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  • BBC Two

Shakespeare: The Animated Tales

  • 1992 – 1994
  • Ended
  • Animation
  • ~25m / ep
  • 2 seasons
  • 6.4/10

An animated adaptation of twelve of Shakespeare's best-known plays. The series was produced by S4C for the BBC, but animated by some of the foremost artists of Soyuzmultfilm, the former Soviet Union's main animation studio. Each 26-minute play is directed by a different animator, in a wide variety of styles: cel animation for Macbeth, stop-motion puppets in Twelfth Night, and paint on glass for Hamlet.

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Latest: Series 2 · 1994

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  1. E1. King Richard III

    Nov 2, 1994 · 25m

    A portrayal of Shakespeare's darkest villain Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and his unquenchable thirst for the throne.

  2. E2. The Taming of the Shrew

    Nov 9, 1994 · 25m

    Shakespeare's witty battle of the sexes is given a fresh airing in puppet animation. The unlikely bonding of a headstrong Kate and domineering Petruchio is only one aspect of a play about change and the magical transformations that theatre can produce.

  3. E3. As You Like It

    Nov 16, 1994 · 25m

    This bright and comic tale is famed as the only play written by Shakespeare in which he is known to have appeared himself - playing Adam, the old retainer to the hero Orlando. The sunniest of his comedies, the play tells of a group of courtiers escaping to the Forest of Arden where they meet, philosophise and fall in love.

  4. E4. Julius Caesar

    Nov 30, 1994 · 25m

    A compelling study of personal ambition versus the good of the state.

  5. E5. The Winter's Tale

    Dec 7, 1994 · 25m

    Exquisitely sculptured Russian puppets perform this powerful and enchanting story full of regal and rustic characters. A fit of temper has tragic results for King Leontes. Sixteen years later, the gods and humbler mortals intervene to craft a happy, magical ending.

  6. E6. Othello

    Dec 14, 1994 · 25m

    In the last in the series, the playwright's most famous dramatic study of jealousy and its tragic effects are conveyed vividly in a striking drawn animation style. The warmth of the Mediterranean contrasts with the coldness in lago's heart as he turns his noble master, Othello, against the beautiful and innocent Desdemona.