An Animated Afternoon
On Saturday 18th December 2004 we will be showing a special programme of classic animated films. Including works from as early as 1906, this hour-long screening contains many early films, and illustratest a variety of different techniques.
Drawings that Walk and Talk
Compilation: Marie Seton/K.H. Frank (1938) 34 mins
Drawings that Walk and Talk is a collection of early animated films made between 1906 and 1933. Showing the development of black and white cartoons from Edwardian silent films to the introduction of sound, the anthology includes the earliest Vitagraph drawings, and many other classics.
A pre-war film that is featured is Emil Cohl's Drame chez les Fantoches (Drama among the Puppets) which was premiered in Paris in 1909 to great acclaim. In addition, extracts from two of Disney's first sound animations, Steamboat Willie and Skeleton Dance, show how the medium had evolved by the end of the 20s.
Many famous characters are also found in the compilation: Mutt and Jeff, Popeye the Sailor, Felix the Cat, Krazy Kat, and Bonzo, the main British rival to the American cartoons.
Snow White and Rose Red
Director: Lotte Reiniger (1953) 10 mins, UK
Born in Berlin in 1899, Lotte Reiniger developed a distinctive method of animating fables and fairytales with cut-out paper silhouettes. Her first films date from 1919, and by 1923 had started work on The Adventures of Prince Achmed, the first European animated feature film. Settling permanently in London in 1949, Snow White and Rose Red was released four years later. It is arguably the best of her films of this period; in it the bear character transcends the medium and suspends disbelief, becoming magically alive in the mind of the audience.
La Poulette Grise
Director: Norman McLaren (1947) 6 mins, Canada
A lullaby on film about the little grey hen who nests in the church, the little brown hen who nests in the moon, and others. Photographed from pastel drawings, the transient images express the dreamy mood of this old French song, sung by Anna Malenfant.
The Night Visitors
Director: Richard Ollive (1974) 6 mins, USA
On late patrol, a policeman has difficulty with Peter Pan and other nocturnal fantasy figures. The Night Visitors is a nostalgic, evocative nod to the fantasy world of turn-of-the-century children's book illustration, especially the work of Windsor McKay.
