The Latest News

1904
Silent
1m

The 'Bill Bailey' punchline might have lost its meaning over the years, but this comic gag short features some of Britain's earliest animation

Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home? No, not the surreal, half-hirsute comedian. Hughie Cannon's 1902 jazz song was top of the pops on both side of the Atlantic in the early 20th century, and is the reference that makes this gag short make sense. But the real importance of the film today is that it seems to be the earliest date-verified example of stop-motion animation in the BFI National Archive collection.

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.