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

1967
Sound
4m

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

Was there a Splat in your childhood? An overconfident show-off who roped you into something you knew you shouldn't do? This railway safety film appeals to children's common sense, rather than threatening them with disaster and off-screen carnage – although the narrator comes off as a bit of a pompous bully himself.

The stop-motion animation is clever and distinctive, thanks largely to the talents of the enigmatic Irish artist, stage designer and novelist Desmond MacNamara. Alongside his many other talents, MacNamara published a book on puppetry and was a whiz with papier-mâché. He didn't pursue animation further, though - a real shame, if the innovative techniques used in this film are anything to go by.

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.