The Cartoons of Halas & Batchelor

In the annals of animation, the British husband and wife team of John Halas and Joy Batchelor (who both passed away during the '90s) made a considerable contribution: over 2,000 films, including their most famous, the 1955 adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Unfortunately, the seven pieces collected here neither do justice to the scope and range of Halas and Batchelor's work, nor will they resonate much with audiences beyond students of animation history. In fact, the 1952 effort "The Owl and the Pussycat" (based on Edward Lear's nonsense poem) is likely to cause titters amongst immature viewers with its perfectly innocent refrain of "what a beautiful pussy you are." Still, "The Figurehead" (1953) is a good early example of model animation, the "History of the Cinema" (1957) rates a smile or two, and the 1981 short "Dilemma," while being visually unappealing, is notable for being the first entirely computer-animated film. The three other entries are: "The Magic Canvas" (1948), "Automania 2000" (1963) and "The Butterfly Ball" (1974). Optional. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)