Animated prodigy's passion fires imagination

With their wide ranging ability to transform children’s stories into a visual experience appreciation across the generations, animated movies have been of great interest

But little is ever known of those who have created the series of images seen on the silver screen.

Adam Murphy is one such animator whose name is not well-known, but for those who are keen viewers of animated movies made in the studios of The Walt Disney Company, the figures he has drawn drawn will be quickly recognized. 

When mention is made of animated movies such as Aladdin, The Lion King II, Bambi II and The Little Mermaid II on which Adam has worked, his contribution to the entertainment industry is significant.

Adam said his precocious talent was early recognised by his parents, who encouraged him to follow his inclination toward creating imaginative pictures.

“For as long as I can remember I drew cartoon characters, and although there wasn’t any artistic influence in my family background, my parents were both very supportive of my early attempts at copying Bert and Ernie when I was watching Sesame Street on TV,” Adam said.

“They used to arrange after school tutoring with very good art teachers, and although I didn’t realise it at the time, my mother also organised work experience for me at the Disney studios in Sydney.”

At 15 years of age, Adam was one of the youngest animators to ever work for the studio, and he recalls it was a very exciting place and time for him as he was a lot younger than the others. 

“The studio worked along the traditional basis of developing animated movies, and I was in the right place to learn my craft,” he said.

“It was a small studio with terrific animators who took me along with them, mentoring me and helping me develop my talent … I was very lucky.”

Adam recalls starting working on ‘goofy’ cartoons, and gradually working his way up until he was experienced enough to work on feature movies in the Disney Studio.

“It was a great chance to work on all those magnificent characters with timeless appeal,” he said.

“I have had an incredible career during the past 25 years, and I am now working with Animal Logic on their current project, which is based on Peter Rabbit.

“It should be a really lovely movie … there is a lot of charm in the story.”

During the 2016 Henty Machinery Field Days, Adam set up his easel at the stand in the Lifestyle Pavilion operated by his partner Demelza Haines.  

“Demelza was here last year, and she had such a great time, I thought I would tag along and do a few portraits,” Adam said as he finished yet another caricature.

On her stand, Demelza had for sale books, art and posters featuring the many characters developed in partnership with Adam recalling youthful innocence and adventure. 

Founded in 2013, and named for their son Llewellyn, the couple have developed a series called Welly's Wonders which is the essence of a gentle, simpler childhood where dreams and imagination conjure up a magical world of furry friends and a whole lot of adventure.

In partnership, Adam and Demelza decided to create gorgeous, timeless and original designs for babies and children. 

As a business, Welly’s Wonders designs and produces beautiful and original illustrated children's books, clothing and artwork, all of which were on display at Henty and causing excited interest. 

Demelza recalling watching their son one day and thought, where does he go in his head?

“What does a one-year-old imagine when he's zoned out?” she wondered.

"So that's how I came up with the concept of Welly's Wonders.

"At the heart of everything that Welly's Wonders produces are the values of love, kindness, friendship and adventure. We believe all children should be instilled with a sense of adventure, imagination and a love of books and reading." 

Adam said they wanted to “tap into memories of a simpler time when childhood was full of wonder and imagination,” and are hopeful for a film or television series.