The Candlemaker

1957
Sound
13m

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

There's nothing like instilling children with a profound sense of guilt and penitence to rouse the Christmas spirit. This animated parable from the United Lutheran Churches of America positions giving, community and sacrifice at the heart of Christmas. The sections showing worship are handled with sensitivity and are quietly moving - although it's hard to blame young Tom for any mistake when his parents leave him alone with saucepans of hot molten wax.

The cartoon was commissioned from the British animation company Halas & Batchelor, which came to prominence on both sides of the Atlantic after their feature length version of George Orwell's Animal Farm (1954). The unit director Louis Dahl was a brother of author Roald and worked at a few animation studios in this period. The film was released in colour and black and white versions.

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.