 It was the first British animated feature ("Water for Firefighting" and "Handling Ships", two feature-length wartime training films, were produced earlier, but did not receive a formal cinema release).The US CIA paid for the filming, part of the American cultural offensive during the Cold War, and influenced the presentation of Orwell's ideas.The CIA initially funded Louis de Rochemont to begin work on a film version of Orwell's work, and he hired Halas & Batchelor, an animation firm in London that had made propaganda films for the British government.