The earliest puppet made by Paul Berry as a child.

Paul Berry made animated films at college and at home. He grew up wanting to be an animator. Berry began his career at Cosgrove Hall working on The Wind in the Willows (1983), The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (1990), and Truckers (1992).

He had approached Cosgrove Hall directly and asked for a job. Cosgrove Hall was set up by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall. By 2006 Cosgrove Hall Films was Europe’s largest animation company, producing the three main types of animation (cel, stop motion and CG).

Berry was described by Mark Hall as the best model animator they ever had. While working at Cosgrove Hall, Berry was given time out to work with Ian Mackinnon on the short film The Sandman (1992), which was nominated for an Oscar. He went on to work on feature films such as James and the Giant Peach (1996) and Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). His career was cut short by his untimely death in 2001 aged just 40.