About Fred Wolf

Fred Wolf creates paintings that invite the onlooker into a moment of some untold but familiar story. His paintings possess a unique wit and quirky humor that is appealing and inclusive.

Utilizing challenging compositions that are light-hearted yet allegorical, Wolf depicts stylized people in daily situations. While Wolf's imagery may seem humorous at first glance, his paintings exhibit a pictorial sophistication and show a strong influence from artists like Hopper and Magritte. 

Fred Wolf's use of light source and composition demonstrate a solid comprehension of representational art.

The narrative story telling seen in many of Wolf's paintings is attributable to the fact that he is an Academy Award winning filmmaker and the influence of his animated film experience can be found throughout several of the paintings.

In addition to having his paintings collected throughout the United States and Europe, Wolf has the distinction of having his work included among submissions from over 200 artists by special request from His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales in the prestigious 1996 Prince's Trust Event.

FILMS

Fred Wolf Films is an animation studio that has worked with many noted companies and television networks including the Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros Studios, MGM, MTM Productions, CBS, NBC and ABC.

Thirty-six years ago Fred Wolf and former partner, filmmaker Jimmy Murakami, started Murakami Wolf Films. In the early days Murakami Wolf Films worked closely with many top name advertising agencies, creating animated television commercials including Fred's favorites: Frosted Flakes' Tony the Tiger and Green Giants' Little Green Sprout.

The animated theatrical shorts, include "The Box," "The Breath" and "The Insects." These animated shorts were shown at film festivals around the globe and brought both international recognition and awards of merit to the company. In 1968, Fred Wolf's animated short, "The Box"  was awarded the Academy Award for best-animated short.

"The Point," the first animated feature ever made for television, aired on ABC in 1971. Fred Wolf and Harry Nilsson co-produced the show. Dustin Hoffman provided the voice of the narrator and Ringo Starr and Alan Thicke took over the role in later video re-releases of the show.

The seventies produced such memorable Emmy award winning shows as, "Free to Be You and Me" with Marlo Thomas and "Puff the Magic Dragon," co-produced with Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary fame and the "Little Rascals Christmas Special."

The company's body of work expanded to include full-length animated feature films, including, producing the animated portion of the "Naked Ape," a live action/animated theatrical release, a co-production with Playboy Productions.

Then in 1977, the full-length animated theatrical release, "The Extraordinary Adventures of the Mouse and his Child" was produced for the Sanrio company of Japan. The feature's stellar cast included Peter Ustinov as Manny the Rat, Cloris Leachman as Euterpe and Sally Kellerman as the Seal. The film became an international award winner.

The eighties produced such series as "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and the "Strawberry Shortcake" specials and the first episodes of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." The "Ninja Turtles" went on to become the biggest phenomenon of both children's entertainment and the licensing industry. At last count 191 episodes of the "Ninja Turtles" had been produced. The word "cowabunga" hit the airwaves and soon became a household word.

In 1989, FWF turned its attention to the international animated film market and the projections of a united Europe. The E.U. was seen as a protector of European films and a controller of imported films into the European marketplace. In consideration of this factor, a studio was established in Dublin, Ireland.

Fred Wolf Films Dublin was in production from 1989 to 2000. During that time, the Irish studio brought a considerable amount of E.U. content production into being, including the notable productions of "Budgie, The Little Helicopter" and "Dinobabies" for HTV and the BBC respectively.

The late eighties and the nineties saw Fred Wolf Films become more involved in the international arena through co-productions. The company co-produced "The Fantastic Adventures of Sinbad the Sailor" with Carrington Productions International which was distributed by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution. Another series, "Dinobabies" was co-produced with Shanghai Morning Sun Animation, one of China's largest animation studios.

In 1999, the studio completed twenty-six half-hour episodes of "Zorro," the famous masked man, a co-production with Zorro Productions, Carrington Productions International and Harvest Entertainment with distribution by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution.

The outstanding success of Fred Wolf Films lies in the continued commitment, creativity and expertise given to each and every project, every step of the way.