We’re sad to learn that we’ve lost another influential animation veteran from the halls of Hanna-Barbera Studios. Animation director John Rice, an Englishman who worked for the famed toon studio both domestically and abroad during his esteemed 25-year career in animation, passed away on Oct. 5.
Rice studied fine arts in Sydney Australia, where he worked as a freelance graphic designer and comic book artist before joining Hanna-Barbera in 1980. There, he worked on wide variety of shows including Scooby-Doo and Teen Wolf. He moved to the Philippines in 1988 to serve as the on-site director/supervisor for Hanna Barbera at Fil-Cartoons in Manila.
Over the next fifteen years at Fil-Cartoons, Rice directed layout and animation on many series, specials, direct-to-video releases and features. Credits include Tom and Jerry Kids, Captain Planet and the Planeteers and initial installments of Cartoon Network’s What-A-Cartoon! Show (a.k.a. World Premiere Toons), including The Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo and Cow and Chicken. Rice also co-created, wrote and directed The Swamp and Tad Show for Cartoon Network.
In 2002, Rice opened his own studio in Manila, Alien Film Animation, which produced the highly rated animated series Sergeant Stripes for the BBC, in addition to creating pre-production packages for numerous clients in the U.K. He joined Tooncity in March 2004 and worked on various TV series, video releases and theatrical projects for clients including the Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros Inc. and Nickelodeon.
