[Orwell, George] Group of 4 Original "Animal Farm" Production Cels

(London): Halas and Batchelor Cartoon Films, Ltd, (ca. 1954). Comprising four original hand-painted and inked production cels for the animated film adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Each cel paired with their hand-painted gouache master background. Each cel 12 field size and composed of 2-5 transparent celluloid sheets; ink notations at bottom of cels; one background with Halas and Batchelor ink stamp on verso; one cel in mat.

Group of four original production cels from the groundbreaking 1954 animated film adaptation of George Orwell's novella, Animal Farm.

Directed by English filmmakers John Halas and Joy Batchelor, the film was covertly produced and funded by the CIA for use as Cold War propaganda. Following Orwell's death in 1950, the CIA's Office of Policy Coordination surreptitiously purchased the rights from Orwell's widow, Sonia Orwell, using undercover agents who posed as film executives. The CIA chose the studio of husband and wife team Halas and Batchelor due to their previous propaganda work for the British Ministry of Information, as they were wary of using Hollywood studios due to their perceived communist leanings. The sole American chosen was Disney Studio's John F. Reed, who worked as director of animation. Halas and Batchelor were awarded the contract to produce the feature in November 1951, and it was completed three years later, in April 1954, with animation done in London. Through their agents, the CIA influenced the film's production, most notably altering the script to diverge from Orwell's more pessimistic ending.

As Great Britain's first feature-length animated film, it was critically acclaimed at the time of its release, especially for its groundbreaking animation, with one newspaper headline reading, "The British out-Disney Disney". Despite it being a commercial failure, it quickly became a staple of classrooms in America and Great Britain.

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

Provenance

From the collection of Justin G. Schiller

[Orwell, George] Group of 4 Original "Animal Farm" Production Cels

[Orwell, George] Group of 4 Original "Animal Farm" Production Cels