The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom

What does it mean to be British? You might not have a much clearer idea after watching this animated portrait, but you will certainly be entertained

With the ink drying on the Maastricht Treaty, animators across Europe were commissioned to make cartoon calling cards for their respective countries under the title 'Know Your Europeans'. Britain's first animated Oscar winner Bob Godfrey, best known for his work on Roobarb and Henry's Cat, was chosen to make the UK entry, which he handles with a typical mix of irreverence, ingenuity and humour. Long-term collaborator Colin Pearson contributes the lyrics, with Chris 'Red Dwarf' Barrie the voice.

The film was co-produced by Halas & Batchelor, with the Hungarian-born, naturalised Brit, John Halas the main utopian spark behind the project. Eurosceptics might not be surprised that the project fell somewhat short of its original ambitions, and this UK effort was one of the few films completed.

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Animated Classics

Showcasing the best and brightest of British animation

12 videos in this collection

What does it mean to be British? You might not have a much clearer idea after watching this animated portrait, but you will certainly be entertained

The United Kingdom

  • 1994
If anyone can bring Henri Toulouse-Lautrec’s sketchbooks to life, Geoff Dunbar can-can

Lautrec

  • 1974
This animated allegory with a message of mediation was so successful it was adopted by the United Nations

A Short Tall Story

  • 1970
Tennis match escalates into apocalypse

Players

  • 1982

Music Man

  • 1938
Part experimental cinema, part advert for the parcel post service, always joyful.

A Colour Box

  • 1935

The Victor

  • 1985

Carmen

  • 1936
A line-drawing love story in a surreal land, made to advertise Empire Air Mail but withheld due to "Freudian" symbolism.

Love on the Wing

  • 1939

Fox Hunt

  • 1936

The Ladder

  • 1967

Ubu

  • 1978
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