Adolf's Busy Day

1940
Sound
8m

Who does he think he's kidding? This parodic day-in-the-life portrait of Mr Hitler is one of the very few British examples of comic cartoon propaganda from WW2.

A glimpse at Hitler's diary? No hoax this time, but a parodic propaganda cartoon produced during the 'phoney war', when it was perhaps easier to paint the FÃ¼hrer as just a fool. From shooting his own alarm clock in the morning, to an undignified dunking in the sea at the end of the day, the film is full of humorous pokes at Nazi pomp and circumstance. Just two days after its release on 24th May 1940, the evacuation of Dunkirk began making such a light-hearted approach seem out of step with the times.

The film was made by architectural draughtsman Lawrence Wright, under his pseudonym Lance White. He appears to be an entirely self-taught animator, cutting his teeth on a series of 9.5mm amateur cartoons about his other passions, gliding and buildings, including The Life and Career of Archie Teck (c.1935). He made a further cartoon, The Mail Goes Through (1947; also on BFI Player), before leaving animation behind. Future diversions to his continuing career as a draughtsman included writing published histories of both the bed and the toilet - essential bathroom reading.

Early Animation

The dawn of a new celluloid art: Britain's animation pioneers at peace and war

When you're creating a new art form, everything is experimental. The pioneers of animation in Britain cast a range of subjects as the stars of their films - the toys of an Edwardian child; insects and animals; Kaiser Bill and John Bull. But even the richest of fantasies on display here offer a window into the turbulent era in which they were made. When the nation went to war, animation was conscripted to meet its propaganda needs. In peacetime, the industry sought success as an entertainer, but found a career in sales.