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Tim Burton (1984 & 2012)

Happy Halloween!

When a car hits young Victor’s pet dog Sparky, Victor decides to bring him back to life the only way he knows how. But when the bolt-necked “monster” wreaks havoc and terror in the hearts of Victor’s neighbors, he has to convince them that Sparky’s still the good, loyal friend.

Frankenweenie is a 1984 featurette directed by Tim Burton and co-written by Burton with Leonard Ripps. It is both a parody and homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein.

Burton was fired by Disney after the film was completed, as the studio claimed that he had been wasting company resources and felt the film was not suitable for the targeted young audiences.

Tim Burton later directed a feature-length stop-motion animated remake of Frankenweenie with production help from Disney, which was released on October 5, 2012.

The 2012 feature-length remake of Burton’s 1984 short film of the same name is also both a parody of and homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 book Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. In the film, a boy named Victor Frankenstein uses the power of electricity to resurrect his dead Bull Terrier, Sparky, but his peers discover what he has done and reanimate their own deceased pets and other creatures, resulting in mayhem. The tongue-in-cheek film contains numerous references to and parodies of elements of Frankenstein and past film versions of it, other literary classics, various horror and science-fiction films, and other films which Burton has directed or produced.

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Tim Burton (1982)

Happy Halloween!

Vincent is a 1982 stop motion short horror film written, designed, and directed by Tim Burton. It’s produced by Rick Heinrichs. It is the second Disney horror film, the first being The Watcher in the Woods. At approximately six minutes in length, there is currently no individual release of the film except for a few bootleg releases. It can be found on the 2008 Special Edition and Collector’s Edition DVDs of The Nightmare Before Christmas as a bonus feature and on the Cinema16 DVD American Short Films.

While working as a conceptual artist at Walt Disney Productions, Tim Burton found himself two allies in Disney executive Julie Hickson, and Head of Creative Development Tom Wilhite. The two were impressed with Burton’s unique talents and, while not “Disney material”, they felt he deserved respect. As such, in 1982, Wilhite gave Burton $60,000 to produce an adaptation of a poem Burton had written titled Vincent. Burton had originally planned the poem to be a children’s short story book but thought otherwise.

Together with fellow Disney animator Rick Heinrichs, stop motion animator Stephen Chiodo and cameraman Victor Abdalov, Burton worked on the project for two months and came up with the six-minute short film. Shot in stark black-and-white in the style of the German Expressionist films of the 1920s, Vincent imagines himself in a series of situations inspired by the Vincent Price/Edgar Allan Poe films that had such an effect on Burton as a child, including experimenting on his dog — a theme that would subsequently appear in Frankenweenie — and welcoming his aunt home while simultaneously conjuring up the image of her dipped in hot wax. Vincent Malloy, the main character in the film, bears a striking resemblance to Tim Burton himself.

The film was narrated by Burton’s childhood idol, Vincent Price, and marked the beginning of a friendship between them that lasted until Price’s death in 1993. Burton credits the experience as one of the most formative experiences of his life.

The film was theatrically released for two weeks in one Los Angeles cinema with the teen drama Tex. Before it was consigned to the Disney vaults, it garnered several critical accolades when it played at film festivals in London, Chicago and Seattle, winning two awards at Chicago and the Critics’ Prize at the Annecy Film Festival in France.

The film is narrated by actor Vincent Price, a lifelong idol and inspiration for Burton. From this relationship, Price would go on to appear in Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. Price later made the following statement:

“Vincent was the most gratifying thing that ever happened. It was immortality — better than a star on Hollywood Boulevard.”

-Vincent Price

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Pathé (1907)

Le Cochon Danseur (The Dancing Pig) is a silent, 4 minute long, black-and-white burlesque film released in 1907 by French company Pathé, apparently based on a Vaudeville act. In the film, a giant anthropomorphic pig, dressed in fancy clothes, dances with a girl, who later embarrasses him by tearing his clothes off. The two start to dance together, then walk into the curtains behind them. In the infamous final scene, the pig moves his tongue and eyes around and then bare his teeth, possibly in an attempt to show the puppet’s mechanical abilities.

The film had fallen into obscurity for over a century, but gained more notoriety around 2007. It has now become an Internet meme and creepypasta, with Clarisse Loughrey stating that the film “will definitely be entering into your nightmares tonight.”

The Dancing Pig is the titular main antagonist of Le cochon danseur. He is an anthropomorphic pig with sharp, predatory fangs.

The pig has been used as a popular Internet meme villain and has become popular on the Internet since 2007.

At first, the pig acts as a rude, greedy, but voracious, gentleman to the woman, who takes his jacket off and reveals his body, thus embarrassing him. Pretty soon, they make up and dance together. Afterwards, they take a bow and go backstage.

At the end of the short film, the pig shows his true, evil nature when he is seen laughing evilly whilst flailing his tongue, rolling his eyes around, and showing his sharp teeth, suggesting that he killed the woman and ate her.

The Dancing Pig is an obese anthropomorphic pig. He wears a black jacket, a white shirt, a small top hat and no pants. His mouth is filled with sharp teeth.

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Pathé Frères (1906)

A young girl is given her breakfast of milk and a biscuit by an elderly woman. When her beribboned cat comes up, she shares the meal with her. Later, the cat sticks her paw into a glass of milk and licks it off.

This is a French film that was filmed in October 1905 in Troyes France and released on April 1906.

The name of the director, the young girl, and the grandmother are all unknown.

The title of the film translates to Pussy’s Breakfast.

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Tim Burton (1984)

Happy Halloween!

Frankenweenie is a 1984 featurette directed by Tim Burton and co-written by Burton with Leonard Ripps. It is both a parody and homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein. Burton later directed a feature-length stop-motion animated remake of Frankenweenie, released in 2012.

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Hani Dombe & Tom Kouris (2016)

Award Winning Animated Stop Motion Short Film

Lili refuses to let go of her childhood and fights a sandstorm that threatens to take it away. In the heart of the storm she rediscovers the joy of childhood, but is forced to choose between illusion and reality.

Music & sound: Gil Landau

Supported by: Israel Lottery Council For Culture & Arts, Gesher multicultural film fund

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Les Clark (1958)

Paul Bunyan is a 1958 American animated musical short film produced by Walt Disney Productions. The short was based on the North American folk hero and lumberjack Paul Bunyan and was inspired after meeting with Les Kangas of Paul Bunyan Productions, who gave Disney the idea for the film.

Story by Lance Nolley & Ted Berman

Animation by John Sibley, George Nicholas, Bob Youngouist, George Goepper, Fred Kopietz, Ken Hultgren, Jerry Hathcock, Jack Parr, & Jack Boyd (effects animation)

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Don Hertzfeldt (2006)

EVERYTHING WILL BE OK was originally released in 2006. The following year it received the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Award in Short Filmmaking.

Everything Will Be OK is a 2006 animated short film by Don Hertzfeldt. It is the first chapter of a three-part story about a man named Bill. Hertzfeldt released the second film in the series, titled I Am So Proud of You, in 2008. The final chapter, It’s Such a Beautiful Day, was released in 2011. The entire three-part story was then edited together and released as a seamless feature film in 2012, also titled It’s Such a Beautiful Day.

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Špela Čadež (2013)

A man helps his neighbor write a love letter.

Filip dreams of writer’s glory and luxurious lifestyle in a more prosperous part of town. One day, he gets a knock on the door. His neighbour Tereza, an older woman that Filip tries to avoid by all means, asks him to write a letter for her fiancé. Filip agrees and by doing so, he gets involved in a mad game between reality and fiction.

Based on the short story “Her Lover” by Maxim Gorky​.

This short film won following awards:

– Golden Spike / Best Short Film / Valladolid International Film Festival, 2013

– Vesna / Best Short Film / Slovene Film Festival, 2013

– Golden Dove / Animated Films and Videos / Leipzig DOK Festival, 2013

– TTF Shorts Award / Best Short Film / Trieste Film Festival, 2014

– Debut Prize / Hiroshima International Animation Festival, 2014

– Best Animation Film / National Competition / Dresden Film Festival, 2014

Director – Å pela ÄŒadež

Producers – Tina Smrekar and Å pela ÄŒadež

Cast – Katja Levstik and Grega Zorc

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Nick Cross (2012)

For more information on this and other films by me, visit: My website: http://nick-cross.com

WTF did you just watch? Perihelion is a sort of animated tone poem. It is a short film that toes the line between narrative and non-narrative, essentially having no real beginning, middle, or end.

Visually, I was heavily inspired by the work of a number of German painters from the early 20th century. Notably: Otto Dix, Richard Oelze, Ingrid Griebel-Zietlow, Rudolf Schlichter, and Max Ernst, as well as Francisco Goya. This is sort of a tribute to the work of these artists living in a time of Fascism and impending war, which really informed their work in a distinct way.

Nick Cross

Story, art, and animation by Nick Cross (nickcrossanimation.com)

Audio samples courtesy of Freesound.org

Special thanks to alphadog, szuhogyisziszi, Sampleconstuct, Timbre, martian

Animated with a Cintiq 20 WSZ using Toonboom Animate

Backgrounds painted in Adobe Photoshop

Compositing and effects were done in Adobe After Effects

Editing was done in Final Cut Pro

Completed March 23, 2012

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Danny Elfman (2021)

Stream & download: https://dannyelfman.ffm.to/littoc
Director: Sven Gutjahr
Created by Berit Gwendolyn Gilma & Sven Gutjahr
Producer: Berit Gwendolyn Gilma
Production Manager: Philip Treschan
Featuring: Dæmon Clelland aka SHREK 666
Co-performer: Carra
Art direction: Berit Gwendolyn Gilma
Cinematography: Sven Gutjahr / 1st AC: Philip Treschan
Set design: Joan Ling-Li Nesbit-Chang
Gaffer: Esra Tanriverdi
Character design & prosthetics: Dæmon Clelland
Make-up: Leana Ardeleanu
Custome design: Dæmon Clelland & Joan Ling-Li Nesbit-Chang
Choreographer: Franka Marlene Foth
Insert performer: Danny Elfman
Videographer additional footage: Melisa McGregor
Make-up additional footage: Lizbeth Williamson
Casting assistance: Roberta Caminneci
Pizza boy: Alexander Elschner-Linda
Cat: Mango
Strip Club: Angels Berlin
Filmed in Berlin, 2021
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Official Site: https://www.dannyelfman.com/

Music & Lyrics by Danny Elfman
Produced by Danny Elfman
Recorded by Noah Snyder
Additional Engineering: Nick Rives & Matt Tuggle
Mixed by Zakk Cervini
Mix Assistant: Nik Trekov
Mastered by Joe LaPorta at Sterling Sound
Vocals, Guitars & Synths by Danny Elfman
Drums – Josh Freese
Guitars – Nili Brosh
Bass – Stu Brooks
Percussion – Sidney Hopson
Strings – Lyris Quartet
String Orchestration by Steve Bartek
Orchestration Assistant – Marc Mann
Midi Prep – Orlando Perez Rosso
Executive Produced by Laura Engel
Project Produced by Melisa McGregor
Danny Elfman’s Representation – Kraft-Engel Management
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Love In The Time Of Covid (Lyrics by Danny Elfman)

Living a life in a nutshell – Living a life in a nutshell
Stay inside and you’ll do well – break any rules and they might tell

World outside is humming — The mountain goats are sunning
This shit ain’t no fun, open the door and run….

Now nobody likes you, what a shame
Now nobody likes you, now nobody likes you…
Ooh, she likes me – ooh, she likes me, messages excite me
Ooh she likes me….

Love in the time of Covid

Keeping it, keeping it all inside
I want to see you, I want to see you
Without your clothes, without your skin
Without your skin – Without your skin
Sinning, sinning, sinning – Zoom me at midnight

I want to see you – without your clothes, without your skin
I want to see you – without your skin without your skin

Living a life in a nutshell, staying inside is a tough sell
Sniffing around for some intel – if I run out of buds it’ll be hell
Outside birds are singing – church bells are ringing
I’m filling up with feeling – open the door and run

Now nobody likes me (Nobody likes you)

Ooh, she likes me – her videos excite me,
Under the virtual moonlight, we got a date at midnight

Love in the time of Covid

Watching the cat, watching the cat,
Bouncing off the walls (I feel like that) – let’s make a rendezvous
It’s almost like having you in the room,
I want to have sex (too soon) – I can almost feel you
Starting to spin, staring to spin
Looking up, looking out, looking in
I’d give the world just to touch your skin.

© 2021 Danny Elfman, under exclusive license to Epitaph / Anti Music & lyrics published by Morte Pharmaceutical Music (BMI)

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Bretislav Pojar (1972)

Bretislav Pojar’s animated short explores the human phenomenon of resorting to violence over reason. The cubes live happily amongst themselves until one of them encounters a ball. War erupts and they fight until they all become the same again – this time in the form of hexagons. All is right in the world until one of them stumbles upon a triangle… Winner of the 1973 Grand Prix du Festival for Short Film at the International Film Festival in Cannes.

The National Film Board of Canada produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries and fiction. Their stories explore the world we live in from a Canadian point of view. Watch more free films on NFB.ca → http://bit.ly/YThpNFB

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Lynn Biederer, Millie Mara Mackie, Chloe Butchart, Jade Crooks, Aleksandra Szejko, & Sophia Austin (2020)

The Walk is the story of a man and his dog in the wilds of Scotland.

Inspired by the Scottish highlands and motivated by the love of dogs.

JADE CROOKS — Production Layouts & Backgrounds

MILLIE MARA MACKIE — 2D Animation/Character Design

LYNN BIEDERER — 2D Effects Animation/Concept Art

ALEKSANDRA SZEJKO — 2D Animation/Concept Art

CHLOE BUTCHART — Character Design/Concept Art

SOPHIA AUSTIN — 2D Animation Storyboarding

MUSIC BY BRUNO MAJOR & FINLAY ROBSON

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David Lynch (2002)

David Lynch Theater Presents: RABBITS 1

Rabbits is a 2002 series of eight short horror web films written and directed by David Lynch, although Lynch himself refers to it as a sitcom. It depicts three humanoid rabbits played by Scott Coffey, Laura Elena Harring, and Naomi Watts in a room. Their disjointed conversations are interrupted by a laugh track. Rabbits is presented with the tagline “In a nameless city deluged by a continuous rain… three rabbits live with a fearful mystery”.