Othello

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Contains racist characterisation (blackface)

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Othello

1920
Silent
11m

An animated Moor of Venice brings comedy to Shakespeare's tragedy, in this cut-out cartoon with some neat tricks up its sleeve

O, beware, my lord, of jealousy' - cut-out animation is often seen as something of a poor cousin when it comes to cartoon technique, but as this film fragment shows, it has a lot to offer. Anson Dyer produced a series of short animated burlesques of Shakespeare for leading British producer Cecil Hepworth, of which just two appear to survive, with Othello incomplete.

Look at the character's eyes following the artist's hand as he finishes his drawing. Or the clever interplay as Dyer brings a match to a drawn candle, blackens a cork on the flame and starts to darken the actor's face, before passing it to the character to finish off the job himself. These are the cut-out equivalents of Felix the Cat's tail turning into a question mark or a golf club, or Bugs Bunny messing with Daffy in Duck Amuck (1953).

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.