British Television Animation 1997-2010

Van Norris has been Senior Lecturer in Film, Media and Animation Studies at the School of Creative Art Film and Media, University of Portsmouth, UK, since 2003. Alongside his teaching in undergraduate and postgraduate studies in animation, comedy forms and graphic narrative forms, he has presented his research internationally and has published a range of well-regarded articles on animation and comedy, American science-fiction television and mainstream franchise cinema.

• Introduction 1. From here to there: First, Second and Third Wave Animation 2. A Quotation of Normality - The Family Myth 3. 'C'mon Mum Monday Night is Jihad Night' - Race and Nostalgia 4. 'Unpack That…' - Animating the Male 5. Sacred Territory - Faith, Satire and the Third Wave Conclusion: It'll Never Be as Good Again

'Norris charts how everything from music hall traditions to the cartoons of Bob Clampett fed into millennial UK animation, but his main concern is how series such as Monkey Dust fit into the wider British satirical landscape. Throughout the book Norris alternates between fascination with the workings of specific series and frustration with the shortcomings of the third wave as a whole.' - Neil Emmett, Cartoon Brew