Len Lye’s 1935 film, ‘A Colour Box,’ was made by painting and applying dye directly to the film surface. It is apparently the first direct paint film to gain a general public release and has been widely seen ever since. The film is an odd way to advertise for cheap parcel post and this message [...]

In 1936, experimental filmmaker Len Lye made this short surreal animation to advertise the benefits of Shell oil for lubricating things. The film is a hyper-saturated stop-motion extravaganza that involves a mechanical world turning on some sort of hand crank. There’s an adventurer driving around the sands of Egypt. His car winds down and konks [...]

Here’s a short animation by Tess Martin. It was animated with paint and a live actor on a public wall in Seattle.

‘Poezenklaas’ is a charming short animation by Victoria Cook. The fun Christmas song is by Brian Lonano. Via Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film.

‘The Snowman’ is a 1982 British television cartoon that has an introduction and narration by David Bowie. Thank you to Rob Smart.

This is a genuinely disturbing look at how you can teach your kids all about the cruel world they find themselves living in. Today’s pleasant little lesson comes courtesy of Mr. Mark Twain’s novel ‘The Mysterious Stranger‘ which had this scene adapted to claymation for the 1986 feature film, ‘The Adventures of Mark Twain.’ Satan [...]

Here’s the first animated version of a Tintin story from 1947. It was directed by Claude Misonne. I am very worried by the billboards around Los Angeles for the new Spielberg film. They are just horrifically ugly. That cannot be a good sign for the movie.

Ub Iwerks, the creator of Micky Mouse, produced this cartoon in 1934.

Thanks to Richard Metzger at Dangerous Minds