Grant Munro LL. D. (April 25, 1923 – December 9, 2017) was a Canadian animator, filmmaker and actor. In 1952, he co-starred with Jean-Paul Ladouceur in Norman McLaren's Neighbours. His film, Christmas Cracker, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1965.

Early life

Munro was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. After graduating from Gordon Bell High School, he went to the Musgrove School of Art and the Winnipeg School of Art. In 1944, he graduated with honors from the Ontario College of Art and joined the National Film Board (NFB) in the same year.

Career

Munro's work as an animator first won notice during 1945, when he set the songs "My Darling Clementine" and "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze" to animated cut-outs. He left the NFB in 1947 to work with another company, returning in 1951, in time to perform the physically demanding role of one of the neighbours in Norman McLaren's Neighbours, a film which used the technique known as "pixilation" (a term coined by Munro) and which won both a Canadian Film Award and an Academy Award. In 1957, he moved to London to work as Director of Animation for George Dunning's TV Cartoons; he returned to the NFB in 1961. In 1970, he moved to Cuba and, for two years, worked for the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos. Munro collaborated with McLaren on the animated films Two Bagatelles (1952), Christmas Cracker (1963) and Canon (1964). In the 1970s, his focus shifted to documentaries. He directed: Tours en l'air (1974), a film about work of dancers Anna-Marie and David Holmes; Boo Hoo (1975), which concerned a cemetery and crematorium in Saint John, New Brunswick; and Animated Motion (parts 1–5, 1976–8) and McLaren on McLaren (1983), which documented the work and philosophy of his friend and colleague. He also directed See You in the Funny Papers (1983), which examined the life and work of cartoonist Lynn Johnston. Munro retired from the National Film Board in 1988. He died in Montreal on December 9, 2017, at the age of 94.

Honours

On June 20, 2007 Concordia University awarded Munro an honorary doctorate in recognition of his legacy for generations of filmmakers. On October 10, 2008, Munro was made an Officer in the Order of Canada by Governor General Michaëlle Jean. The backgrounder to the award read as follows: Grant Munro is a pioneering animator and filmmaker. One of the earliest and longest-serving members of the National Film Board of Canada, he developed innovative techniques that influenced both the film industry and other animators. He produced films that were used as public education tools in schools across Canada, and collaborated with the Montreal Children’s Hospital to create educational films for children with learning disabilities. As well, he was involved in making several award-winning film's and has been an inspiring role model and dedicated mentor to several generations of young filmmakers.

Grant Munro Rediscovered

On December 4, 2003, the Museum of Modern Art paid tribute to Munro with Grant Munro Rediscovered, a retrospective program of his work: On the occasion of Grant Munro’s eightieth birthday and the release of a new DVD, Cut-Up: The Films of Grant Munro, the Museum of Modern Art pays tribute to this seminal but under-recognized animator. Working from within the historic Animation Unit of the National Film Board of Canada from 1945 through the early 1970s, Munro directed, produced, shot, edited, and even acted in some of the most significant hand-drawn and pixilated animation ever made. A frequent collaborator with Norman McLaren, Munro brought a wicked wit and sublime grace to the art. In 2003, a DVD of his work entitled Cut-Up: The Films of Grant Munro was released. It includes two Munro-McLaren collaborations which they did not complete: On the Farm and Six and Seven Eighths.

Filmography

Director and/or Producer, Animator

Awards

One Little Indian (1954) Pot-pourri (1962) Christmas Cracker (1963) Canon (1964) The Animal Movie (1966) Toys (1966) Ashes of Doom (1970) Tour en l'air (1974) Animated Motion (1976) See You in the Funny Papers (1983)