This film is part of Free
Coco and the Bear
A cinema advert for cocoa that apes American cartoons, from a little-known corner of British animation history.
Overview
Are we sure this a British cartoon? An early Bugs Bunny wouldn't look out of place in this animated encounter between a grizzly bear and Coco - a boy who looks like Elmer Fudd in blackface. Even the voiceover is American, from the US-born singer and actress Elisabeth Welch. The clues are the brand - Yorkshire-based Rowntrees - and the production company GB Animation, part of Gaumont-British.
British movie mogul J Arthur Rank decided he wanted a home-grown animation studio to take on American cartoons in the 1940s, and brought across key Disney man David Hand to run it. Staffed by returned servicemen with an artistic bent, he gave the studio three years to train up before launching the Animaland and Musical Paintbox series from 1948. In the midst of their training they also produced some commercials, including four Coco films. The reasons for aping American cartoons were a mix of commercial and artistic ones - and the decision to make Coco a stereotyped black character is sadly not uncommon in chocolate advertising from this time.
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.
Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.
Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.
Police Story: Panel Discussion Police Story: Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 24 mins
Panel discussion on Jackie Chan's 1985 action classic Police Story, with Chase Armitage, Sam Mak and Jadey Duffield.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.