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John Halas

John Halas

Directing

Biography

John Halas OBE was a pioneering British animator. Together with Gyula Macskássy, and Félix Kassowitz, Halász co-founded Hungary's first animation studio, Coloriton, in 1932. Coloriton existed for 4 years, producing animations for cinemas, including Boldog király kincse.

Known For

Animal Farm
7.1

Animals on a farm lead a revolution against the farmers to put their destiny in their own hands. However this revolution eats their own children and they cannot avoid corruption.

Animal Farm

1954
The Twelve Tasks of Asterix
7.3

Asterix and Obelix depart on an adventure to complete twelve impossible tasks to prove to Caesar that they are as strong as the Gods. You'll roar with laughter as they outwit, outrun, and generally outrage the very people who are trying to prove them "only human".

The Twelve Tasks of Asterix

1976
Heavy Metal
6.5

The embodiment of ultimate evil, a glowing orb terrorizes a young girl with bizarre stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror.

Heavy Metal

1981
DoDo, The Kid from Outer Space
8.0

DoDo, The Kid from Outer Space was an animated cartoon series that was syndicated to television from 1965-1970. DoDo was a young extraterrestrial from the planet Hena Hydro, who came to Earth in his flying saucer and had numerous adventures. Other cast members included Professor Fingers, an eccentric scientist who somewhat resembled the later Professor Utonium; Compy, DoDo's computer/duck hybrid pet; and Why and How, two Earth children. The characters speak in rhymes, either independently or playing off each other. "DoDo" was created by Lady Stearn Robinson and produced by British animators Halas and Batchelor. A total of 78 five-minute episodes were filmed.

DoDo, The Kid from Outer Space

1965
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6.5

The Tomfoolery Show is an American cartoon comedy television series made and first broadcast in 1970, based on the works of Edward Lear. The animation was done at the Halas and Batchelor Studios in London and Stroud. Though the works of other writers were also used, notably Lewis Carroll and Ogden Nash, Lear's works were the main source, and characters like The Yongy Bonghy Bo and The Umbrageous Umbrella Maker were all Lear creations. Some original material was also written based on characters created by Lear, although much of the material was a straight recital of poems and limericks or songs using Lear's poems set to music. A recurring joke had a delivery boy running around trying to deliver a large plant and shouting 'Plant for Mrs Discobolus!'. The series was produced by Rankin/Bass, who also made the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman.

The Tomfoolery Show

1970
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N/A

Snip and Snap was a 1960 British animated series from Halas & Batchelor. It was directed by the Danish paper sculptor Thok Søndergaard and John Halas. It featured the exploits of a dog made of paper and pair of scissors.

Snip and Snap

1960
Secrets of British Animation
6.0

BBC Four’s new documentary takes us on a journey through more than a century of animation. It examines the creative and technical inventiveness of some of the great animation pioneers who have worked in Britain – trailblazing talents such as Len Lye, John Halas and Joy Batchelor, Joanna Quinn, and Bristol’s world-conquering Aardman Animations.

Secrets of British Animation

2018
European Folk Tales
N/A

No description available.

European Folk Tales

1978
Automania 2000
7.2

An animated, dark satire of America's automobile-obsessed, consumerist culture. An anonymous, brilliant scientist toils tirelessly in his ivory tower satisfying the public's ever-increasing demands for novelty and status consciousness, with predictable environmental consequences.

Automania 2000

1964
The Monster of Highgate Ponds
6.7

The story of three children who find themselves with a friendly monster that grows at an alarming rate.

The Monster of Highgate Ponds

1961
The Magic Canvas
7.0

A powerfully graphic piece of animation that best expresses John Halas' own feelings about mans universal quest for freedom.

The Magic Canvas

1948
The Hoffnung Palm Court Orchestra
6.5

This a story of a violinist, pianist and cellist as they perform from place-to-place, under very unusual conditions. Every time they play, they remind someone of a lost love, so they are hired immediately hired by nightclub owners, ship captains and even a pirate... wherever circumstances take them.

The Hoffnung Palm Court Orchestra

1965
Dream Doll
6.5

A lonely man living in a large city buys a life-size sex doll. His relationship with his dream doll causes a certain reaction in the community. A bizarre adaption of Le Ballon Rouge.

Dream Doll

1979
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N/A

Ever seen a snake with a moustache? The Middle East was as much an ideological as a physical battleground in the Second World War. In the midst of the conflict Halas & Batchelor were commissioned by the British Government to make four cartoons featuring a young boy Abu and his mule. They were intended to demonstrate in simple visual terms that Britain was a stout friend and the Axis powers a pernicious evil.

Abu and the Poisoned Well

1943
The Three Musketeers
8.0

D'Artagnan and his musketeer comrades must thwart the plans of Cardinal Richelieu to usurp King Louis XIII's power.

The Three Musketeers

1974
Piping Hot
N/A

An animated film about the history and use of hot water.

Piping Hot

1959
Dolly, Put the Kettle On
5.0

Joy Batchelor directed, produced, wrote and designed this short film for Brook Bond Tea: two girls compete for the affections of a Teddy Bear.

Dolly, Put the Kettle On

1947
Ruddigore
7.0

The Baronet of Ruddigore, Sir Despard Murgatroyd, has inherited a family curse which forces him to commit a crime every day — or die in agony. He hates the curse, doing his heinous misdeeds as early as possible and good works for the rest of the day to compensate!

Ruddigore

1967
Robinson Charley
N/A

No man is an island, but Charley represents his nation in this economical cartoon tale of Britain’s economics.

Robinson Charley

1948
Fable of the Fabrics
N/A

A particularly vicious Father Time with a hit-list in his Book of Doom seeks to wipe out characters brought to life from fabric patterns. This neat concept for a cartoon washing powder commercial can be credited to Alexander Mackendrick, who worked at the J Walter Thompson advertising agency before making films at Ealing and then Hollywood.

Fable of the Fabrics

1942