Film Talk: Why is Stop-Motion so Great

Hi there I am really sick right now so this review is coming out late and there won't be a cartoon. So I will do a film talk about....Stop-Motion. So I guess I should get started so here we go.

Traditional VS Stop-Motion VS Digital: So there is always that debate of which style of animation is the best. Well I won't solve this question but I will say this. Stop-Motion is sort of like a cross between the other two types of animation. For example look at these three pictures.

See, in my opinion Stop-Motion looks as though computer animation was a bit less real (or fake depending how you look at it) and as though traditional animation wasn't flat.


Types of Stop-Motion: You see there are different types of Stop motion: there is stop motion with clay puppets; stop motion with wood puppets; and stop motion with metal puppets. All stop motion has it's own style. Some like to draw attention to the fact it's a cartoon by making all the characters and sets big and over exaggerated while other still let you know it's animated but still looks a bit more real. Either way every studio or director has their own signature style.






Big Stop-Motion Companies: Some companies that are famous for stop motion are Aardman (Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run) and Laika (Coraline and Paranorman). A famous stop motion director that comes to mind is Will Vinton (and his fabulous handlebar mustache). He is famous for The Adventures of Mark Twain and for animating The California Raisins.








The First Film: There have been many stop motion films over the years but one of the first was The New Gulliver which is an adaptation of Gullivers Travels. Other early stop motion movies include The Tale of the Fox, Alice in Wonderland, and Hansel and Gretel: a Fantasy Opera. Some more well known stop motion films are the Ranken/Bass Christmas specials like Rudolf the Red Nosed Raindeer and A Year Without Santa Clause. More recent famous films include, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Chicken Run, Coraline, Paranorman, James and the Giant Peach, and more recently, The Boxtrolls.




Well there you have it, why I like stop motion, and a brief history of stop motion.  Yes stop motion has been around for a long time and it's still around today, and it will be around long into the future. This has been another installment of Keaton on Films. See you next time.