Pepita Pardell Terrade (16 March 1928 – 11 July 2019) was a Spanish
animator,
cartoonist,
illustrator, and painter.[1] She was a pioneer of animation cinema in Spain. In 1945, she worked on the first animated film, in color, in Europe.[2][3] Pardell was awarded the
Creu de Sant Jordi in 2018.
Biography
Pepita Pardell Terrade was born in
Barcelona on 16 March 1928.[4] At the age of fourteen, Pardell told her mother that she didn't want to be a shop assistant (a traditional job for a girl of her age, at that time). Her father, from whom she inherited a passion for drawing, let Pardell study at
Escola de la Llotja. Her grandfather, Josep Pardell Mateu, worked with
Antoni Gaudí.[5]
Pardell began her career in the field of animation in 1944, when she worked for the production company Balet y Blay and was part of the Garbancito de la Mancha team (1944), which was the
first animated feature film in Spain and the first European film of color
cartoons, directed by
Arturo Moreno.[6] At Balet and Blay, she also participated in the creation of Alegres vacaciones (1948) and Los sueños de Tay-Pi (1952).[7]
From 1951 to 1962, Pardell worked as an illustrator, drawing
comic books for Ediciones Toray. In 1962, she went to work for the animation producer Estudios Buch-Sanjuán.[8] Subsequently, she affiliated with Publivisión, Pegbar Productions, Equipo, and Cine Nic.[9] Throughout her long career, Pardell worked with directors such as Robert Balser and Jordi Amorós.[citation needed]
^Nadal, Núria «De Garbancito de la Mancha a Los sueños de Tay-Pi: Una aproximación al cine de animación español producido por Balet y Blay. (in Catalan)
^Bendazzi, Giannalberto. Cartoons. 110 años de cine de animación. Madrid: Ocho y medio, 2003, p. 559.
ISBN84-95839-44-X. (in Spanish).