Here is an excerpt from the fabulous, surreal Ladislaw Starewicz stop-motion animation short “The Mascot” from 1933… there is a lot more to this cartoon that is not shown, but unfortunately, this is the longest clip of it I’ve seen on the internet. Anyone out there know of a full version somewhere?
UPDATE: I have posted the full version here.
In any case, you can see the full version along with a lot of other amazing Starewicz cartoons on the The Cameraman’s Revenge and Other Fantastic Tales DVD. Starewicz was one of the earliest stop-motion animators.
Thank you so much for this post, I always forget to look up his work. Your website is an amazing resource, and browsing through your content might be dangerous for my budget. I keep thinking to myself, oh I don’t have a copy of Svankmajer’s Alice yet, or that Japanese Karel Zeman box set…
But thanks for the Starewicz links. Have you ever heard of “A Shaggy Dog Story?” It was a short by a european woman whose name escapes me right now, using stop motion animation a la the Bolex Brothers. It featured a Bolex character, actually — the criminal with the harpoon gun. It’s worth searching for. If you’re interested let me know, I have specific info on the film at home and can get it for you.
Cheers!
Thanks much for the kind words Steven! Svankmajer’s a favorite of mine too, especially Alice… that and David Lynch’s Eraserhead are the most effectively dreamlike movies I’ve ever seen. I’ve been a Starewicz and Svankmajer enthusiast for quite a while now, but other than that my knowledge of the rich history of Eastern European and Russian animation is pretty pathetic… I’ve been exploring it some on the web, though, and I’m going to have to blow some of my budget on DVD’s one of these days too, if I can find some good ones… do you have any to recommend? I’d definitely love to see the Shaggy Dog story if you have it available somewhere. Thanks again for commenting Steven!