Giro - Fast and Loose

1935
Silent
9m

Don't listen to Slacky the Sloucher or Giro the Germ will stage a jailbreak - public health cartoon by the Health & Cleanliness Council

You didn't listen to Slacky the Sloucher did you? This surprisingly modern looking layabout gads about town preaching his skiving philosophy, and the next thing you know Giro the Germ is loose. The Health and Cleanliness Council had come up with the beastly Giro character in 1927, and this was his fourth appearance on film. Look up Giro the Germ Episode 1 elsewhere on the Player to see the rapid change in style and technique.

Health propaganda cartoon: giro the germ escapes from captivity with the aid of slacky the slouch, but is overcome by hot water, soap and electricity.

Animation Goes to Work

For those with an official message to get across, animation is the perfect messenger

Animation has an almost magical ability to charm and captivate. And those same qualities also make it a strikingly effective communication tool. It grabs attention, speaks to all ages, and can distil complex messages into simple and appealing visual metaphors. For government or other august bodies, cartoon antics have often been the perfect jam to sweeten the pill of official communications, whether to explain sweeping change or impart health and safety messages. And for the inventive animator, even the most utilitarian brief is no barrier to the most outlandish of treatments.