Language

Audio:

English LPCM 2.0

Subtitles:

English

Extras

• Newly restored in 4K from the original 35mm Successive Frame negative by the BFI and presented in High Definition
• Limited edition including a 60-page perfect-bound book, double-sided poster, a set of four postcards and rigid- board slipcase
• Vintage audio commentary by writer and broadcaster Brian Sibley
• Newly recorded audio commentary by animation scholar Sam Summers
• Animal Farm line tests (6 mins): rare surviving line tests from Animal Farm, offering a glimpse of the film’s animation in progress as drawings are checked for movement, timing and continuity before final production
• Inside the Archive: Halas and Batchelor and Animal Farm (2026, 14 mins)
• Clapperboard (extracts) (1980, 38 mins): a selection of extracts from Clapperboard: The Halas & Batchelor Story a three-part celebration of the work of Halas & Batchelor which aired in 1980 for their 40th anniversary. John Halas talks to Chris Kelly about their history so far, discussing several key films, all of which are included on this release
• An Animated Utopia: The Life and Achievement of John Halas (2012, 67 mins): Paul Well's documentary essay is a profile of the life of work of John Halas. Made for his centenary, it features interviews with many of the people who worked with Halas and clips from his films.
• Ode to Joy (2014, 4 mins): Martin Pickles' celebration of the life and work of Joy Batchelor. Made to mark the centenary of her birth
• Halas & Batchelor: Short Films (1942-1967, 88 mins): a collection of short films selected especially for this release: Filling the Gap, Dustbin Parade, Cold Comfort, Six Little Jungle Boys, Your Very Good Health, Robinson Charley, The Magic Canvas, The Owl and the Pussycat, Midsummer Nightmare, The Cultured Ape, Automania 2000, and The Question
• 60-page book featuring new essays on Animal Farm by Jez Stewart, Vivien Halas, Professor Paul Wells, Kevin Le Gendre, and Charlie Brigden, and writing on the short films by Ros Cranston, Katy McGahan, Charlie Brigden, and Ellen Cheshire. Also includes rarely seen material from the archives of animator Arthur Humberstone and Halas & Batchelor.
• Newly created English descriptive subtitles

Trailer

Info

Description

Mr. Jones once owned a prosperous and profitable farm, but now his affairs were going from bad to worse. Unable to solve his problems, Mr. Jones began to abuse alcohol. Among his poor drinking companions, he found good listeners to whom he could tell about his sorrows... This unusual story begins on an evening when Mr. Jones came home later than usual after another drinking binge...

Director & Cast

Director: Joy Batchelor, John Halas

Cast: Gordon Heath, Maurice Denham