This film is part of Free

Charley's Black Magic
Cartoon propaganda short sweetens the pill of post-war coal prices by promising jam tomorrow
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1949 9 mins
Overview
With coal prices rising and harsh winters in recent memory, post-war Britain was understandably grumpy. The irascible Charley featured in a series of cartoon propaganda shorts communicating many new policies of Clement Atlee’s Labour government, which promised a brighter future ahead. Charley was always quickly turned around with the promise of jam tomorrow, but post-war austerity was still a bitter pill for many to swallow.
The seven Charley films released between 1948 and 1949 were all produced by Halas & Batchelor Cartoon Films, who would go on to make Britain’s first animated feature film, Animal Farm, in 1954.
Subjects
Related
Animation Goes to Work

Strangers Strangers
Public Information Filler 1973 1 mins
Who needs to talk to strangers when you're the only one who can understand the garbled mewling of your best buddy cat, Charley?

Giro - Fast and Loose Giro - Fast and Loose
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1935 9 mins Silent
Don’t listen to Slacky the Sloucher or Giro the Germ will stage a jailbreak – public health cartoon by the Health & Cleanliness Council

Pan-tele-tron Pan-tele-tron
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1957 10 mins
Ye Gods! It’s the future of telecommunications – as seen through a cartoon modern lens from the 1950s

John the Bull John the Bull
Advert 1930 5 mins
Bloody foreign cows coming over here and becoming our dinners

The Dream of Arthur Sleap The Dream of Arthur Sleap
Advert 1972 1 mins
Dangerously addicted to boring old movies? This is a case for Dr BFI, as demonstrated in this 1970s animated promo

"T" For Teacher "T" For Teacher
Sponsored film 1947 5 mins Silent
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
New

How to Die Young in Manila How to Die Young in Manila
Drama 2020 12 mins
A teenage boy trails a group of young hustlers, thinking one of them may be his anonymous hook-up for the night.

The Summer of 12 The Summer of 12
Drama 2019 25 mins
Amongst the young members of a swimming team, the onset of puberty brings unwanted challenges.

Melt Melt
Drama 2018 12 mins
When Little Jia is asked to read his essay about how he spent Women's Day with his mother out loud in class, he has to hide the sad truth that only his friend Dong knows.

We Outlaws We Outlaws
Drama 2019 33 mins
China in the early 1990s. By day, Chen Shi is a man employed in a textile workshop. At night, she is a woman in a red dress. One evening, she falls in love with a man she meets at a dance hall.

Langit Budak Biru Langit Budak Biru
Drama 2018 23 mins
Two teenage boys in a Malaysian boarding school wrestle with the challenges of bullying and identity.

Kiss of the Rabbit God Kiss of the Rabbit God
Fantasy 2019 15 mins
A Chinese-American restaurant worker falls in love with an 18th century Qing dynasty god, who visits him at night and leads him on a journey of sexual awakening and self-discovery.