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"At the end of the day, I still try to get some sort of consistency of technique and look. And to a certain degree, also the characters take over."
— Robert D. Cardona

Robert D. Cardona is the co-creator and producer of TUGS.

Biography[]

Robert D. Cardona went to live in the UK in 1961. Since then, he has also worked on such British live shows such as The Flaxton Boys, The Four Feathers, Thriller, Fraud Squad, Crime of Passion and Emmerdale. In 1979, Cardona joined Clearwater Features, replacing Ken Turner.

From 1984 to 1986, Cardona co-produced the company's Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends with David Mitton. In 1985, the two developed their own television series about tugboats. Cardona wrote a single episode for the first season; Warrior. His wife and son participated in the production by writing episodes; Sunshine, Pirate and Quarantine.

Polaroid 05 Sunshine

Ten Cents with a Robert Cardona-esque face and Sunshine with a David Mitton-esque face

In the early 1990s, it was Cardona who would look to sell TUGS to an American TV market, to no success prior to Sunbow Entertainment. In 1997, Cardona gave Sunbow Entertainment the rights to use TUGS as a segment in Salty's Lighthouse. He would be the only person from the original series to be credited.

Following the failure of TUGS, the folding of Clearwater Features and surrounding issues, Cardona was able to keep half of the TUGS copyright.

From 1993 to 2001, Cardona directed several episodes of Theodore Tugboat.

Several assets and reels remained in Robert D. Cardona's locker room at Shepperton Studios until 2010, when it was illegally cleared out without his knowledge or permission. Some of aforementioned Items are in the ownership of Tugs: The Exhibition

Awards and nominations[]

  • Nominated - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best Animated Film for "Thomas The Tank Engine and Friends"
    • 1985, shared with Britt Allcroft and David Mitton
    • 1987, shared with David Mitton

External links[]

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