Strangers
- 1973
White elephant Willie becomes a volunteer collector for the National Savings scheme in this Technicolor animation
Willie is a white elephant, the star of a National Savings scheme poster exhorting the message "If you don't need it - don't buy it!" This film brings him to life, and he steps down from the wall to become a volunteer collector - one so successful that naughty children even put down their cigarettes to follow him. This charming animation is filled with winning touches, such as Willie turning himself into a film projector with a cranking tail.
Technicolor Cartoon.
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.