It’s darkly surreal and somehow gently amusing.
A short animated film written, drawn and directed by David Lynch. Animation by Noriko Miyakawa. Music by Marek Zebrowski.
Category Archives: Animation
The Little Mermaid: 1968 Soviet Animation of the Tale by Hans Christian Andersen
This is a beautiful 1968 Soviet adaptation of ‘The Little Mermaid,’ by Hans Christian Andersen. It was produced by the great Soyuzmultfilm studio. There are no subtitles. Just enjoy it as a brilliantly animated musical approach to a great tale.
The film begins with a busload of tourists sightseeing in Copenhagen. Then it moves to sea and our story begins…
The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights: Russian Fairytale Animation
This is a 1951 Russian animation of an 1833 fairytale poem written by Alexander Pushkin that is based upon the classic Grimms tale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was directed by Ivan Pyetrovich Ivanov-Vano, known as the ‘patriarch of Soviet animation.’
You can read Pushkin’s The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights
The film is in Russian so you can use the YouTube settings to turn on English subtitles.
Stan: Beautiful Hand-Crafted Animated Film by Meirav Haber
I recently went into the Hive Gallery in downtown Los Angeles. Making my way toward the back of the long row of artists’ stalls – for all intents and purposes an artists’ neighborhood – I encountered an animated film playing on an iPad that was hung on the wall of the display area for artist Meirav Haber. It caught my attention because of the gorgeous and finely detailed handmade dolls she uses for her animation. This kind of filmmaking has become something of a rarity in our CG world. So now the eye seeks out the human touch. Finding it is a pleasure.
Haber has an unusually quiet and calm approach to telling her story. We are encouraged to watch the character and look for the details in his surroundings. The details are incredible. Watch the film through, then go back and pause it to have a look around. Enjoy the work of a master at her craft.
This kind of animation is done in a small studio on tabletop sets built by the artist. It’s all about imagination connected to the hand.
Stan is a simply told tale about a man who was born with an unfortunate resemblance to the Devil. His efforts to gain acceptance and companionship essentially turn him toward an appreciation for odd objects that closely resembles the artistic impulse. Haber’s beautiful film is made entirely with the magnificent hand-crafted artworks of an amazing artist.
Undersea ABC: Alphabet Learning Game for Kids
This is a learning game I programmed quite a few years ago. I’ve rewritten the code so that it should play more smoothly and perhaps be a little easier to read in the test results area.
The game is very simple: Larry Lobster tells you what to do. You just click on the letter bubbles to pick the right ones. A perfect score frees the trapped submarine from the bottom of the ocean.
Next up – an iPad version!
The Tired and Nothing: Animation by Bahare Tabatabaei Masouleh
Bahare Tabatabaei Masouleh is a filmmaker in Tehran, Iran. This piece about a woman who remembers her dreams of childhood is entirely hand animated.