Joy Batchelor

Birthday: 1914-05-22
Deathday: 1991-05-14
Birthplace: Watford, Hertfordshire, England, UK
Gender: Female

Joy Ethel Batchelor (12 May 1914 – 14 May 1991) was an English animator, director, screenwriter, and producer. She married John Halas in 1940 and subsequently co-established Halas and Batchelor cartoons, whose best known production is the animated feature film Animal Farm (1954), which made her the first woman director of an animated feature since Lotte Reiniger. Together they created over 2000 shorts/films, and produced roughly 70 propaganda pieces during World War II for the British government. She helped co-write, write, animate, produce, and direct many of their productions.

One of her projects as an art director was Cinerama Holiday (1955). Joy directed and wrote Ruddigore (1967), a television-film adaptation of W.S. Gilbert's opera of the same name, which became the first opera to be adapted into an animated film. She later worked in television, directing series, including animated shows like The Jackson 5ive (1971). Batchelor died on 14 May 1991, just two days after her 77th birthday.

Credits

Year Title
1970-04-06 The Five
1967-04-01 Ruddigore
1966-01-01 Little Tom Thumb
1959-01-01 Piping Hot
1956-12-25 The Candlemaker
1954-12-28 Animal Farm
1950-01-01 The Shoemaker and the Hatter
1949-10-01 Charley's Black Magic
1949-07-18 R.A.F.: First Line of Defence
1949-07-01 Farmer Charley
1949-01-02 Charley Junior's Schooldays
1948-07-16 Robinson Charley
1948-01-02 Charley's March of Time
1948-01-01 Charley in New Town
1948-01-01 Your Very Good Health
1947-04-01 Dolly, Put the Kettle On
1946-06-05 A Modern Guide to Health
1946-01-01 Train Trouble
1945-11-15 6 Little Jungle Boys
1945-06-22 Handling Ships
1944-12-01 Christmas Wishes
1944-05-04 Cold Comfort
1943-01-01 Abu and the Poisoned Well
1943-01-01 Abu's Dungeon
1942-01-01 Filling the Gap
1942-01-01 Dustbin Parade
1942-01-01 Fable of the Fabrics
1941-01-01 Carnival in the Clothes Cupboard