Tony Johnson is simply one of the best film animators in Britain today, yet the industry has completely overlooked him.
Fallen Angel is a masterpiece, in that, Tony has done the impossible, on a very limited budget he has produced something that will in the course of time become known as a masterpiece. Somehow, he gathered about him exactly the right group to implement his vision and what a vision it is. On one level Fallen Angel is a road movie where both the journey and destination are magical beyond belief and on the other somehow asks and answers some of the biggest questions that concern us all. Fallen Angel touches the viewer deeply as Johnson mixes up a dazzling recipe using exactly the right plot, narration, soundtrack, artwork and direction. Tony's interpretation of life's mysteries are stunning, never to be forgotten.
Here's some history: Back in 1996 the BBC, a major British television broadcaster presented Fallen Angel late one night during their 'Manga Week' without any fanfare. Now let's fast forward to weeks later, I was at Broadcasting House, the BBC's old HQ in London to review a tech show they were producing and mentioned Tony's film project. The network informed me they had been inundated with requests for repeats and information on the artist/director and this is where it gets really sad and incredibly bewildering, we had on the one hand, a young, very talented artist with real vision and on the other Johnson lives in one of the richest countries in the world with incredible levels of investment capital yet not one investor or broadcaster saw fit to finance his work, none seemingly had the vision required.
Tony went on to create 4 shorts but never got the chance he truly deserved and while the UK is world famous for stop motion animation, the country had for a time, the opportunity to sponsor a true visionary, one whom I believe, could and would have gone on to create ever better films. Here's to you Tony, there IS still time.
Your friend from Guildford.
