Cutout animation

Cutout animationis a form ofstop-motion animationusing flat characters,propsand backgrounds cut from materials such aspaper,card, stifffabricorphotographs.The props would be cut out and used as puppets for stop motion. The world's earliest known animated feature films were cutout animations (made inArgentinabyQuirino Cristiani),as is the world's earliest surviving animated featureDie Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed(1926) byLotte Reiniger.

Video about making cutout animation, in Spanish with English subtitles

The technique of most cutout animation is comparable to that ofshadow play,but with stop motion replacing the manual or mechanical manipulation of flat puppets. Some films, includingDie Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed,also have much of their silhouette style in common with shadow plays. Cutout animation pioneer Lotte Reiniger studied the traditions of shadow play and created several shadow play film sequences, including a tribute toFrançois Dominique SéraphininJean Renoir's filmLa Marseillaise(1938).

While sometimes used as a relatively simple and cheap animation technique in children's programs (for instance inIvor the Engine), cutout animation has also often been used as a highly artistic medium that distinguishes itself more clearly from hand-drawn animation.

Cutout animation can be made with figures that have joints made with a rivet or pin or, when simulated on a computer, an anchor. These connections act asmechanical linkage,which have the effect of a specific, fixed motion. Similar flat, jointed puppets have been in use inshadow playsfor many centuries, such as in the Indonesianwayangtradition and in the "ombres chinoises" that were especially popular in France in the 18th and 19th century. The subgenre ofsilhouette animationis more closely related to these shadow shows and to the silhouette cutting art that has been popular in Europe especially in the 18th and 19th centuries.

While many cutout animation puppets and other material is often purposely-made for films, ready-made imagery has also been heavily used in collage/photomontagestyles, for instance inTerry Gilliam's famous animations forMonty Python's Flying Circus(1969-1975).

Lotte Reiniger, and movies likeTwice Upon a Time(1983), used backlit animation, where the source of light comes from below. Animators like Terry Gilliam use light coming from above.

Cutout techniques were relatively often used in animated films until cel animation became the standard method (at least in the United States). Before 1934, Japanese animation mostly used cutout techniques rather than cel animation, because celluloid was too expensive.

Today, cutout-style animation is frequently produced usingcomputers,with scanned images orvector graphicstaking the place of physically cut materials.South Parkis a notable example of the transition, since itspilot episodewas made with paper cutouts before switching tocomputer software.

Short films

• Edwin S. Porterused "jumble captions" inHow Jones Lost His Roll,The Whole Dam Family and the Dam Dog,andEverybody Works But Father(all 1905).The Whole Dam Familyalso includes an animated silhouette of a dog with firecrackers attached to its tail.
• Lotte Reinigermade animated silhouette sequences forDie Schöne Prinzessin von China(1917),Apokalypse(1918. lost) andDer Verlorene Schatten(1920)
• Reiniger created her own short silhouette filmsDas Ornament des Verliebten Herzens(1919),Amor und das Standhafte Liebespaar(1920),Der Fliegende Koffer(1921),Der Stern von Bethlehem(1921),Aschenputtel(1922),Das Geheimnis der Marquise(1922, advertisement for Nivea),Dornröschen(1922) andBarcarole(1924, advertisement for Mauxion), before creating her first feature. AfterDie Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmedshe continued to make dozens of shorts. From 1938 to 1982 she worked and lived in the United Kingdom.
• Noburo Ofujiworked primarily with cutout animation, for instance usingchiyogami(Japanesecolored paper) inMã cụ điền thành の đạo tặc(Burglars of "Baghdad" Castle) (1926).
• Le merle(1958) byNorman McLarenis a combination of (white) cut-outs and (pastel) backgrounds to the music of the French folksong "Mon Merle".
• The Little Island(1958), byRichard Williams,a combination of bothtraditional animationand paper cut-out elements
• Famous Studios'Modern MadcapsepisodeBouncing Benny(1960) used paper cutout characters by animators Place and Feuer to create shadow effects
• How Death Came to Earth(1971), byIshu Patel
• Tabi(1973) andShijin no Shôgai(1974), two cutout animations byKihachirō Kawamoto(who was otherwise primarily apuppet animator)
• The Miracle of Flight,(1974)byTerry Gilliam
• Before co-foundingArt And Animation Studiowith her husband, Dagmar Doubková created several short cutout animations, such asOparádivé Sally(1976) (broadcast in the US asAbout Dressy SallyonNickelodeon'sPinwheeland subject of a 5-year long lost media search on internetfora),Perníkový dědek(Gingerbread Man) (1977),Sbohem, Ofélie(Goodbye Ophelia) (1978),Královna Koloběžka první(Queen Scooter First) (1981),The Impossible Dream(1983) andShakespeare 2000(1988)
• The Spirit of Christmas(1992-1995) byTrey ParkerandMatt Stone

Feature films

An example of cutout animation, produced at the UK'sNational Media Museum

• El Apóstol(1917) by Italian-Argentine cartoonistQuirino Cristiani,was also the world's first animated feature film.
• The Adventures of Prince Achmed(1926) byLotte Reinigeris asilhouette animationusing armatured cutouts with backgrounds that were variously painted or composed of blown sand and even soap.
• No. 12,also known asHeaven and Earth MagicbyHarry Everett Smith,completed in 1962, utilizes cut-out illustrations culled from 19th century catalogs.
• Soyuzmultfilm'sLefty(1964) andGo There, Don't Know Where(1966), directed byIvan Ivanov-Vano
• René Laloux's early films made use of armatured cutouts, while his first featureLa Planète sauvage (Fantastic Planet)(1973) is a rare example ofunarmatured cutout animation
• The opening sequence ofL'armata Brancaleone(1966), a film by Italian directorMario Monicelli,features cutout animation, made by the ItalianEmanuele Luzzati
• Karel Zemanmade several animated movies using cutout animation (Krabat – The Sorcerer's Apprentice)(1978) as well as live action movies combined with cutout animation (The Fabulous Baron Munchausen)
• Twice Upon a Time(1983), an animated movie directed byJohn Kortyand produced byGeorge Lucas,uses a form of cutout animation, which the filmmakers called "Lumage", that involved prefabricated cut-out plastic pieces that the animators moved on a light table
• South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut(1999) andImaginationland: The Movie(2008) use computer animation to imitate cutout animation.
• Strange Frame(2012) relies primarily on an innovative cutout style combined with both traditional and 3D elements
• The Breadwinner(2017) uses digital animation to imitate cutout animation in the storyworld sequences.

Television series

• John Ryan'sCaptain Pugwash(1957–1966, 1974–1975) used cardboard cutouts that were manipulated with levers in front of painted backgrounds while filmed real-time
• Oliver PostgateandPeter Firmin'sSmallfilmscreated and producedAlexander the Mouse(1957–1958, lost),Ivor the Engine(1959, 1975–1977) andNoggin the Nog(1959–1965, 1982). Their initial animation system used magnets on cutouts to move the figures around during real-time broadcasting.
• Ten short episodes of an early black and white animated adaptation ofLes Schtroumpfs(The Smurfs) (1961-1967) byTVA Dupuisused cutout animation for many of its characters.
• Monty Python's Flying Circus(1969) contained animation sketches with paper cut-out, as animated by Monty Python memberTerry Gilliam
• David McKee'sKing Rollo(1980)
• Pigeon Street(1981) was created by Alan Rogers and Peter Lang, who would both go on to create animations for programmes likeWords and Pictures,Numbertime,Rosie and JimandHotch Potch House
• the intro and outro ofCharlie Chalk(1987) featured cutout animation, while the episodes featured stop motion puppetry
• Jan Sarkandr Tománekcreated several cutout animation series, includingMedvěd 09(Bear 09) (1988),Balabánci(1993),Dobrodružství pod vrbami(adaptation ofThe Wind in the Willows) (1999)
• Art And Animation Studiocombined puppet and cutout animation inHajadla(2006)
• Blue's Clues(1996-2006) used cutout animation for many of its characters
• South Park(since 1997) used construction paper cutouts inits first episodebefore switching toPowerAnimatorand, later,Maya.
• Angela Anaconda(1999-2002) used black-and-white photographs of faces that were superimposed on computer-generated bodies and backgrounds
• Bill Cosby'sLittle Bill(1999-2004) used a mix of cutout animation andflash animation
• Lauren Child'sCharlie and Lola(2005-2008) featured a collage style that mashed together 2DFlash animation,paper cutout, fabric design, real textures,photomontage,and archive footage
• Outer Space Astronauts(2009) blended live-action footage of actors' heads on computer-generated bodies against 2D and/or 3D backgrounds, a style that is associated with cutout animation
• Uncle Grandpa(2013-2017) featured photographic cutout character "the Giant Realistic Flying Tiger"

Music videos

Jim Blashfieldused cutout animation in his music videos forTalking Heads'And She Was(1985),Paul Simon'sBoy in the Bubble,Michael Jackson'sLeave Me Alone(1989, winning a Grammy Award, a Cannes Golden Lion and an MTV Award),Tears for Fears'Sowing the Seeds of Love(1989, winning two MTV Awards) and others.

The video forRöyksopp'sEple(2003), features a specific kind of cutout animation, continuously zooming out and panning through many old (still) pictures that are seamlessly combined. The technique is a variation of theKen Burns effect,which has often been used in documentary films to add motion to still imagery, but rarely as a standalone animated production.

Other music videos featuring cutout animation includeSkindred's "Pressure"(2006),Serj Tankian's "Lie Lie Lie"(2007),B.o.B's "Nothing on You"(2009), andRedbone's "Come and Get Your Love".

Internet

• The humour animation siteJibJabprimarily uses cutout animation from photographs
• Joel VeitchusesSWFcutout animation style on his website Rathergood.com
• Hallmark Cards' charactersHoops and Yoyoappear inE-cardsand cutout-animated cartoons since 2003

Video games

• Nintendo'sPaper Marioseries (since 2000) use cutout characters to explore the various locations in or around theMushroom Kingdom.The commercial for theNintendo 3DSgamePaper Mario: Sticker Star(2012) also used cutout animation.
• Sega'sSonic 4: Episode IandIIgame opening logo used cutout animation with 3D model sprites of modernSonicandTails.
• The mobile gameSega Heroesfeatures cutout sprite characters.
• PlayStation'sPaRappa the Rapperfeatures cutout characters, including its spin-offUm Jammer Lammy.

See also

• List of stop-motion films