Tatler from 1994-95. He also illustrated the characters for the Baby Barista blog by fellow ex-barrister Tim Kevan
.
He was a barrister
at 12 King's Bench Walk Chambers in London before leaving in 1996 to pursue a full-time career in film animation
.
His work as an animator includes Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), The Princess and the Cobbler (1993), The Lion King
(1994), Quest for Camelot
(1998), The Iron Giant
(1999), The Road to El Dorado
(2000), Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
(2002), Piglet's Big Movie
, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
(2003), Robots
(2005) and Open Season
(2006).
Williams has also worked on visual effects in Racing Stripes
(2005), Monster House
(2006), Underdog
(2007), Beverly Hills Chihuahua
, Inkheart
(2008), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
(2009), Marmaduke
(2010) and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
(2010)
He has contributed designs to Deckchair Dreams, a fundraising event organised by the Royal Parks Foundation
in support of the London Royal Parks.
He lives in London
and teaches a Character animation course at Escape Studios
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) is an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
film animator
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
and cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
. He is the son of animator Richard Williams.
Early life
He played the voice of Tiny TimTiny Tim (A Christmas Carol)
Timothy Cratchit, called "Tiny Tim", is a fictional character from the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. He is a minor character, the young son of Bob Cratchit, and is seen only briefly, but serves as an important symbol of the consequences of the protagonist's choices...
in his father's 1971 television adaptation of A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol (1971 film)
A Christmas Carol is an Academy Award-winning animated cartoon adaptation of Charles Dickens' venerable 1843 novella which was a made-for-television production originally broadcast on ABC in the United States.-Cast and characters:...
. He was educated at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, and Merton College, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
.
Career
He is the creator of the Queens CounselQueens Counsel (comic strip)
Queens Counsel is a British cartoon strip created by Alexander Williams and Graham Francis Defries.It first appeared in law pages of The Times in 1993, where it has been featured ever since...
, a satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
on law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and lawyers, which has appeared in the law pages of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper since 1993, under the pseudonym Steuart and Francis.
A number of collections of the cartoons have been published, by Robson Books and Harper Collins.
Other cartoon strip work includes Writer's Block, published in the books section of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
from 2005-6, and The Dealers, published in The Tatler from 1994-95. He also illustrated the characters for the Baby Barista blog by fellow ex-barrister Tim Kevan
Tim Kevan
Tim Kevan is an English writer, blogger and barrister, responsible for the Baby Barista series of books published by Bloomsbury, and the Baby Barista blog, currently hosted by The Guardian newspaper.-Biography:...
.
He was a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
at 12 King's Bench Walk Chambers in London before leaving in 1996 to pursue a full-time career in film animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
.
His work as an animator includes Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), The Princess and the Cobbler (1993), The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
(1994), Quest for Camelot
Quest for Camelot
Quest for Camelot is a 1998 animated feature film from Warner Bros. Animation, based on the novel The King's Damosel by Vera Chapman, starring the voices of Jessalyn Gilsig, Cary Elwes, Gary Oldman, Eric Idle, Don Rickles, Jane Seymour, Pierce Brosnan, Bronson Pinchot, Jaleel White, Gabriel Byrne,...
(1998), The Iron Giant
The Iron Giant
The Iron Giant is a 1999 animated film produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the 1968 novel The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. Brad Bird directed the film, which stars a voice cast of Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr., Vin Diesel, Eli Marienthal, Christopher McDonald and John Mahoney...
(1999), The Road to El Dorado
The Road to El Dorado
The Road to El Dorado is a 2000 American animated adventure comedy film by DreamWorks. The soundtrack features songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, the music team from Disney's The Lion King....
(2000), Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is a 2002 American animated film that was released by DreamWorks. It follows the adventures of a young Kiger mustang stallion living in the 19th century wild west. The film, written by John Fusco and directed by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook, was nominated for the...
(2002), Piglet's Big Movie
Piglet's Big Movie
Piglet's Big Movie is a 2003 American animated film produced by DisneyToon Studios, and released by Walt Disney Pictures on March 21, 2003. It is based upon the characters in the Winnie-the-Pooh books written by A. A. Milne...
, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas is a 2003 American animated swashbuckling fantasy aventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation, using traditional 2D animation with some 3D...
(2003), Robots
Robots (film)
Robots is a 2005 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Blue Sky Studios for 20th Century Fox, and was released theatrically on March 11, 2005. The story was created by Chris Wedge and William Joyce, a children's book author/illustrator. The two were trying to create a film version of...
(2005) and Open Season
Open Season (film)
Open Season is a 2006 computer-animated comedy film, written by Steve Bencich and Ron J. Friedman and directed by Jill Culton, Roger Allers, and Anthony Stacchi, and production designed by Michael Humphries...
(2006).
Williams has also worked on visual effects in Racing Stripes
Racing Stripes
Racing Stripes is a 2005 comedy film directed by Frederik Du Chau, the director of Quest for Camelot. Although set in Kentucky, the movie was filmed in Pietermaritzburg and Nottingham Road, South Africa.-Plot:...
(2005), Monster House
Monster House (film)
Monster House is a 2006 computer animated motion capture horror/comedy film produced by ImageMovers and Amblin Entertainment, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Executive produced by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg, this is the first time since Back to the Future Part III that they have...
(2006), Underdog
Underdog (film)
Underdog is a 2007 American live-action comedy film based on the cartoon series of the same name. The film was directed by Frederik Du Chau and stars Peter Dinklage as Dr. Simon Bar Sinister, Patrick Warburton as Cad Lackley, and Jason Lee as the voice of Underdog. The film also stars Jim Belushi,...
(2007), Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Beverly Hills Chihuahua is a 2008 family comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is directed by Raja Gosnell and released on October 3, 2008...
, Inkheart
Inkheart (film)
Inkheart is a 2008 fantasy film directed by Iain Softley and starring Brendan Fraser, Eliza Bennett, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis and Jim Broadbent. It is based on the novel with the same name by Cornelia Funke...
(2008), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2009 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the sixth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
(2009), Marmaduke
Marmaduke (film)
Marmaduke is an American live action film adaptation of Brad Anderson's comic strip Marmaduke. The film centers on a rural Kansas family and their pets – a Great Dane named Marmaduke and a Balinese cat named Carlos – as the family relocates to California.-Plot:Marmaduke is a Great Dane living in...
(2010) and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a 2010 3D fantasy-adventure film based on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia . It is the third installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media...
(2010)
He has contributed designs to Deckchair Dreams, a fundraising event organised by the Royal Parks Foundation
Royal Parks Foundation
The Royal Parks Foundation is a registered charity established in 1993 whose purpose is the protection and preservation of London’s Royal Parks. The charity’s patron is Charles, Prince of Wales.-Deckchair Dreams:...
in support of the London Royal Parks.
He lives in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and teaches a Character animation course at Escape Studios
Escape Studios
Escape Studios was founded in April 2002 by Dominic Davenport and fully supported by Oscar winning director Ridley Scott. Based in Shepherds Bush, London and now New York, United States Escape was originally setup as a computer graphics training school but now provides recruitment, hardware and...
Published work
- Queen's Counsel - A Libellous Look at The law, Robson Books, 1995
- Queen's Counsel - Judgment Day, Robson Books, 1996
- Queen's Counsel - Laying Down the Law, Times Books, 1997
- The Times - Best of Queen's Counsel, Times Books, 1999
- Lawyers Uncovered - Everything you always wanted to know but didn't want to pay £500 an hour to find out, JR Books, 2007
- 101 Ways to Leave the Law, JR Books, September 2009
- 101 Uses for a Useless Banker. JR books, September 2009
- The Queen's Counsel Official Lawyers' Handbook, Robson Press October 2011
External links
- Williams' Official Website Retrieved June 2011
- Queen's Counsel Official Website Retrieved June 2011
- Escape Studios animation course Retrieved June 2011
- Lawyers Uncovered - a collection of Queen's Counsel cartoons at Amazon.com Retrieved June 2011
- Queen's Counsel at The Times Online (subscription only) Retrieved June 2011
- Interview with Williams at Skwigly magazine Retrieved June 2011
- Interview with Williams at Flip magazine Retrieved June 2011
- transcript of lecture by Williams at Imagine Magazine website Retrieved June 2011