This film is part of Free
Abu and the Poisoned Well
Hitler as a snake and Mussolini as a toad feature in this British propaganda cartoon made for distribution in the Middle East
Overview
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 the conflict Halas & Batchelor were commissioned by the British Government to make four cartoons featuring a young boy Abu and his mule. They were intended to demonstrate in simple visual terms that Britain was a stout friend and the Axis powers a pernicious evil.
The snake and the toad are easy to recognise for their real life counterparts of Hitler and Mussolini, but what on the surface is a simple childlike narrative obviously glosses over a complex reality. The poison is one of ideas that brainwashes Abu and others to fight against the British Tommy tank, although it also transforms them to gaunt skeletons for visual impact. Interestingly the films vary in how they handle the hero’s salvation. Here Abu is cured and inspired by the vision of a horseback Arab warrior. This character also appears in Abu’s Dungeon, which features no British intervention. In the other two films it is the British characters only who turn the tide. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
Related
A Colour Box A Colour Box
Advert 1935 4 mins
Part experimental cinema, part advert for the parcel post service, always joyful.
Spherical Harmonics Spherical Harmonics
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2014 5 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.
Noddy Goes to Toyland Noddy Goes to Toyland
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1963 12 mins
How can you not say yes to Noddy? It’s all he can say to you.
Shadows! Shadows!
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1928 3 mins Silent
Meet Sammy, his dog Sausage and their creator, early British animator Joe Noble, whose inventive streak sees him chased by his own shadow
Johnny Barleycorn Johnny Barleycorn
Documentary 1950 1 mins
A delightful animated appeal to help bringing in Scotland’s harvest, made by the legendary Lotte Reiniger.
Ubu Ubu
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1978 19 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.
If I Make It To The Morning If I Make It To The Morning
Drama 2024 9 mins
A Chinese teenager dreams of living with her cool aunt in New York, until tensions boil over during a crab dinner.
We’ll Go Down in History We’ll Go Down in History
Documentary 2025 25 mins
Two years in the life of TRUK United FC, a beacon for positive change and trans inclusivity in football.
Wrong Bathroom Wrong Bathroom
Drama 2024 9 mins
A trans high-schooler is tempted by toxic masculinity in the boys’ bathroom.
Dragfox Dragfox
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2024 8 mins
A child struggling with their identity and a charismatic fox (voiced by Sir Ian McKellen) learn to embrace their differences in this heart warming stop-motion animation.
Wait, Wait, Now! Wait, Wait, Now!
Drama 2024 13 mins
A Maori and a Kiwi teen buddy up to raid their mum’s wardrobe and pucker their lips with red.
NGGAK!!! NGGAK!!!
Drama 2024 8 mins
‘I pronounce you wife and wife.’ A young couple design their perfect wedding online, but then mum dials in.