(
1892-
1965).
Polish filmmaker and
pioneer animator (First filmmaker to use
stop motion animation for
narrative). His
film career began producing
documentaries in
Moscow around
1909. In his spare time, he experimented with stop motion animation, animating
insects, which he articulated by wiring the legs of
beetles to their thorax with
sealing wax. His "The Battle of the
Stag Beetles", was the first
puppet-animated film. His short films were popular in
Russia (his third, "The Ant and the Grasshopper," received an honor from the
Tsar). When the
Russian Revolution came, he fled to
Paris and settled in Fontenay-sous-Bois. For the rest of his life, he created
surreal puppet animations on film. Some of his noted works:
- The Insect's Christmas (1913)
- Frogland (1923)
- The Mascot (a.k.a. Puppet Love a.k.a. The Devil's Ball)
- The Tale of the Fox (1939)
Many of his films have been lost, and they are rarely shown, although their influence can be seen in the work of other animators like
George Pal and
Henry Selick.
Learn more at: http://www.awn.com/heaven_and_hell/STARE/stare1.htm