halas and batchelor
halas & batchelor’s interpretation of napoleon in their 1954 version of animal farm. their archive has been given to the bfi. credit: the halas & batchelor collection ltd
( 1938). they later married and in 1940 established halas and batchelor animation, ltd. , which became the largest
coming soon from penguin books the 70th anniversary edition of animal farm illustrated by joy batchelor and john halas. see books
the halas and batchelor short film collection 18 of the best award - winning shorts, remastered and regraded on hd. see dvd shop
here we present biographies of john halas, joy batchelor, and their daughter vivien halas who manages the archive today. from small beginnings, halas and batchelor grew into one of the largest animation studios in europe, producing all sorts of animated films, from commercials and television series, to art movies, experimental films and educational series .
she is co - author of halas & batchelor, an animated history (2006) and has contributed to numerous animation and design publications worldwide .
the halas & batchelor collection exists to preserve and promote an extraordinary body of work that witnesses the social and style changes of half a century .
from animal farm to a film for kraftwerk, john halas and joy batchelor blazed a trail for british animators. on their studio’s 75th anniversary, our curator of animation picks his five favourite halas
the first animation by halas & batchelor was a kellogg' s corn flakes advert in 1940, and commercial and public information work became the studio' s bread and butter .
january 1955. the celebration launch of animal farm held at the dorchester hotel. left to right: john halas, joy batchelor, borden mace and sonia orwell
from that time halas & batchelor expanded to become one of the largest animation studios in europe, recognized as source of high quality animated films .
halas & batchelor started to work on commissions for tv series from other studios, most notably rembrandt studios' popeye 1955 and jack wrather corporation' s the lone ranger 1967 .
this history gives an overview of just some of the work so if you are interested in finding out more please read our book on the studio halas & batchelor cartoons, an animated history, and a moving image, joy batchelor 1914 - 91, artist, writer and animator .
the studio was also renowned for discovering and nurturing new talent; indeed, a list of the artists who started their careers at halas & batchelor reads like a who’s who of british and european animation. although animal farm remains the most famous of halas & batchelor' s films, they produced over two thousand others, from entertainment films to documentaries, and tv series to experimental art movies .
during the tyne tees era john halas and joy batchelor turned to their other company educational film centre that had been set up in 1960. an impressive group of directors included john halas, joy batchelor, maurice goldsmith, roger manvell and sir charles snow. sam eckman jr. (head of mgm in the uk) also joined the company board to compete on the international market .
vivien halas has enjoyed a successful career as a graphic designer, working for a number of top design groups and agencies in london and paris, as well as founding two design companies of her own. at her father’s request she returned from paris to london in 1995, to take over the running halas and batchelor and organise its film archive .
batchelor are my earliest memory of british animation making a mark on the world stage, and having a distinctively british style. their work has lasted and remains impressive and important. ”
the company was founded in 1940 by john halas, a hungarian jewish emigre and his british wife, joy batchelor, and they became the
king and queen of british animation
. they were pioneers, transforming the industry by building a company which worked with the best talent it could find .
with the war came the need for information and propaganda films. john and joy recognised that animation could play a major part in this field, and, with the encouragement of john grierson, the founder of the documentary film movement, they founded halas and batchelor cartoon films. the partnership was further cemented when they married in 1940 .
welcome to the halas & batchelor collection the archive of what was for over 50 years, the largest and most influential animation studio in western europe. from small beginnings in 1940, they made over 2000 films and earned an international reputation for fine animation extending the medium to explain complex ideas with clarity and humour .
in mid 70ies john halas bought back halas & batchelor and continued to produce a steady output of animated films, some sponsored, for the coi, unicef, unesco, some more personal, such as children making cartoons 1973 and increasingly made as co - productions looking towards the rest of europe with italy, corona cinematografica, european fairy tales 1974, france, idéfix, the twelve tasks of asterix 1973 and germany, polymedia with the series of wilhelm busch’s satirical tales of max and moritz 1976 .
batchelor was all about. sadly only two films were completed. after tricky times in the mid - 70s and the early 80s, the company had lost most of its remaining momentum after the death of joy in 1991, and was wound up after the death of john in 1995. this film ensured that the halas
all of the above were from one of the most important british animation studios there has ever been – the husband and wife - run halas & batchelor, sometimes called the british disney – which for more than 50 years produced adverts, public information pieces, feature films, tv cartoons and serious award - winning animation respected the world over .
after the death of joy batchelor in 1991, john halas continued to produce films until his death in 1995. his last ever production was a projected series of 12 films about the european union of which one stands out know your europeans uk 1995 which was made by bob godfrey .
as the curator of animation at the bfi national archive, i’m constantly reminded, inspired and motivated by their legacy and achievements (a bronze bust of john halas sits on the corner of my desk and is scrutinising me as i type). outside of work hours i still can’t shake them off, leading to a collaborative blog with john and joy’s daughter vivien halas, which launches today to celebrate and document the history of the company and those who worked with them .
the british - based animation team halas and batchelor are best known for their adaptation of george orwell' s animal farm, but they made a string of brilliant short films too. here is their consumerist satire automania 2000, about a scientist whose inventions cause environmental havoc, which was nominated for an oscar in 1964 .
halas & batchelor cartoon films occupies a unique place in british cinema. the studio was formed in 1940 and produced films for the next fifty years. it was the country' s largest and most influential producer of animated films from the early forties until the mid seventies. throughout its history, it always strove to pioneer new styles and techniques from paper cut - out figures to computer animation .
from that time halas and batchelor grew into one of the largest animation studios in europe, producing all sorts of animated films, from commercials and television series, to art movies and experimental films. over the years that john and joy collaborated, joy wrote literally hundreds of scripts, and was the driving force behind most of the work. her feature film, ruddigore, made in 1964, was the first animated operetta, perfectly capturing the tongue in cheek quality of its creators, gilbert and sullivan .
further innovation occurred through halas and batchelor' s animated bridging sequences in cinerama holiday, designed for a three - screen' half - cylinder' projection; their' foo foo' cartoons (1960) for abc - tv, featuring an emile cohl - esque matchstick character with echoes of otto mesmer' s early felix the cat cartoons; and the part bbc - funded' tales of hoffnung' series (1964), animating gerard hoffnung caricatures. the studio was sold to tyne tees television in the early' 70s, resulting in halas and batchelor making popular saturday morning cartoons like the jackson five (1972) and the osmonds (1973). later in the decade they broke free to engage in further experimental film - making in the area of computer animation, and international co - productions. halas published masters of animation in 1987 and served as president of the international animated film association (asifa). joy batchelor kept a lower profile but she was undoubtedly a brilliant and influential designer and animator. she died in 1991, followed four years later by her husband. they leave a legacy in the hands of daughter vivien, and the extraordinary archive of work that defines some of the greatest achievement in british animation .
john halas was born in budapest on 16 april 1912; joy batchelor in watford, hertfordshire, on 22 may 1914. the couple initially worked as a graphic design partnership in the pre - war period and married in 1940, when they also founded the halas and batchelor studio to make animated advertisements for clients of the j. walter thompson agency, such as kelloggs and lux. their work was immediately identifiable by its combination of disney - style characters and eastern european aesthetics (largely a product of halas' s training under former bauhaus tutors, alexander bortnyik and laszlo moholy - nagy). the ministry of information, recognising the capacity of animated films to entertain as well as educate, invited the couple to make wartime public information and propaganda shorts. dustbin parade (1941), about re - cycling materials for munitions, and filling the gap (1941), concerning the effective deployment of garden space for growing vegetables and other foodstuffs, are two examples of the seventy artful but highly engaging cartoon films made by the studio addressing domestic, government and military needs .
from the mid 50ies the tv market opened up. halas & batchelor were not alone in profiting from this great opportunity. they devised the logo for abc television and made some of the first entertainment series for tv such as foo foo 1960, habatales 1960 and snip and snap 1960. they also released a series of seven films sponsored by the bbc based on the musical caricatures of gerard hoffnung, tales from hoffnung 1964 .
back in england, with no employment joy took their graphic work around the advertising agencies, publishers and magazines. eventually the advertising agency j. walter thompson asked them to make animated film ads, for kellogg’s train trouble and lux soap carnival in the clothes cupboard. in order to be paid they had to become a company so in 1940 they established halas & batchelor cartoon films, and were married in the same year .
curator jez stewart hopes that the bfi will be now be able to open up halas & batchelor to new generations of animation fans and practitioners. aardman animation' s nick park said he had fond memories of watching the company' s animated educational films at school .
they have always been part of my life ,
he said .
john halas was the judge on the first animated competition i ever entered – i didn' t win, but admired him and looked up to him as a great figure in british animation .
batchelor gave us all the lead. in our early days at aardman we could only dream of aspiring to their stature. in their heyday, the studio was renowned for innovation and creative ambition, always experimenting with technique, form and style. ”
( 1982), the first fully digitized film; and more than 2, 000 other animated films. many later cartoons, documentaries, and educational shorts were commissioned specifically for television. halas was made an officer of the order of the
john halas, british motion - picture animator and producer (born april 16, 1912, budapest, hung. —died jan. 20 / 21, 1995, london, england), was, with his wife, joy batchelor (died 1991), the force behind the largest cartoon film studio in great britain and creator of some 2, 000 animated films, notably animal farm (1954), the first…
during the second world war it made more than 70 information films – even though halas was classed as an enemy alien – on everything from the importance of separating bones and rags and cans from your rubbish to soldier - only std prevention films .
john halas and joy batchelor met in london in 1937. john had arrived from budapest having been asked to set up british colour cartoon films limited and was looking for animators. joy answered his advertisement. he saw her work and hired her on the spot. john spoke no english and since he already had a studio in budapest they decided it would be more practical and cheaper to produce music man 1938 there. the production soon came to an end as europe was on the brink of the second world war, so by 1939 the couple moved back to london .
thanks to the pressure of making so many films in a short time halas & batchelor developed a strong graphic style and a unique ability to produce longer works, for adult audiences. they created not only new genre of animation, but had now acquired the necessary experience for making animal farm 1951 - 1954, their best known work. adapted from george orwell' s classic book, animal farm was released in 1954, and won critical acclaim worldwide .
many of the technologies that the studio pioneered are now redundant but you can be sure that if john halas were still alive today he would be seeking out the latest techniques .
today, 15 years after the studio' s last release, the british film institute will announce that it has been given the halas & batchelor archive, including film prints, stills, scripts, correspondence and original cells. it is the largest ever single donation of british animation and was welcomed as
an extraordinarily rich gift
by the bfi director, amanda nevill .
we look forward to working on ensuring these films and artefacts are enjoyed by the widest possible group of people in years to come ,
she said .
joy batchelor was born in watford, england, in 1914. by the time she answered john halas’s advertisement for an animator in 1938, she was already an experienced illustrator / animator - a rare thing for a woman in the mid - thirties. john immediately recognised her talent and their collaboration began with a series of films that were made in budapest. however as it turned out, the funding ran out, the couple were forced to return to london. the year was 1939, and the world was on the brink of war .
halas and batchelor also used animation in the service of high art, making the poet and painter series for the 1951 festival of britain and such experiments as the owl and the pussycat (1952), a 3d stereoscopic short based on edward lear' s nonsense poem; the figurehead (1953), a puppet animation with a progressive score by matyas seiber, a student of bartok; and ruddigore (1964), a cartoon adaptation of the gilbert and sullivan opera. they are best known, however, for their adaptation of george orwell' s animal farm (1954). rumours persist that the film was funded by a cia covert operation, but halas insisted that it was humanist and anti - totalitarian rather than anti - communist, and the film is a considerable achievement: a feature length work of poignancy and affect which revises our expectations of animal characters as comic or sentimental figures. the sombre satire of orwell' s novel is muted by a controversially upbeat ending in which the animals once again mobilise in resistance to authoritarian leadership, but the film' s highly politicised viewpoint still seems a bold and unusual one, particularly within the context of the british film industry of 1950s .
batchelor was sponsored filmmaking, for cinema, television and the classroom. with scripts and designs often by joy, the studio was masterful at taking a company’s brief, embellishing it to suit their chosen medium, and then delivering a slick piece of art to a happy customer. children and cars, made for bp, takes the simple idea of bringing children’s drawings of cars of the future to life, and knocks it out of the park in a virtuoso piece of animation by company stalwart, harold whitaker .
by the late 60s the studio had expanded so to keep it going john halas sold some shares to tyne tees television. tyne tees eventually took over and under the new management the studio made more series like tomfoolery 1970 for cbc rankin bass, the adams family 1972 for hanna - barbera, the jackson five 1972 for hanna - barbera and the osmonds 1973 for hanna barbera .
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was educated in hungary and paris and apprenticed to george pal; he moved to england as an animator in 1936. after art school
this site aims to be an introduction to their work, commemorating the artists and technicians who worked in the studio, and recording their achievement .
batchelor hated charley. over seven films between 1948 - 49 he was britain’s cartoon joe public, discovering issue by issue the political sea changes of postwar britain (national insurance, the nhs, privatisation). converted from profound scepticism to enthusiastic acceptance within a few flops of his ridiculous fringe, he was apparently a very tiresome character to draw again and again (which didn’t stop someone at the studio making a giant papier mâché head of him for a fancy dress party). not all the entries in the series are great, but i have a huge fondness for the figure and this first film has some fantastic character designs with great lines. having benefitted greatly from ministry of information sponsorship during the second world war, this continued relationship with government set halas
john halas was born in budapest, hungary in 1912, the seventh son of a jewish mother and catholic father. he studied painting in budapest, where he was greatly influenced by the bauhaus movement and its leading light, laszlo moholy - nagy. it was there that he learned to animate, working with george pal, a renowned puppet - film maker, who later became a hollywood producer. he formed his own film studio in 1932 with gyula macskássy, who later founded the pannonia film studio in hungary. work proved to be so scarce that john answered an advertisement for a design job in paris - only to find the post actually involved selling salami! just as george orwell had done - in down and out in paris and london - john struggled to survive, so when in 1936 he was asked to set up an animation studio in london he leapt at the opportunity. whilst advertising for animators to work on a film called music man, about franz list' s childhood, he met and employed joy batchelor - and a fifty - year partnership began .
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from the outset joy was more that just an animator, she took on writing, directing and designing the films as well as producing them. her sense of humour counterbalanced john’s ambition and drive and they were united in their belief that animation should be recognised as an art form and that through it they could make a difference .
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their daughter vivien halas, who has been responsible for the collection since her father' s death in 1995, said the bfi was the best possible home for it .
it is such a joy to feel that it' s going to the right place because it is such an important part of our heritage ,
she said .
if you follow the history of the studio it is like a social and art history of britain .
future learning and skills – giving everyone the opportunity to build a lifelong relationship with film .
by 1950 the studio had made over 100 films, such as dustbin parade 1941, in which a brave bone leads his rag and scrap metal friends to help with the war effort and the abu series 1943, made in arabic featuring abu a small boy and his donkey facing fascism. the unit also made two feature length training films, handling ships 1945 and water for fire fighting 1948 .
throughout his long career john experimented with new film techniques, from 3d stereoscopic animation to computer animation, producing award winning films such as the owl and the pussycat (1952), autobahn (1979) and dilemma (1981). he also employed computer animation in his great masters series (1985), about the lives and work of great artists such as da vinci, botticelli and lautrec .
government work continued on after the war with the charley series 1946 - 48 that launched the new social security plans introduced by sir stafford cripps the socialist chancellor of the exchequer. they also made films for the marshal plan and the recovery of europe, the shoemaker and the hatte r 1949 and think of the future 1953 .
promotional and instructional films made by the studio, including the admiralty - sponsored handling ships (1944 - 45), and water for fire fighting (1948), a 3d model animation made for fire - fighter recruitment purposes, led to an acceptance of animation as a mode of expression which could engage with mature subjects and serious themes. the studio was commissioned by chancellor of the exchequer sir stafford cripps to make a series of cartoons featuring the sourpuss' charley', a vociferous opponent of the proposed welfare state reforms - and self - evidently in the wrong. similarly, the shoemaker and the hatter (1949) and think for the future (1949) were commissioned by the us government to promote marshall aid and post - war european co - operation .
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george orwell, english novelist, essayist, and critic famous for his novels animal farm (1945) and nineteen eighty - four (1949), the latter a profound anti - utopian novel that examines the dangers of totalitarian rule. born…
joy wrote and co - wrote literally hundreds of scripts, commercials, propaganda, educational and entertainment films including the first charley films made for the coi in 1946 to introduce social security, animal farm (1954), george orwell’s classic allegorical fable, the world of little ig (1956) a story of a prehistoric boy that pre - dated hanna - barbera’s flintstones and for better for worse (1959) a sponsored film for philips about the potential benefits and evil of television .
in 1940 marks an anchor point for all that came after it. their secret formula was a heady mix of artistic ambition, opportunism and advocacy. john in particular was not just a spokesperson (and salesman) for his company; he was pitching animation as a whole – as an art form, a business, a unique form of visual communication… hey, it was an answer to all the world’s problems! it just so happened that his company was at the centre of it, and john and joy’s efforts put it there .
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after the war john and joy made their first self - sponsored film, magic canvas 1948. it was a response to their war years graphically illustrating man’s struggle for freedom. matyas seiber, a fellow hungarian émigré, composed original score for the film as well as the music for animal farm. this was followed by a joint project with the bfi for the festival of britain the poet and painter series 1951 and then one of the first stereoscopic films in 3d the owl and the pussycat 1952 based on the nonsense poem of edward lear. the following year came the figurehead 1953 from the poem by crosbie garston. matyas seiber composed the music for all these films and many more until his tragic death in 1960 .
animation, the art of making inanimate objects appear to move. animation is an artistic impulse that long predates the movies. history’s first recorded animator is pygmalion of greek and roman mythology, a sculptor who created a figure of a woman so perfect that he fell in love with her and…
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there, they initially made a living illustrating posters, books and magazines, eventually finding work with the j. walter thompson advertising agency, which set them up in their film unit at bush house, london making ads such as train trouble 1940 for kellogg’s and carnival in the clothes cupboard 1940 for lux .
the studio continued to make personal satirical statements whenever possible. these included award winning films such as history of the cinema 1957 a satire based on the film industry, automania 2000 1963, a prophetic look the fruits of over production and dilemma 1981, a film about the use and misuse of man’s skills .
john was a founder member and the president of the international animated film association (asifa) from 1960 to 1985, then honorary president. this led him to put together a series for the bbc, the masters of animation; in 1987 that brought together work from the best animators around the world. he was the author of numerous invaluable books on animation and design, but perhaps his greatest talent was to make things happen - to assemble the right people, motivate them, and get projects off the ground .
and if i ever think i might get tired of the whole business, then any one of these five favourites will serve of a reminder of what it is all about .
a constant stream of work coming in from industry made it possible to fund the personal projects. these films, mostly commissioned by british energy companies such as bp, shell and british gas were amongst the studios best and longest lasting productions. films such as old as the hills (the origins of oil) 1950, moving spirit (the history of the motor car) 1951, we’ve come a long way (the history of tanker ships) 1952, power to fly (the history of aviation) 1953 and many others .
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john' s experience of religious differences within his own family and a deep personal knowledge of the effects of intolerance - many of his family perished in the holocaust - brought a profoundly humanitarian element to his more personal work, often through satire and humour. celebrated films such as magic canvas (1948), automania 2000 (1963), the question (1967) and dilemma (1981) all posed the question that bothered him over the years: will man’s inevitable progress bring about his ultimate destruction? john died in 1995, the question still unanswered .
different generations will have different memories: the only feature - length animation of animal farm, perhaps, or the first murray mints tv ad. then there was foo foo from the 1960s, jackson five and asterix cartoons from the 1970s, numerous education films screened in schools or one of the first pop videos featuring downright weird and trippy animation that accompanied kraftwerk' s autobahn in 1979 .
over the years the studio experimented with new technologies as they became available. these included the owl and the pussycat 1952 made by brian borthwick in stereoscopic film to autobahn 1980, to roger mainwood’s debut film based on kraftwerks music, one of the first films made using computer animated sequences for videodisk and dilemma 1981 designed by hungarian artist janos kass which was one of the first fully digitally produced films .
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a million miles from charley, autobahn is a 13 - minute trip into a psychedelic, krautrock headspace commissioned by the record company of the band kraftwerk. fresh out of the royal college of art, animator roger mainwood was given a long leash to produce his own response to the music (he never met or discussed visuals with the group) and produced a stunning marriage of images and music. seeing this film on the big screen with the volume really pumping is one of my fondest cinema memories .
, (respectively, born april 16, 1912, budapest, hungary—died jan. 20 / 21, 1995, london, england; born may 12, 1914, watford, hertfordshire, england—died may 14, 1991, london), british husband - and - wife production team, noted for their influential
from 1961 to 1969 the studio produced a series of educational films that were released on 8mm under the title concept films 1961 - 69. the studio also made a series of animated language teaching films: english the carters of greenwood 1964, russian martian in moscow 1964, and french les aventures de la famille carré 1964 .
by 1950 the studio had made over 100 films, two of which were features. their unique ability to produce longer works, for an adult audience, created not only new genre of animation, but gave them the necessary experience for making animal farm, their best - known work. adapted from george orwell' s classic book, animal farm was released in 1954, and won critical acclaim worldwide .
preliminary treatments for this comic, dystopian short reveal that it was initially entitled ‘1985’, intended as a joke on orwell’s 1984, which would have continued the company’s relationship with the author. the final film bears little relation to that idea; there is no dictatorial big brother controlling society as there is no need. everyone is kept in check by a relentless pursuit of new gadgets and gizmos that endlessly fulfil our every wish while simultaneously creating a new desire. sound preposterous ?
joy was the often unseen driving force behind most of the work even in the later years when she no longer came into the studio john relied heavily on her critical overview. her feature film, ruddigore (1964), was the first animated operetta, perfectly capturing the tongue in cheek quality of its creators, gilbert and sullivan. by the mid 1970s she retired through ill health, but continued to teach at the london international film school, where she remained a governor until her death in 1991 .
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britain' s first full - length animated entertainment feature, animal farm captures the spirit of orwell' s timeless political fable with compassion. it has become today more relevant than ever .
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halas and batchelor was a british animation company founded by husband and wife john halas and joy batchelor . halas was a hungarian émigré to the u.k . the company had studios in london and cainscross , in the stroud district of gloucestershire . from 1936 halas ran a small animation unit that created commercials for theatrical distribution , and batchelor responded to his advertisement for an assistant . halas and batchelor cartoon films was founded in 1940 , and during world war ii the company made about 70 animated propaganda short films for the british ministry of information . hb 's first feature film handling ships ( 1945 ) was the first-ever british animated feature . after the war , they continued making short films while animal farm ( 1954 ) was being made , erroneously considered the first british animated feature . the studio grew from a small unit to a proper animation company , with several different british locations . its best-known animation series were foo foo ( 1959 – 60 ) , popeye the sailor ( 1960-62 ) , dodo , the kid from outer space ( 1965-70 ) and the lone ranger ( 1966 – 69 ) . halas and batchelor also produced snip and snap ( 1960 ) and the clip for the song " love is all " from roger glover 's album the butterfly ball and the grasshopper 's feast ( 1976 ) . as well as short films , the studio made a few feature films , such as ruddigore ( 1967 ) . the company was sold to tyne tees television in the early 1970s , although halas and batchelor themselves broke away from this association after a few years . most of the 2,000 films now form part of the halas and batchelor collection in 1996 . this collection was part of a donation by the couple 's daughter to the british film institute in 2010 . 
halas and batchelor was a british animation company founded by husband and wife john halas and joy batchelor. halas was a hungarian émigré to the u.k. the company had studios in london and cainscross, in the stroud district of gloucestershire. from 1936 halas ran a small animation unit that created commercials for theatrical distribution, and batchelor responded to his advertisement for an assistant. halas and batchelor cartoon films was founded in 1940, and during world war ii the company made about 70 animated propaganda short films for the british ministry of information. hb's first feature film handling ships (1945) was the first-ever british animated feature. after the war, they continued making short films while animal farm (1954) was being made, erroneously considered the first british animated feature. the studio grew from a small unit to a proper animation company, with several different british locations. its best-known animation series were foo foo (1959 – 60), popeye the sailor (1960-62), dodo, the kid from outer space (1965-70) and the lone ranger (1966 – 69). halas and batchelor also produced snip and snap (1960) and the clip for the song " love is all " from roger glover's album the butterfly ball and the grasshopper's feast (1976). as well as short films, the studio made a few feature films, such as ruddigore (1967). the company was sold to tyne tees television in the early 1970s, although halas and batchelor themselves broke away from this association after a few years. most of the 2,000 films now form part of the halas and batchelor collection in 1996. this collection was part of a donation by the couple's daughter to the british film institute in 2010.
halas and batchelor was a british animation company founded by husband and wife john halas and joy batchelor. halas was a hungarian émigré to the u.k. the company had studios in london and cainscross, in the stroud district of gloucestershire. from 1936 halas ran a small animation unit that created commercials for theatrical distribution, and batchelor responded to his advertisement for an assistant. halas and batchelor cartoon films was founded in 1940, and during world war ii the company made about 70 animated propaganda short films for the british ministry of information. hb's first feature film handling ships (1945) was the first-ever british animated feature. after the war, they continued making short films while animal farm (1954) was being made, erroneously considered the first british animated feature. the studio grew from a small unit to a proper animation company, with several different british locations. its best-known animation series were foo foo (1959 – 60), popeye the sailor (1960-62), dodo, the kid from outer space (1965-70) and the lone ranger (1966 – 69). halas and batchelor also produced snip and snap (1960) and the clip for the song " love is all " from roger glover's album the butterfly ball and the grasshopper's feast (1976). as well as short films, the studio made a few feature films, such as ruddigore (1967). the company was sold to tyne tees television in the early 1970s, although halas and batchelor themselves broke away from this association after a few years. most of the 2,000 films now form part of the halas and batchelor collection in 1996. this collection was part of a donation by the couple's daughter to the british film institute in 2010.