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.

Coraline!!

The DVD release of "Coraline" was today, and I am a happy camper. I went to the store this morning and picked up my copy. Plus, I think it's going to rain tonight, and we all know there's no better movie viewing weather than rain, right?

Hopefully "Coraline" will pick up an Oscar for best animated picture. Henry Selick is an animation mastermind!

Oh and check out this cool picture of Steph and me. I made it at Coraline.com.

Henry Selick

I'm back, with a new computer, and new modem, and a new sense of care when it comes to computers. Hopefully that will be the last time my computer bites the dust.

Last night after work, Steph and I took in a movie that we've been anticipating for a long, long time. "Coraline" is a movie shot in stop motion animation, just like "Nightmare before Christmas." In fact, Henry Selick, the director of "Nightmare" directed Coraline.

Don't beat me up for saying this. I know a lot of you are huge Tim Burton fans (as am I), but I consider Selick the true genius behind Nightmare before Christmas. I do love the story of Nightmare, but what really draws me in is the vivid characters brought to life by Selick, not Burton. His style encompasses everything that I, and probably a lot of you, would love to be as an artist. I think there are many parallels between what we do in our artistic community, and what people like Selick do in theirs. Basically, movies like "Coraline," and Nightmare Before Christmas" are folk art sculptures brought to life, frame by frame. To me this is mind blowing and fascinating.

"Mind blown" doesn't begin to describe how I feel about "Coraline." This movie is amazing in every aspect, and I cannot wait to see it again, and again. Please do yourself a favor and see this movie. Let it inspire you.