John Halas Movies

A dancing radio stops partying to transmit an announcement on fuel conservation in this WWII cartoon short.

If you haven’t already been diverted by the history of John Gilpin, or would like to venture that way again, you couldn’t find a better...

Hello darkness my old friend. The four-part “experiment in word, music and paintings” that was made by the BFI for the 1951 Festival of...

A musically talented ape is captured in the jungle and taken back to civilisation. However, civilisation proves too uncouth for the cultured ape so...

Ever seen a snake with a moustache? The Middle East was as much an ideological as a physical battleground in the Second World War. In the midst of...

Hamilton the elephant loves playing music with his trunk. When he is fired from the circus he does odd jobs till he gets his big break.

Modern advice and old-fashioned values combine in this postwar animated health guide from the makers of Animal Farm.

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...

Cartoon of chicken's adventures while being chased by woodland animal.

A BAFTA award nominated animation tracing the development of the motor car from the original horseless carriage common in the late 19th century to...

This World War II propaganda short encourages British people to "dig for victory," by planting vegetable gardens.

The cartoon is one of the Marshall Plan's most popular films. A clash between a shoemaker and a hat maker illustrates the contrasts between...

First Line of Defence is a short cartoon recruitment film for the RAF created in 1949 by animation duo Halas and Batchelor. The story follows a...

No man is an island, but Charley represents his nation in this economical cartoon tale of Britain’s economics.

A colorful cartoon commercial for soap flakes seems the last place that the realities of wartime life should creep in. A clothes cupboard opens to...

Cartoon proof that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In this 1940s cinema advert, the tardiness of Signalman Squirrel's breakfast...

An animated cartoon on smoking and health. The villain, Old Nick O'Teen, disguises himself as an 18-year-old motorcyclist, the better to lure...

An updated version of Halas and Batchelor's short film, 'The Magic Canvas', with a new electronic score.