Charley in New Town

Charley in New Town


Meet Charley, your jovial cartoon guide to Britain's changing towns and cities. Interestingly, the New Towns Act of 1946 is not explicitly mentioned in this film, with the recommendations presented as if they had been conjured up by a popular movement. Halas & Batchelor worked with the Central Office of Information on seven Charley films which communicated many of the landmark policies of the postwar Labour Government.

This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.


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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. 


58 videos in this collection

Who needs to talk to strangers when you're the only one who can understand the garbled mewling of your best buddy cat, Charley?
1

Strangers

2

Giro - Fast and Loose

3

Pan-tele-tron

4

John the Bull

Dangerously addicted to old movies? This is a case for Dr BFI, as demonstrated in this 1970s animated promo
5

The Dream of Arthur Sleap

6

"T" For Teacher

7

Robinson Charley

8

The Story of Time

9

A Modern Guide to Health

Killjoy, or conscience of a generation? Charley cat scuppers a playdate, but earns a fishy picnic through doing the right thing
10

Mummy Should Know

The lure of a toy shop proves almost too much for Tufty the squirrel .
11

Tufty: Shopping

12

Abu and the Poisoned Well

13

Pretend You'll Survive

Fun-filled singalong savings ad with a dangerously catchy theme tune.
14

Bob in the Pound

15

Compost Heap

Cartoon propaganda short sweetens the pill of post-war coal prices by promising jam tomorrow
16

Charley's Black Magic

17

Local Government A History in Pictures

18

Balance 1950

Santa's on strike! This charming animation for the GPO advises early posting to keep Father Christmas onside.
19

Christmas is Coming

Delayed trains, crowded carriages, and standing room only: Blitz spirit makes a parent's nightmare commute a walk in the park
20

Summer Travelling

21

Charley in New Town

22

Think of the Future

An animated tale with a Lutheran message that's equal parts Christmas spirit and good old-fashioned guilt
23

The Candlemaker

24

For Better, For Worse

"Dad... I want a bike!” Fun animated campaign aimed at 50s parents and their over-eager offspring.
25

Cycling Proficiency Scheme: Father and Son

Official government permission to stagger into work late. Hurrah!
26

Stagger Working Hours: Cattle

27

Lff Trailer 1995

Quirky photo-montage film warning of the perils of drink driving.
28

Drink Drive Office Party Cartoon (Version 2)

29

Man of No Account

30

Is This a Record?

A chorus of coal fires sing for their cut-price supper in this short animated ad for the National Coal Board.
31

Solid Fuel

32

The Rise of Parnassus Needy

Yo-yo, Pogo and Splat (guess which one's the lemon head?) feature in this innovative stop-motion railway safety film
33

A Mug's Game, Or, How to Squash a Lemon Head

Zippy public information animation on how to keep up with the Joneses - by getting a rebate on rates.
34

Rate Rebates 1969

Cartoon calamities are in store for the proper Charlie in this rail worker safety message, but there's serious advice too
35

Careful Charlie

Miracle urban renewal and redevelopment in Victorian Newtown, Exeter.
36

Streets Ahead

37

Space Invader

38

Little Johnny Head-in-Air

39

Children and Disused Refrigerators

Miners' safety training - marked by stylish animation and gallows humour.
40

Thud and Blunder in Knock off Time

Home safety is child's play if you have the feline guardian angel of the 70s on hand
41

Matches

No time to veg out – there's a war on. Get your vegetables out!
42

Filling the Gap

If you can't stand the heat, Charley, get out of the kitchen and spread your message
43

In the Kitchen

White elephant Willie becomes a volunteer collector for the National Savings scheme in this Technicolor animation
44

Willie Does His Stuff

45

Frank Muir Falls into a Kitchen Think

Tufty and friends - a road safety classic remastered!
46

Tufty: Playing Near the Road

Charley's cat-astrophic teatime hijinks leave him with a burning message to share
47

Teapot

48

Super Natural Gas

49

The Referee

Dusty the kangaroo catches a shadowy figure in the act of dumping an old mattress in this campaigning cartoon
50

Dusty No. 6 : Dusty Says Keep Britain Tidy

Dusty the kangaroo patrols a train in this campaigning cartoon - until she comes upon a litter strewn carriage...
51

Dusty No. 12: Dusty Says Keep Britain Tidy

Nothing beats a relaxing picnic on the beach – but beware Dusty the kangaroo
52

Dusty No. 16 : Dusty Says Keep Britain Tidy

53

The History of Grease

Kids don't always listen to their parents. But in the 70s they certainly listened to a giant ginger tabby cat...
54

Falling in the Water

A dancing radio stops partying to transmit an announcement on fuel conservation in this WWII cartoon short
55

Cold Comfort

56

The Great Gordino

57

Willie Comes to Life

58

Branches of Life

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