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The Elstree Erbs

1 Jan 1930
Sound
7m

Teddie, Piggie and Poll might not have gone down in history like Mickey Mouse, but here is a British answer to Disney's Steamboat Willie

Disney must have been quaking in his boots. With the all-American Mickey Mouse dominating the British screens the hunt was on for a British equivalent. Joe Noble had been animating since the early 1920s, and was a prime mover in bringing synchronised sound to cartoons. The temporary titles and lack of follow-up episodes is a sign that this effort fell somewhat short of the mark in both technique and tone.

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Creatures Great and Small

Fur, feathers, bugs or beaks: from the start animators have cast the whole natural world in their human comedies and dramas

Would you know Mickey was a mouse if you didn’t know his surname? Many of the most famous animated characters are drawn from the animal kingdom, but they rarely behave quite as nature intended. Anthropomorphism has a long history in storytelling - going back to Aesop and beyond - and animation has imported it into film. But whether it's Bonzo the Dog or Charley the Cat, these characters are really studies in human nature.