Thread for stop motion films/shows/shorts etc.
Any recs Cinemaphile? Anything you're keeping an eye on? Is stop motion as difficult to do as it appears to be?
I just watched Wendell and Wild.
The animation is great as always, but I thought the story was very messy and didn't really work. It has some nice ideas but also just feels a bit convoluted. Somehow I both felt the movie dragged and that things weren't given enough time or attention.
Even that aside, the story itself just feels incredibly weak with plenty of things that just don't add up or make sense. Every character is quite weak as well and never branches out of their generic role
Funnily enough I'm not sure I really even realised Selick was involved until I saw the credits. It did have his touch but I wondered if it was more the studio trying to replicate it than him actually being involved. I think he wrote this one himself so I guess it kind of makes sense why it's weaker than other established titles.
What did Cinemaphile think of it?
a memorable work from the master
mostly the same, especially the distinct lack of Wendell & Wild given the title and the fact that she meets with her revived parents & then immediately has to leave without giving a chance for the moment to really sink in which felt particularly clumsy narratively
I heard it was supposed to be a WAY bigger story, like an entire book series worth of plot that had to be cut down into one film which would explain why it feels like 5 different plots at once
Oh, that would make a lot of sense actually.
There are so many ideas they introduce and play with that like you say, either are handled clumsily or just don't seem to go anywhere.
Kat enters the school and somehow within a minute figures out the school needs her on the scheme to make money. It's a Christian school, but there seems to be little to no reason for that. The factory gets burned down by le evil corp, yet somehow everyone there witnessed them doing it which typically goes against how you burn something down in secret. Those 3 girls who are nothing but nice to Kat get villified for some weird reason, then even weirder is one of them figures out her parents entire evil scheme off screen off a base remark. The Raul character I don't think was handled well either because it didn't feel like an actual character with flaws but more a symbol. I could honestly keep going on.
I had high hopes but it just felt like the story didn't know where it was going or what it was doing half the time. As for Wendell & Wild, I wasn't too fond of them. I don't mind Key & Peele but they're just playing Key & Peele so often. When I see W&W I don't see 2 distinct characters, I just see Key & Peele.
It does make me wonder why they would try to cram the entire series into 1 book though, and not just cut parts entirely, or limit the scope to where it only tells part of the story.
Thanks for the share
Feels like the reverse with what happened with monkeybone
Where selick had the whole story but him and the script writer sam ham kept making jokes about the plot and kept changing it until it was widely different the comic it was based on
And one more. There's a moment in this where a lady's breasts move with her chest as she breathes, then as she bends down for confession a spotlight illuminates them. I fell in love with this guy after that.
Anyone seen The House?
It was in my Netflix recommendations but the rating were pretty low. Is it any good?
It’s three very different stories. Second one was good imo, pretty funny / dark and most grounded one, others were more surreal / metaphorical.
I didn't really like it.
The stories are completely unrelated, I was hoping they would tie in somehow or have some sort of underlying theme but it's just not present. I would agree the 2nd in the funniest, but it also has this weird dance sequence that goes on far too long. I feel the first and third don't really get the time needed to really be interesting stories. I think the 3rd one was the best one but I didn't really like it all that much either. It just seemed the most coherent.
Is Chicken Run 2 worth watching?
Yeah. The family one I saw the exact twist coming a mile away but it was still nice to look at, the rat one was funny and the best in my opinion, the cat one I didn't get. All had really great voice acting too.
It's been too long since I've seen it, what was the twist again?
I remember liking the Cat one most because I felt it told the most coherent story with the most believable characters. I think I was underwhelmed with the first one
As for Chicken Run 2, I've heard good things, I keep meaning to watch it but never seem to. Soon.
>Anything you're keeping an eye on?
There's an upcoming Japanese stop-motion movie that had a kickstarted back in April. It hasn't started actual production yet and won't see a final release for years, but I'm still hyped for it because it looks fricking SICK.
Here's the short pilot video they made.
This does indeed look very good
How do you think they do the slicing/breaking models in half thing?
Ah shit I need to watch that
>How do you think they do the slicing/breaking models in half thing?
Simple, the part we see get sawed through is just cloth, and when it gets to the neck it swaps to a model that's already split.
Ah very smart. I'm not well versed in the techniques of stop motion. I like it a lot, and appreciate the effort, but I never looked into how it was done because at the time I didn't want to ruin the magic. Maybe I should now though
Personally I find with stop motion that knowing how the sausage is made does kill the magic, if anything it gives a greater appreciation of all the time and effort that goes into its creation.
I think you're right. I used to actively avoid finding out things like this but now I'm leaning more to the side of wanting to, in order to appreciate it more.
Thanks for the video, a real interesting look
Impressive animation. I love how they acknowledge that the characters are made of wood, and they "bleed" wood dust. Such a nice touch. I'd tell you to discuss it on Cinemaphile where it belong but I guess something that doesn't look obviously anime doesn't generate a lot of interest here.
I tried making threads for it both here and Cinemaphile back when the kickstarter was going. Neither got much attention.
To be fair, stop motion is really not that popular even within the mediums its used.
Plus it's harder to discuss much of a kickstarter other than it looks good
>I guess something that doesn't look obviously anime doesn't generate a lot of interest here
I so dearly wanna make a Gregory Horror Show thread at some point but I know neither Cinemaphile or Cinemaphile would be up for it. Assuming Cinemaphile would even allow it to begin with.
chicken run 2 just came out on netflix. it's pretty funny
feature films:
Alice [1988] by Jan Svankmajer
Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires is a 2018 British stop-motion animated action comedy horror film written and directed by Mike Mort
Panique Au Village - A Town Called Panic
The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix (1975)
Shorter:
Aardman Animations such as Wallace and Gromit, Creature Comforts and Shaun the Sheep
Shortest:
Goutte d'Or (full film) [1080p] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KR8Y6P_quM
Madame Tutli-Putli
VIOLETA: https://vimeo.com/29256804 la pescadora del mar Black (Cortometraje Stop Motion)
Aardman Animations such as Wallace and Gromit, Creature Comforts and Shaun the Sheep
there will come soft rains
I've never heard of Chuck Steel but the webm plus
>stop motion comedy horror
has piqued my interest rapidly and I think I will watch it.
Thanks for the recs
It kind of bothers me how for some reason, adult stop motion is made to look intentionally ugly in terms of character models a lot of times
maybe it's easier to show emotion on them as opposed to "cleaner" looking models?
I dunno, because kids stop motion films don't do it yet manage absolutely fine
Are sets like this thrown in with CG or is every locale in stop motion animation hand made first? Seems like too much effort to do the latter
decide for yourself: Making Of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc5M3Rf_CC4
Also: https://www.comedy.co.uk/film/chuck_steel_night_of_the_trampires/interviews/mike-mort/
And the short film that Mort made in his basement, Chuck Steel - Raging Balls of Steel Justice : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAuqceq8jME
Thanks. Are the films good? They look a little cheesy
>Pinchcliffe
>Wendell & Wild demons had this cool cubist look to them that is very unique
>Was not used for 90% of the film
I wanted to like the movie but it feels like they fricked up in every area.
don't forget probably the most baffling part
>the town desperately needs something to draw in tourism again
>Wendell & Wild want to make an amusement park
>these 2 plots never actually intersect at all
I thought the art style they did end up using was pretty weird in general. All of the characters just sort of looked weird, and not in that creepy weird vibe they're going for, but just odd. Kat has a weirdly exaggerated head shape as do some other characters
You guys are gonna let me know when Hoffmaniada is finally available subbed in english, right?
I think you will have to let US know anon
Brothers Quay
what's that?
Dalia y el libro rojo (Dalia and the red book)
Still in development
this looks interesting for sure
it's kind of shit because i learn of all these but then I have no real way of keeping up with them. it's more likely they release and I never find out until maybe months if not years later
Tetsuo: the iron man (the japanese body horror cult classic) prominently features stop motion animation together with live actors (who also sometimes appear in stop motion), reminds me a bit of Svankmajer’s work at times)
I hope Laika have another big hit soon
Feels like they've lost their way a little
Yeah, it's weird that the two films Selick did that were his own ideas, this and Monkeybone, were such messes in terms of writing. He has an eye for visuals, but he definitely shines when he's adapting and springboarding off a preexisting framework instead of doing the whole thing from the ground up himself.
I've not seen Monkeybone, but that does seem to be the case then doesn't it.
Wendell really is quite messy, I guess when he's adapting a story he has more room to ooze the style whereas if it's his own, he's maybe more worried about the story aspects. I don't feel like Wendell had a more interesting supernatural side, both visually and narratively than the stuff we've seen in Selick's other work
Really wish selick had kept the original idea of it looking like the comic dark town which he wanted to adapt
I really wish the comic itself actually finished. Wasn't it only the first colume that got made? Also, how far did they take the idea of doing it in the style of the comic before switching over to what we actually got?
Frankelda's Book of Spooks
Is it good? Where can it be watched?
It's a Max series, originally made for the Mexican Cartoon Network.
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I've lost a bit of my love for stop motion recently. I'm not sure why because it used to be one of my favourite forms of animation. The aesthetic really did things for me
stop motion is fun
thoughts on Mad God?
I personally loved it, though the crying orm baby got on my nerves
really liked the gnostic subtext too
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This and Junk Head I’ve been meaning to watch. I see a lot of similarities, and only just realized that they’re out of film festival exclusivity hell.
Loved Mad God; the entire movie is good but the first 20 or so minutes is some of the coolest animated stuff I've seen. The separation of the stuff made after it got revisited is very stark and while it's still very good, the first part is crazy cool.
just saw a stop motion ad on TV here which seemed interesting
it ended up being for erectile dysfunction.
boomp
2
is there a reason stop motion is so often used for surrealist media?
because adult animation has a bad habit of being surreal
But why do they specifically turn to stop motion for it instead of other animated types? Does it just lend itself better?
i think, in all honesty, it's because stop motion is seen as more dignified and adult than 2d or cgi animation
Perhaps, but CG has a lot of scope, doesn't it? You don't have to make your CG animation look like a Disney film. You could even replicate some of the style of stop motion.
yes, but that's irrelevant
it's not about anything inherent to the medium, it's about how people *see* it
But how can CG be perceived as more dignified or adult, when practically every show and movie uses CG in some form?
they use cgi, they're not fully cgi
i can't fully explain why there's a stigma around animation but there is one
I'm having trouble telling what's CGI anymore. They're starting to do more of that deliberately janky CGI like Big Ned that looks like stop-motion..
imagine admiting you watch troonyshit. Wow bro fricking cringe.
How would you know it's troonyshit without watching it? I didn't
The trans character suffers the same problem gay characters had around 5-10 years ago.
They want to do them "justice" but forget how to actually write characters in the process, so she ends up with 0 flaws but an amazing hidden artistic ability and the heart of a true friend who always wants to help because of course. Not compelling.
sorry have nothing
I really feel bad for Wendell and Wild as a film.
Henry seemed like he wanted to jam 2-3 movies into one and it just ruined the whole thing.
Honestly though even discounting the mess of the plot, I'm not entirely sure the film exactly works. I thought a lot of the character writing wasn't strong anyway.
But then I guess you could argue it'd have more time to be fleshed out if some plot elements were ignored completely. I just don't think there was much of a winning formula here. When it started I did find the concept of a young delinquent as the protagonist quite interesting, you don't see it a lot but the stuff that follows is fairly meh.
If it'd followed Kat gaining control of her powers while coming to terms with her parents death with some antagonist she and the Nun have to overcome it'd have been fine.
If it'd focused on Wendell and Wild sneaking to the human world to make their own theme park and getting into hijinks ending with them resolving their relationship with their dad that would have been fine too.
The issue is that you've got two storylines that needed to be fleshed out that didn't mess well together. I can see the overall theme of the movie was meant to be relationships with parents, letting go or reconnecting and led to underdevelopment. Also the other major issue was no charismatic villain like Oogie Boogie or the Other Mother. There were good ideas but they just didn't gel
I agree with that. It is too messy for is own good. I mean, even with the two plotlines you mentioned, there's an entire other arc with a corrupt priest and an evil corp.
But I just think even if the films were just those, I'm not sure it'd be very good regardless because the writing just didn't feel particularly strong at any point in the film really.
At the post credits scene of Wendell and Wild, I think it's Selick who shoots a video in portrait mode on his phone where he goes to a room in his house and a stop motion Kat is on a desk and goes off to hide
How's the process for that done?
I would imagine they recorded the movement of his phone somehow and then matched its movement with a motion-controlled camera so the puppet could be composited in
Made webm to show, couldn't be bothered cropping
I think you may be right. At some point perhaps they just switch the footage to one made earlier, I never actually watched it back until now
Aardbump
>Gromit just opens a door
>Just rolls his eyes
is clymation just done with posable clay models? do they ever just fall apart?
They’ve got skeletons and swappable parts and shit
Oh really? Wow
Do Laika projects use claymation or do they build figures specifically?
good video showing the process of shooting one frame on the chicken run sequel in real time
laika makes heavy use of 3d printing for things like faces, which are animated on a computer and then have each frame 3d printed
>which are animated on a computer and then have each frame 3d printed
So they change face for almost each frame? That sounds insane
Thanks for the link of that, I'll watch it after I watch Chicken Run 2 which I plan to sometimes oon
Are those demons supposed to be Key and Peele?
yeah, they voice them
Do you guys have hope that Laika will deliver with Wildwood?
Have this from my childhood.
It's seasonal too.