This film is part of Rentals
Men of Merit (a Lantern Lecture)
Vibrant, progressive animation contrasts with some outdated attitudes in this Electricity Council cartoon on energy usage
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1948 4 mins Not rated
Overview
How dare housewives use heating and lighting in peak hours? That’s the bottom line of this Electricity Council cartoon, although it is dressed up in a mini-history of scientific advance. Visually however, the film is ahead of its time – Nancy Hanna’s remarkable drawings are the epitome of modern cartooning, coloured with highlighter pen luminescence.
The stop-motion professor draws on art director Peter Sachs’ time in the Dutch “Dollywood” studio of George Pal. The lecture dialogue was typical of the collaborations between the Larkins Studio and Roger MacDougall, a cousin of Ealing director Alexander Mackendrick. Few writers would have the nerve to rhyme “ox” with “walks”, but with the aid of narrator Geoffrey Sumner it somehow works.
Related
Animation & Artists Moving Image
Early Man
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2018 89 mins Director: Nick Park
In Aardman’s latest animated adventure, Caveman Dug and his pet hog, Hognog, must unite their tribe if they're are to survive the threat of pompous tyrant Lord Nooth.
Manifesto
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2015 94 mins Director: Julian Rosefeldt
Cate Blanchett gives a tour-de-force performance in this kaleidoscopic trip through the art manifestos of the 20th century.
When the Wind Blows
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 84 mins Director: Jimmy Teru Murakami
A middle-aged couple prepare for nuclear war in this humorous and macabre cautionary tale, adapted by Raymond Briggs (The Snowman) from his best-selling book.
The Trendsetter
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1969 5 mins Director: Vera Linnecar
And you thought followers were a good thing… This cartoon on innovators and imitators is a colourful delight as well as cautionary tale
The Hunting of the Snark
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1967 24 mins Director: Diana Potter
“Live animation” of Lewis Carroll’s nonsense poem adventure from the maker of Captain Pugwash
Aquarius
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1966 8 mins Director: Nancy Hanna
If 2001’s Star Gate sequence was a bit more laid back and accompanied by lift music, it might look a little something like this…
Animated Britain
Filmed in Supermarionation
Documentary 2014 118 mins Director: Stephen La Rivière
The definitive documentary chronicling how Gerry and Sylvia Anderson pioneered their trademark animation style, ‘Supermarionation’.
The Beard
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1978 10 mins Director: Ian Emes
An animated antidote to the hipster beard trend, offering a stark warning not to let your face fur get out of control.
Hercules: Lion Cubs
Advert 1956 1 mins
A pair of cheeky lion cubs star in this animated advertisement for the 'Finest Bicycle Built Today'.
Chicken Run
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2000 84 mins Director: Peter Lord
Mel Gibson’s Rocky the rooster helps the chickens escape from fascistic farmers in Aardman Animations first foray into feature films.
Shaun the Sheep Movie
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2014 85 mins Director: Richard Starzak
Aardman returns with another delightful animation for young and old, telling the story of Shaun’s adventures in the big city after Farmer is led astray.
Animal Farm
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1954 72 mins Director: Joy Batchelor
Sixty years young, this British cartoon of George Orwell’s political ‘fairy story’ is still the most abiding adaptation of this powerful, cautionary tale for all ages.
New
Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.
Documentary 2018 96 mins Director: Steve Loveridge
Fascinating delve into the career, personality and politics of award-winning musician M.I.A.
Postcards from London
Drama 2017 89 mins Director: Steve McLean
A stylish, sexy film about a young man’s journey into an unusual form of escort work.
Tides
Drama 2017 100 mins Director: Tupaq Felber
Four thirtysomethings find some much-needed time to reconnect in this beautifully observed and subtly insightful debut.
The Special World of Nigel Hunt
1967 27 mins Director: Ian Mcfarlane
An edition of This Week reporting on the restricted lives of young people with Down’s syndrome living in homes away from their families.
The Wild Pear Tree
Drama 2018 189 mins Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s follow-up to his Palme d’Or-winning Winter Sleep is a persuasive portrait of a young writer at odds with his hometown and family.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda
Documentary 2017 101 mins Director: Stephen Schible
A graceful, intimate study of a the legendary Japanese musician, composer, actor, writer and activist.