Fowl Play
Cartoon of chicken's adventures while being chased by woodland animal.
Also Directed by John Halas
A candlemaker entrusts his young son with the task of making candles for their church on Christmas Eve.
Hamilton the elephant is being trained for the circus when he discovers his amazing musical ability; the ringmaster decides to exploit his new-found talent for jazz.
Puck is introduced to the twentieth century and is as amused by the contemporary obsession with television as he was by the lovers' antics.
The first British animated Technicolor film.
The Maestro brings a world of emotions to life interpreted by the orchestra and the animation.
Cartoon proof that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In this 1940s cinema advert, the tardiness of Signalman Squirrel's breakfast brings passengers to the brink of a major rail disaster every day. The solution is not setting his alarm earlier, finding an extra pair of hands for his long-suffering wife, or (heaven forbid) making his own breakfast. No, the answer lies in a home delivery mix-up of a familiar cereal box.
No man is an island, but Charley represents his nation in this economical cartoon tale of Britain's economics. Meet Charley, the portrait of a nation. At the end of the 1940s the Central Office of Information commissioned Halas and Batchelor to make seven films about policies of the post-war Labour Government. Charley was cast as the figurehead of the campaign, learning about mining, farming, national insurance, and even schooling via a son at the end of the series. This short looks at the Marshall Plan, and makes the most explicit link between character and country as his life story stands in for 270 years of British economic history.
A humorously semi-factual account of the history of cinema.
This World War II propaganda short encourages British people to "dig for victory," by planting vegetable gardens.
A successful farmyard revolution by the resident animals vs. the farmer goes horribly wrong when corrupt pigs hijack it for their personal gain.
Also Directed by Anson Dyer
Pvt. Sam Small is awarded a medal after Waterloo for saving his Sgt. Major's life. The truth emerges that he was actually saving a jar of rum. Asked would he have done it without the rum, Sam says "Like Hell!". He loses his medal.
A perpetually late bell ringer, faces losing his job if he doesn't become punctual.
Mix of live-action and anomation: the cartoonist, Anson Dyer, tells the story nursery story to his daughter, Marion, by means of drawings.
A rich merchant, Antonio is depressed for no good reason, until his good friend Bassanio comes to tell him how he's in love with Portia. Portia's father has died and left a very strange will: only the man that picks the correct casket out of three (silver, gold, and lead) can marry her. Bassanio, unfortunately, is strapped for cash with which to go wooing, and Antonio wants to help, so Antonio borrows the money from Shylock, the money-lender. But Shylock has been nursing a grudge against Antonio's insults, and makes unusual terms to the loan. And when Antonio's business fails, those terms threaten his life, and it's up to Bassanio and Portia to save him.
Based on a comic monologue performed by Stanley Holloway on radio and records.
Everyone knows that petroleum comes out of the earth, but the question is how did it get there, and what is it made of? The answer to these questions are given simply and accurately in this animated programme.
One of the greatest personalities of modern times. The life of a statesman who has helped to make the new map of Europe.
Animated history of the River Thames.
Cut-out animated parody of Hamlet by pioneering British animator Anson Dyer.
Also Directed by Len Kirley
Everyone knows that petroleum comes out of the earth, but the question is how did it get there, and what is it made of? The answer to these questions are given simply and accurately in this animated programme.
