The Candlemaker

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.

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.

The film is designed to encourage recycling - which was a key part of the war effort.

Meet Charley, your jovial cartoon guide to Britain’s changing towns and cities.

Part of BFI collection "Your Children and You."

For centuries, the Murgatroyd family, the Baronets of Ruddigore, have been under a witch's curse -- commit a crime every day, or die in agony. Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, the rightful heir, has run away to live as an innocent peasant ("Robin Oakapple") in the Cornish village of Rederring, sticking his brother Despard with the curse. But on the very day that "Robin" is to marry sweet, beautiful Rose Maybud, it all falls apart. Can Sir Ruthven outwit a picture gallery full of his ancestors' ghosts to save the day?

An animated film about the history and use of hot water.

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.

The film is designed to encourage recycling - which was a key part of the war effort.