Kosmodrome 1999, Frantisek Vystreil, 1968

The future of space travel, as imagined 'round the beginning of space travel.

Yeah, didn't work out like that.

L'Araignelephant ( The Spiderelephant) Piotr Kamler,1967

Now, I know there are lots of people who think combining spiders and elephants would be pretty much the worst idea ever.

After seeing this charming early Piotr Kamler piece, I kind of want one. Fortunately for the more squeamish of you, he does only go in one direction, so it's very easy to stay out of his way, once you understand that.

The Helpers, Josef Kluge, 1968

Awesomely freaky stop-motion paper and puppet animation.

Rhinoceros, Jan Lenica, 1963

Possibly inspired by Ionesco.

Lavatory; A Love Story, Konstantin Bronzit, 2007

The touching tale of a romantic bathroom attendant.

Electricity, Phil Kimmelman, 1979

Electricity, eeeeeelectricity.

I Came From the Sky, Ezra Wube, 2007

An Ethiopian folktale animated in paint on glass.

The Chest of Secrets(?),Valary Ugarov,1976

I'm depending on Google to translate for me, so I hope that's a somewhat accurate interpretation of the title of this cartoon, which is very clearly influenced by George Dunning's work in Yellow Submarine.

Beztolkovyj Wombat

I have no idea about anything that is being said in this wonderful Ukranian cartoon but "WOMBAT," which is absolutely sufficient to hold my attention.

It's very slapsticky. There's even "chase music" (a la Yakkety Sax.)

Marble House, Chris Hopewell, 2006 and We Share Our Mother's Health, Motomichi Nakamura, 2006

Beautiful stop motion music video for the song Marble House by Swedish electronic band The Knife.




Another fascinating animated video for The Knife, We Share Our Mother's Health. Directed by artist Motomichi Nakamura.

Heron and Crane, Yuri Norstein, 1974

Another wonderful short from the director of Hedgehog in the Fog.

The White Seal, Chuck Jones, 1973

Sometimes when I'm looking for cartoons for y'all, I find something that makes me explode with nostalgia. I remember seeing this when I was a kid, and LOVING it, but hadn't even thought of it for years.

Chuck Jones' adaptation of a Rudyard Kipling story of a special white seal and his quest for a place he can be safe.






ETA: Chuck Jones fans should definitely check out Chuck Redux.

House of Flame, Kihachiro Kawamoto, 1979

Breathtaking puppet animation from Kihachiro Kawamoto, who was influenced by and studied under Jiri Trnka.

The Great Cognito, Barry Bruce, 1981

Claymation comic riffs on WWII.
More teetering on the edge of the Uncanny Valley from Will Vinton Productions.

The Street, Caroline Leaf, 1976

Lovely film, made with washes of paint on glass. Based on a short story by Mordecai Richler.

Surogat (Substitute), Dusan Vukotic, 1962

Deeeedadadadadadeedada... inflatable!

Winner of the 1963 Oscar for best animated short.

Sleeping Betty, Claude Cloutier, 2007

A new take on a classic tale, set in a basement in Montreal.

On Your Mark, Hayao Miyazaki, 1995

Music video for Chang and Ashka's song On Your Mark by animation god Hayao Miyazaki.

Cat-Man-Do, Simon Tofield, 2007

The first in a series of shorts by Tandem Films director Simon Tofield, concerning, uh, his cat.

This is a true story. I wasn't there, I just know.

Three Misses, Paul Driessen, 1998

Contains screeching.

Manipulation, Daniel Greaves, 1991

Being an animator is all about using one's Godlike powers to mercilessly eff with one's creations, amirite?

Best Animated Short, 1992

Claymation Chess game, Riccardo Crocetta, 2008

Lest we forget that chess is war.

According to the description on Youtube:

"claymation of the chess game Roesch - Willi Schlage (Hamburg, 1910).
The position after 13...Bh3, and the ones that follow, were used in Stanley Kubrick's movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" for the game between Frank Poole and the HAL-9000 Super Computer."

In case you are a huge nerd and want to know.

Greek Tragedy, Nicole van Goethem, 1986

Concerning some broads what hold up the architecture.
Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, 1987.

Laziness, Yevgeniy Sivokon, 1979

From the same people that made The Tree and the Cat comes this disturbing fable about complacency.

Story from North America, Garrett Davis and Kirsten Lepore, 2007

What if he did? What if he didn't? What if the world was made of pudding?

A story about mercy. And spiders. Hand drawn animation from Kirsten Lepore and Garrett Davis. Music by Garrett Davis.

Beggin', Cyriak Harris, 2007

Animated gifs are a gateway drug to harder stuff. Not that I would know, but...


Take Cyriak. Here's a guy who started making twisted little loops for his weird friends over at b3ta, where he rejoices in the nom de guerre Mutated Monty:





And now look. You can even hire him to make commercials and stuff.

Beggin', Frankie Valli - Pilooski remix.



Don't worry, he's still up to his old business, if you just want to watch weird stuff.

Movie Mad, Ub Iwerks, 1931

Featuring animation great Ub Iwerks post-Disney creation Flip the Frog's adventures in the film biz.

Schoolhouse Rock - Fireworks, Phil Kimmelman,1976

For the holiday.

Science Friction, Stan Vanderbeek, 1959

A flim by the great visionary artist Stan Vanderbeek.

I Get Mad, Derek Lamb/Children's Television Workshop, 1975

Classic Derek Lamb animation for Sesame Street, detailing situations in which it is OK to get maaaad.

The Tell Tale Heart, Ted Parmelee -UPA, 1954

Eerie retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's story from UPA studios. Narrated by James Mason.