Matches

1973
Sound
1m

Home safety is child's play if you have the feline guardian angel of the 70s on hand

Saving the 70s from one cat-astrophe after another, we have a lot to thank Charley for. Tailoring safety messages for children young enough to play with building blocks requires strategy. With only 30 seconds to get a lesson across, a large ginger tabby cat who plays with you, looks out for you, and speaks in a hilarious garbled mewling is just the teacher you need.

Animated public information filler. Charley the cat and the boy are playing when they come across a box of matches. Charley stops the boy from touching them and tells him to let a grown-up know as they can hurt you.

Animated Britain

An animated portrait of a nation, brought to life frame by painstaking frame

Since the early 1900s a disparate array of artists in Britain have drawn, sculpted, snipped, stamped, posed, clicked and scratched their art into celluloid life. This collection surveys a stunningly rich history, from the age of the pioneers to the best commercial and independent animators, taking in home hobbyists bitten by the animation bug.

Through its own weird alchemy, animation can bring our wildest imaginings to life, and yet it can also be a powerful tool for exploring our everyday reality. Silly, surreal, sweet or caustic, this dizzyingly diverse selection showcases British animation's unique contribution to the art form, and offers a history ripe for rediscovery.