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The Story of British Animation
To accompany an important new BFI book, we chart this extraordinarily fertile area of British film.
In The Story of Animation (BFI / Bloomsbury 2021), BFI curator Jez Stewart charts the astonishingly rich history of UK animation, from early stop-motion experiments to the latest advances in computer graphics. With Hollywood’s shadow always looming, the UK industry has struggled against almost overwhelming economic headwinds. But the skill, wit and ingenuity of British animators has never dimmed. Here, we present a selection of films highlighting key chapters in the story.
Artistic CreationArtistic Creation
Trick film19012 minsSilent
This burlesque film fantasy has striking sexual overtones - and a surprising feminist twist
A Colour BoxA Colour Box
Advert19354 mins
Part experimental cinema, part advert for the parcel post service, always joyful.
Johnny BarleycornJohnny Barleycorn
Documentary19501 mins
A delightful animated appeal to help bringing in Scotland’s harvest, made by the legendary Lotte Reiniger.
Noddy Goes to ToylandNoddy Goes to Toyland
Animation & Artists Moving Image196312 mins
How can you not say yes to Noddy? It’s all he can say to you.
MatchesMatches
Animation & Artists Moving Image19731 mins
Home safety is child's play if you have the feline guardian angel of the 70s on hand
Spherical HarmonicsSpherical Harmonics
Animation & Artists Moving Image20145 mins
Spherical Harmonics is about the strange power of the CG image. It's a fantasy under construction, full of digitally created memories, counterfeit physics and controlled accidents.
SupertedSuperted
Animation & Artists Moving Image19759 mins
Don’t tell the Spotty man but Superted has a new friend. A stop motion predecessor of the superhero teddy idea
Super Natural GasSuper Natural Gas
Animation & Artists Moving Image197510 mins
Kenneth Williams as the voice of methane? It’s a gas! This British Gas sponsored short is the origin of cult kids TV classic Willo the Wisp
The VictorThe Victor
Animation & Artists Moving Image198515 mins
Military mind experiments, pacifists, Brighton beach and Billy Bunter in a bumper car – there is a lot going on in this fantastic animated short
Robinson CharleyRobinson Charley
Animation & Artists Moving Image194810 mins
No man is an island, but Charley represents his nation in this economical cartoon tale of Britain’s economics
Giro the Germ Episode 1Giro the Germ Episode 1
Animation & Artists Moving Image19278 minsSilent
The germs in this silent 1920s cartoon seem to have caught the Flapper bug
The MathematicianThe Mathematician
Animation & Artists Moving Image19763 mins
2 + 2 = BOOM! The apocalyptic danger of maths is explored in this computer animated cartoon from the mind of Stan Hayward
Adolf's Busy Day Adolf's Busy Day
Animation & Artists Moving Image19408 mins
Who does he think he’s kidding? This parodic day-in-the-life portrait of Mr Hitler is one of the very few British examples of comic cartoon propaganda from WW2.
Pretend You'll SurvivePretend You'll Survive
Animation & Artists Moving Image19819 mins
Nuclear nightmares realised in cartoon form by a Yorkshire women’s collective that advocates protest over pointless preparation
The Battle of WangaporeThe Battle of Wangapore
Amateur film19559 minsSilent
Charge into this slick amateur cartoon from the Grasshopper Group which was three years in the making
Animation Has ChangedAnimation Has Changed
Advert19717 mins
Out with the old and in with the new – one of Britain’s leading animation companies pitches its new image with great humour
CustardCustard
Animation & Artists Moving Image197422 mins
Trust me – you will never look at custard the same way again
CarmenCarmen
Animation & Artists Moving Image19369 mins
Carmen get your cartoon opera fix in this (very!) loose version of Bizet’s classic tale of romance and treachery.
The Elstree ErbsThe Elstree Erbs
Animation & Artists Moving Image19308 mins
Teddie, Piggie and Poll might not have gone down in history like Mickey Mouse, but here is a British answer to Disney’s Steamboat Willie
The Smoke from Grand-pa's PipeThe Smoke from Grand-pa's Pipe
Animation & Artists Moving Image19209 minsSilent
I’ll have what he’s smoking! - US import Jesse “Vet” Anderson breathes life (and smoke) into the UK animation industry
Tropical BreezesTropical Breezes
Animation & Artists Moving Image193011 mins
A British Steamboat Willie? This early British sound cartoon might not have been the first, but it’s a cracker
Love on the WingLove on the Wing
Advert19394 mins
A line-drawing love story in a surreal land, made to advertise Empire Air Mail but withheld due to "Freudian" symbolism.
The Story of TimeThe Story of Time
Animation & Artists Moving Image195010 mins
… as brought to you by Rolex, with the help of incredible model animation.
Love on the RangeLove on the Range
Advert19396 mins
An animated Western mock-opera about Horlicks? Bring it on!
Football FreaksFootball Freaks
Animation & Artists Moving Image19716 mins
Do not adjust your set! This off-beat jukebox cartoon is definitely more freaky than footbally
LautrecLautrec
Animation & Artists Moving Image19746 mins
If anyone can bring Henri Toulouse-Lautrec’s sketchbooks to life, Geoff Dunbar can-can
Fox HuntFox Hunt
Animation & Artists Moving Image19368 mins
Spoiler alert! The fox is always going to outsmart the hounds in this delightful, balletic cartoon that heads from the countryside into 1930s suburbia.
Green Men, Yellow WomanGreen Men, Yellow Woman
Animation & Artists Moving Image19734 mins
Even Clark Gable doesn’t live up to his image in this off-beat cartoon about a woman fed up with the attentions of little green men
Plain Man's Guide to AdvertisingPlain Man's Guide to Advertising
Animation & Artists Moving Image196220 mins
Does your home suffer from BO? This gag filled pastiche of the ad industry is happy to nibble the hand that feeds it
Goodwill To All DogsGoodwill To All Dogs
Animation & Artists Moving Image19606 mins
An animated xmas with paper dog Snap
Shadows!Shadows!
Animation & Artists Moving Image19283 minsSilent
Meet Sammy, his dog Sausage and their creator, early British animator Joe Noble, whose inventive streak sees him chased by his own shadow
The Sorcerer's Scissors The Sorcerer's Scissors
Animation & Artists Moving Image19074 mins
This trick film of magical transitions features some early animated flourishes that, for their time, were clearly at the cutting-edge
Ever Been HadEver Been Had
Animation & Artists Moving Image19179 minsSilent
Blackly comic cartoon portrait of an apocalyptic England, destroyed 50 years after signing a premature peace in WWI.
Two FacesTwo Faces
Animation & Artists Moving Image19684 mins
An abstract poetic tale that tells both one and a thousand stories of love and loss, by a designer on The Beatles Yellow Submarine film
The LadderThe Ladder
Animation & Artists Moving Image19675 mins
This abstract animated short by Yellow Submarine director George Dunning reaches great heights.
Polygamous PoloniusPolygamous Polonius
Animation & Artists Moving Image19609 mins
An off-beat animated love story of sorts as Polonius meets his match in Agnes the art lecturer
Geni and a Genius (Series 1)Geni and a Genius (Series 1)
Animation & Artists Moving Image191910 minsSilent
Remember when Charlie Chaplin went into space? Reality is no obstacle in this endlessly inventive silent cinema cartoon of the 'Little Tramp'
Filling the GapFilling the Gap
Animation & Artists Moving Image19425 mins
No time to veg out – there's a war on. Get your vegetables out!
"T" For Teacher"T" For Teacher
Animation & Artists Moving Image19475 minsSilent
Do you know the golden rules of tea making? The Tea Bureau set out to put your cuppa straight in this progressively designed post-war cartoon
Booster Bonzo; Or, Bonzo in Gay PareeBooster Bonzo; Or, Bonzo in Gay Paree
Animation & Artists Moving Image19256 mins
1920s canine icon Bonzo the Dog tests the Entente Cordiale to the limit in this silent British cartoon
Jealous Doll, Or, The Frustrated Elopement Jealous Doll, Or, The Frustrated Elopement
Animation & Artists Moving Image19094 mins
Toy Story meets Fatal Attraction in this tale of an Edwardian childhood romance scuppered by poor finances and a stalking dolly
John the BullJohn the Bull
Advert19305 mins
Bloody foreign cows coming over here and becoming our dinners
Animated Doll and Toy Town CircusAnimated Doll and Toy Town Circus
Animation & Artists Moving Image19123 mins
Roll up, roll up! Come witness staggering feats in what might be the earliest surviving animated film made in colour.
The Clown and His DonkeyThe Clown and His Donkey
Animation & Artists Moving Image19103 minsSilent
A pioneering effort in bringing shadow puppetry to the cinema
The Tale of the ArkThe Tale of the Ark
Animation & Artists Moving Image19096 minsSilent
Toy Story meets biblical epic in this pioneering stop-motion short from Arthur Melbourne-Cooper
Abu and the Poisoned WellAbu and the Poisoned Well
Animation & Artists Moving Image19438 mins
Hitler as a snake and Mussolini as a toad feature in this British propaganda cartoon made for distribution in the Middle East
Coco and the BearCoco and the Bear
Advert19462 mins
A cinema advert for cocoa that apes American cartoons, from a little-known corner of British animation history.
Tim Marches BackTim Marches Back
Animation & Artists Moving Image19442 mins
A Peter Strausfeld animation, encouraging the public to use the telephone more sparingly in wartime.
The Dream of Arthur SleapThe Dream of Arthur Sleap
Advert19721 mins
Dangerously addicted to boring old movies? This is a case for Dr BFI, as demonstrated in this 1970s animated promo
LFF Trailer 1995LFF Trailer 1995
Animation & Artists Moving Image19951 mins
Aardman turn the cinema screen into a mirror and offer this delightful portrait of the typical film festival audience
Aladdin and the Junior GenieAladdin and the Junior Genie
Advert19425 mins
Washing day keeping you from a spin on your flying carpet? This quality cinema features a young apprentice genie learning a helpful solution.
Experimental Animation 1933Experimental Animation 1933
Animation & Artists Moving Image19332 mins
Long before MTV, Len Lye crafted this antecedent of the music video with a cheeky monkey singing and dancing to Cuban hit 'Peanut Vendor'
UbuUbu
Animation & Artists Moving Image197819 mins
Farting and swearing and violence – oh my! Albert Jarry’s controversial play translates beautifully to splattered inks in Geoff Dunbar’s award-winning animation.
Bride and GroomBride and Groom
Amateur film19557 mins
Newlyweds meet a nuisance in an enjoyable mix of cartoon comedy and real-life actors, including Roobarb legend Bob Godfrey.
Sea DreamsSea Dreams
Animation & Artists Moving Image19146 minsSilent
Skilled artist Lancelot Speed brings his cartoons to life to mock the German navy at the start of WWI.
John Bull's Animated Sketchbook No. 4John Bull's Animated Sketchbook No. 4
Animation & Artists Moving Image19155 minsSilent
An animated recreation of the sinking of the Lusitania is the centrepiece of this pioneering mix of comedy, satire and outrage in cartoon propaganda.
Steve's Cannon CrackersSteve's Cannon Crackers
Animation & Artists Moving Image19379 mins
Come on Steve! The 1930s comic strip carthorse both starts and stops a naval battle in this cartoon animated by Carl Giles
To Demonstrate How Spiders FlyTo Demonstrate How Spiders Fly
Animation & Artists Moving Image19091 minsSilent
Charming animated illustration of one of nature's wonders from Britain's most inventive pioneer of wildlife filmmaking.
The Latest NewsThe Latest News
Animation & Artists Moving Image19041 minsSilent
The “Bill Bailey” punchline might have lost its meaning over the years, but this comic gag short features some of Britain’s earliest animation
Dreams of ToylandDreams of Toyland
Animation & Artists Moving Image19087 minsSilent
Decades before Toy Story, a young boy’s toys come to life through animation