Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The 10 Best Stop Motion Animation Films/Shorts

I recently watched the Stop motion film, "Fantastic Mr. Fox," and I couldn't resist paying homage to what I would consider the best form of animation. The characters seem much more life-like. Cameras take pictures of real characters that can be touched by human hands. That's something you don't get with Pixar or the other film makers swimming in an ocean of CGI. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Pixar movie, but for me, nothing can measure up to these treasures below.

I give you my 10 favorite Stop-motion animated movies and shorts. Keep in mind, this is only my opinion!

10. Vincent- Written and directed by Tim Burton, this is the shortest film on the list, at a whopping six minutes. It has the typical dark Burton feel, which I consider a good thing.

9. Corpse Bride- Another Tim Burton winner.

8. James and the Giant Peach- Roald Dahl is one of my favorite authors, and Henry Sellick is one of my favorite directors, so there's not much more to say here.

7. Wallace and Grommit Shorts- I'm kind of cheating here by lumping in four shorts into one rank, but I just didn't have enough room on the list. The Wallace and Grommit shorts are what first turned me on to stop motion

6. Fantastic Mr. Fox- As I said, I just saw this one for the first time, but it didn't take much time to climb to number six on my list. It's hilarious, atmospheric, and clever; like a Fox!

5. Wallace and Grommit: Curse of the Were Rabbit- The dynamic duo look even better on the big screen.

4. Chicken Run- This is like a stop motion, chicken version of the Shawshank Redemption, one of my favorite live action films. Plus it was created by Aardman, the makers of Wallace and Grommit, so you know it's a winner.

3. Madame Tutli Putli- I just found this short film on youtube. I've never seen such life-like puppets in stop motion, which somehow adds to it's creepy feel. Check it out if you haven't seen it


2. Nightmare Before Christmas- Needs no explanation. stop motion creativity at it's best, thanks to Tim Burton and Henry Selick.

1. Coraline- Written by Niel Gaimon and directed by Henry Sellick, this is my favorite stop-motion movie. I read an article about this movie about a year before it's release, and counted down the days from then on. Meanwhile, Steph and I read the book, and loved it. The movie version did not disappoint. It blended a bit of CGI with the old "claymation" art, making for a truly unique experience.

5 comments:

ImagiMeri said...

Hi Lance,

I happen to agree with you about stop motion filming. I've always loved it, especially the old Christmas ones with Rudolph the red nose reindeer, etc. I'm totally blown away by the "Madame Tutli Putli." I've never seen it before.....what a work of art! Thank you for sharing.

Hugs,
Meri

Lance said...

Hi Meri!
Rudolph barely missed the cut, but I love the old stop motion Christmas specials.

Chicken Lips said...

Love all your choices. But sad that "Mad Monster Party" didn't make the cut. :(

Monkey-Cats Studio said...

Great list Lance!! Also enjoyed the link!

Unknown said...

This is great! I love stop motion as well, and think it's so much "better" than CGI. I'm particularly keen on Nick Park & Wallace and Grommit etc, not to mention the Brothers Quay, and the lord of animation, Jan Svankmaer(not sure if i spelled that right!) My favourite museum, of lots, is the National Media Museum, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, which has an amazing animation gallery, where they show film clips & had a fab Ray Harryhausen exhibition recently. Love, Kay