While some might believe that Walt Disney had the first feature-length animated film with
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937, the Disney film is the fourth animated feature-length film, and was two decades late for first place. The first two animated feature-length films were
directed by an Italian in Argentia in 1917 and 1918, though all prints of those films are presumed lost or destroyed. The third animated full-length feature,
Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (
The Adventures of Prince Achmed), came out the same year that the first two were lost to fire. This third animated film was a silhouette animation made by a German artist named
Lotte Reiniger. The original negatives are considered lost, but a supposedly first-generation positive (from the camera negative) remains and the film has been restored from this stock (
full film with limited subtitles,
5 minute preview with English subtitles and the full film viewable with Veoh plug-in). More information and videos inside.
The first animated feature film was
El Apóstol, followed by
Sin dejar rastros, both written and directed by
Quirino Cristiani. His career in film was limited to 27 years in film (
1916-1943), but rather notable for early animation firsts. Cristiani's last major film,
Peludópolis, was the first full-length animated motion picture with sound, presented with
sound-on-disc. The only known prints of his first films were destroyed in a fire in 1926, and his final work was also lost to fire, this time in 1961, giving Cristiani two films on a list of
Top 50 Lost Films of All Time.
Lotte Reiniger was born in 1899, and she was fascinated by
Chinese silhouette puppets from an early age (
shadow puppetry previously). She created her first shadow theater at the age of six, and ultimately had a career that spanned 60 years (
1919-1979, not counting her early credits
going back to 1916) and some 70 film credits to her name. Her most recalled accomplishment was creating the first German animated film,
Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed. The animation was made with cardboard and thin sheets of lead, and color tinting. Reiniger wrote about the process of creating and restoring the film (
PDF,
Google html cache), and she noted that the complete original Wolfgang Zeller accompanying score was preserved in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Silhouette puppetry of a sort lives on in a new mini-series,
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello. The series currently consists of four episodes (called "voyages") that are set in a the world of steampunk aeronautics, utilizing a silhouette animation style that
has been likened to The Adventures of Prince Achmed. The first voyage,
Jasper Morello and the Lost Airship is
on YouTube in full (
previously). Unlike
Anthony Lucas' earlier
stop-motion animation, the Mysterious Geographic Explorations are
a mix of 3D computer graphics, photographic composition and miniatures. The
Gothia Gazette has more information on the series.
This rambling journey through early animation and silhouette work was set off by
Tor Books, who have laid claim to October as
Steampunk Month on their website. The Jasper Morello video was one of
three animations, the other two being shorts (#2:
The Aeronaut {also on
mtvU with sharper sound, but also watermarks} by Nicholas Lombardo; #3:
Komedi - A Gentelan's Duel, by
Blur Studios, who were
mentioned previously
twice).
Selections from the List of Lotte Reinger works
1920 -
Das Geheimnis der Marquise (MP4) (The Marquise's Secret) for Nivea skin cream
1954 -
Cinderella (10:29),
The Little Chimneysweep (9:53),
The Frog Prince (10:24)
1955 -
Hansel and Gretel (10:32), Jack and the Beanstock (
from the beginning,
missing the first minute, and a bit of the end)
1971 -
The Art of Lotte Reiniger (17:02), featuring Ms. Reiniger herself, creating silhouette puppets and describing the process
Extra links
Previously:
steampunkery,
Czech animator Karel Zeman,
German animator Hans Fischerkoesen
Etcetera:
Bullet Bill and Bob-Omb as Victorian gentlemen
Bonus video:
Grand Drive "Firefly" (4:05), music video with shadow-puppet animation inspired by Lotte Reiniger, produced by
Trunk Animation
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posted by filthy light thief at 1:03 PM on October 27, 2009 [6 favorites]