Fig 1

The film Ethel and Ernest were created by Roger Mainwood. It’s about the true story of British
author and illustrator Raymond Briggs's parents, Ethel and Ernest, two ordinary Londoners living
through a period of extraordinary events and immense social change. This is a wonderfully evocative
and well observed animated feature that plays like a cartoon equivalent of Noel Coward’s This Happy
Breed. Adapted from Raymond Briggs’ graphic novel, it tells the story of Briggs’ parents Ethel and
Ernest over a 50-year period from the late 1920s onward that encompasses Raymond’s birth, the
Second World War, the creation of the welfare state, the post-war age of austerity and the relative
affluence of the 60s. (Macnab, 2016)

The Film Was made for the maker of the snowman, Raymond Briggs. It shows how his parents were
like when they first met to their death and it shows the life cycle of their world and how society has
changed through the years that they were around. The film shows seismic events in British social
history from the very down-to-earth perspective of Ethel, a former lady’s maid, and her milkman
husband Ernest.

Fig 2
The film is challenging in a way showing the life of two people who love each other and the good and
bad things that happen to them throughout their whole life, from when they first met to their
deaths. It’s a heart-warming film and makes the audience happy and sad. Despite its repetitive
nature, overall Ethel & Ernest proves to be a quietly moving tribute to a real-life couple who are
extraordinary precisely because of their very ordinary life. (Smith, 2016)

Ethel & Ernest is an 85-minute film. It took over 100 animators who worked on the film, drawing
almost every individual frame by hand. Roughly 12 drawings are required for every second of film,
which is roughly round 61,200 drawings. The drawings are replicas of Briggs previous work and it can
be seen in ethel and Ernest. The creators of the film haven’t changed the style of his work and
adapting his book with the style of the snowman.

Illustration

Fig 1, James Gill, (2016), Milk Man [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-
12-28/behind-the-scenes-of-ethel-ernest/ [Accessed 11 May 2018].

Fig 2, Raymond Briggs, (2016), Raymond Briggs on Boxing day 2015 looking through the family
album[ONLINE]. Available at: https://ethelandernestmovie.wordpress.com/category/animated-
feature-film/ethel-and-ernest-the-movie/page/14/ [Accessed 11 May 2018].

Bibliography

Macnab, G (2016) Ethel & Ernest review: Wonderfully evocative. At:

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/ethel-ernest-film-review-
a7381006.html (Accessed on 11/05/2018)

Smith, A (2016) Ethel & Ernest Review. At: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/ethel-

ernest/review/ (Accessed on 11/05/2018)