Halas and Batchelor was founded by John Halas and Joy Batchelor in 1940. Previous to 1940, Halas had developed his animation skills in Hungary, working on his co-founded animation studio Colorition in 1932. By 1934, he was producing his own cartoons and in 1936 he moved to England, where he met Joy Batchelor.

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Batchelor was born in Watford in 1914. She studied art and design at the town’s art school in her late teens. After finishing, she worked in print media, most notably with Donald Zec of the Daily Mirror. She transitioned into animation shortly after this, working with Dennis Connolly. She met Halas when she answered his newspaper advert looking for animators, soon after he had moved to England.

 

They were married in 1940 and founded the Halas and Batchelor animation studio the same year. The studio has many iconic films over the years, including Animal Farm (1954), Popeye the Sailor (1960-62) and Ruddigore (1967). In the early years, the studio worked with MOI to produce public information films for the war, and the years following. This started with Dig For Victory, and through this period Halas and Batchelor made 70 films for the MOI. Films such as Your Very Good Health, (1948) and Charley in New Town (1948) were made to highlight post-war rebuilding. The studio ran successfully for thirty years, until it was sold in the 1970s to Tyne Tees Television. John and Joy stepped away from the company during this time. Halas and Batchelor became a highly important part of British film history, and their association with the war effort and post-war restoration gives them a prominent place in public information film history.