THE JOURNAL of the BRITISH FILM ACADEMY

EDITORIAL BOARD Edgar Anstey (Chairman of Council)

John Bryan, Mary Field, O.B.E., Anthony Havelock-Allan, Vivienne Knight, Roger Manvel], Paul Rotha, Mrs. P. J. steele Executive Editor: Roger Manvell Associate Editor: Mrs. P. J. Steele

The Editorial Board is very grate/ul to John Halas tor undertaking the Editorship of this special issue of the Academy JOURNAL, alld. to the many companies and individuals who have supplied stills. CONTENTS Editorial The International Animated Film JOHN HALAS Great Britain JOHN HUNTLEY U.S.A. PHILIP STAPP France JEAN IMAGE

I. IVANOY:YANO . U.s.S.R. ," Canada GUY L. COTE Poland WLODZIMIERZ HAUPE Czechoslovakia JAROSLAY BROZ Book Review ADRIAN JEAKINS

Opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily represent those of the Academy.

The copyright of articles and other material published in the JOURNAL remains with the Academy. We will be grateful. therefore. if anyone wishing to enquire about the right to reprint any items would write to the Director of the British Film Academy.

The Academy Council gratefully acknowledge the generosity of Kodak, Ltd. for placing funds at their disposal to cover the costs of this issue of the British Film Academy JOURNAL.

Published by THE BRITISH FILM ACADEMY. 60 QUEEN ANNE STREET. LONDON. W.I

fIDNJED IN GREAT BRITAIN ED!TCIlIAL

THE MAIN PART of this JOURNAL is entirely devoted to the animated film in all its many forms and purposes-cartoon and puppet, entertainment and instruction, propaganda and advertising. In several countries for different purposes the animated film has been developed in recent years on a scale that makes it an important, if separate, branch of production- with its own prob­ lems of artistry, technique and studio organisation. The Editorial Board of the JOURNAL is grateful to John Halas for undertaking the editorship of this issue, which we hope will serve as a useful introduction to the International Festival of Animated Films which he is organising early in 1957 in London at the National Film Theatre in association with the British Film Institute.

THE INTERNATIONAL ANIMATED FILM JOHN HALAS

THE significant factor about the film industry This expansion is comparable to the sudden during the past few years is the sudden growth of live-action production during the revolution in cinema presenta tion. Whilst period of 1922 to 1926. An interesting factor great battles raged over the sha pes of cinema about this expansion is that it has ta ken screens, from Cinerama and Cinemascope place a t a time when the world output of to Cinemiracle, another revolution has taken live-action has gradually decreased. It must, pl ace. But this has passed practically however, be realised that, even with the unnoticed. No headlines, no posters to present expansion, animation forms only a publicise this event. It is the incredible small part in the total structure of the film expansion of the animation film industry all industry, although creatively a vital one. over the world. The reason for the increased demand is not The growth of animation output on a world entirely the new opportunities Television has wide basis is, indeed, spectacular. In Western created for this medium. Television has Europe a nd in North America, production helped only cartoonists in the Western has increased several times over the 1950 countries; in the East other influences a re output, whilst, east of Germany, new centres apparent. For insta nce, in Czechoslovakia, of production have emerged, particularly in Poland and China animated cartoons a nd Poland, Rumania and even as fa r afield as puppet film s are fostered as national arts and, China. In England, too, output has risen as a result, such productions enjoy direct state threefold in the last few years, with an increase sponsorship in the same way as our Old Vic of p ersonnel from 150 to over 400 artists. Theatre. Simila rly, animation in Russia is integrated into the national film programme, remnants of guild art craftsmen remaining in and plays quite a consi derable part in our century. providing entertainment for the younger generation. The Moscow cartoon film studio The elements of an animated picture­ now numbers 550 artists and, as in other story, movement, time, colour, design, tex­ eastern countries, the cartoon industry is still ture, sound and free imagination- are ap­ in the process of expansion to provide more parent in different territories to widely and a wider variety of entertainment films. varying extents. For instance, we are On the other hand, here and further west, accustomed to expect excellent timing, expert animated film production for theatrical animation and sufficient imagination, mai nly entertainment has, if anything, receded. in comic-strip technique, from the U.S.A., but Against this, new avenues have opened up for it is a pleasant surprise if such values are animation, in the form of industrial sponsor­ noticeable in films made in Czechoslovakia ship- sponsorship through international and Japan. Ac[Ually, the technical supremacy authorities for informational cartoons, adver­ of American cartoons no longer exists. We tising films for cinemas and Television, and notice in the last few years the incredible entertainment programme films for Television. technical advancement and perfection of the These new sources of work have attracted Russian cartoons, and regret bitterly the some of the leading artists previously engaged conspicuous absence of up-to-date design and on theatrical films, as well as quite a few the lack of free imagination. Tn this respect, talented artists from outside the film industry. the Russian cartoon is not unlike the average However, it must be realised that, here in the Hollywood animal cartoon product, but with West, the revenue from cinema cartoons has a slower timing to suit the local audience. On dropped so drastically due to the reluctance the other hand, we notice that films arriving of the cinemas to raise the rentals even above from Canada contain the ingredients of the pre-war level, that it is becoming impossible best design and wonderful texture, indicating to recoup the high cost of prod uction. a progressively free SPIrIt amongst the Animation therefore depends increasingly creators. Films from China reveal good on the other sources of sponsorship. The fact intentions in an endeavour to use imaginative that an expansion is in progress proves how fantasy, but, as yet, the technical skill is much the public enjoys a nd appreciates this lacking. The opportunity is there, if not the medium. experience. On the other hand, in France experience is more readily available than the The medium of animation at its best can be opportunity to make theatrical cartoons, and an important factor both in the creative we notice that the best efforts are achieved hy cinema and in graphic art. Tn such categories, courageous, individual animators whose work the quantitative expansion of large footages excels more in the category of pictorial values turned out in many countries m<1tters little. than in good story telling. The inquiring mind of an experimentalist or an uncompromising attitude of an artist From broad perspective, it is encouraging with his pencil matters more than large output. to see this medium becoming so much an The spirit of experimentalism against heavy integral part of national film activity in so odds is typical of this medium, but, on the many countries. So far, however, the public other hand, it is significant to notice that the has only had the chance to see American masters of this medium are possibly the last cartoons, due to their octopus-like world 2 distribution . The first internatio na l a nimated film festival in Britain which will take place at the National Film Theatre during February and March 1957 will try to show how wide the production of animated film s has spread throughout the world. The process of making cartoon films is closely confined over an a nimation desk, and therefore it is not a habit among cartoonists to work over each other's sho ulders. There is thus little chance of personally inter­ changin g ideas and methods, in spite of the fact that the final results are so international. It is hoped that our fe stival will bring together for the first time in England a number of interesti ng minds to set off a few spa rks.

The screening of some 150 films, including 12 o ut of the 31 features ever prod uced, should prove the great flexibility of which a nimatio n is capable and the very wide variety of styles. But our purpose has also a n im­ mediate practical intenti on. At this moment, the newsreel and specialised cinemas are sho rt of good, new animated films . There need n ot be a shortage. European animation developed some time ago to standards at least eq ual to those ach ieved by the Un i ted States in the theatrica l fi eld . The best of the Continenta l film s are gradua ll y bein g shown in local cin emas. It is hi gh time that E uro­ pea n cartoons received similar treatment. It is ho ped that cinema exhibitors, as well as our film-maker colleagues and the public, will find the contents of the festival interesting, entertainin g and beneficia l.

Representati ves from the seven major producing countries will contribute short articles to this issue, givin g a background of the operations and future expectations of a nimati on activities in their respective countries, in the hope that their information will widen the knowledge of our individual operations to our mutua l benefi t. 3

The H ;.sto,·y 0/ the Ci n ema (Great Britain) great c!l3ritain ANIMATION IN SrtITAIN JOHN HUNTLEY

IN Ameri ca, most a nimatio n work is linked with the major studios. Tom a nd Jerry come from the M .G.M. studios, Popeye from Paramount, Tweety Pie fro m Warners ; even the U .P.A. unit works under the general umbrella of Columbia, whilst Disney's is a lm ost a separate major studio in itself. In Britain, a nimatio n is a family busin ess, operating in the style of the medi eval craftsmen's guilds. The Units tend to stay together in sma ll communities, usua ll y in converted ho uses or tiny offices. Personnel grow up with their production compani es, often entering the business direct from University or Art School. Tra ining is done by experience, as the young learn from the old in the day-to-day work at the animation tables. There is a struggle to maintain continuity of production. Leadership is based on the personality of one or two people who often ma nage the whole operation as a kind of family concern , imposin g their style to a degree whi ch they themselves would scarcely admit, for many strive to encourage as much individual experiment as possible a mongst those who work for them. The Units are di vided into four mai n categories. First, there are the groups who produce sponsored film s but, because they have been in existence for a long time a nd have es tablished some measure of independence, are able to conduct occasional ex periments that lead to theatrical distribution, or even to produce films specificall y for the entertai nment ma rket. H a las a nd Batchelor Productions are a Unit of this kind. John H alas came to this coun try before the War, having worked in Hungary with George Pal; Joy Batchelor first met him in London a nd shared in the making of a nimation films, both here and in Budapest. They married a nd now operate the company under joint control. Like most British Units, they depend on sponsorship of various forms for their existence) This comes from three main sources: I. Official Bodies, Government Departments or In ter­ national Authorities. Examples of film s made recently in this category include To Your Health, for the World Hea lth Organi sation : Basic F/eerwork, for the Admiralty; The Sea, for the Ford Foundation ; a nd The Candlemaker, for the U nited Lutheran Church in America. 2. Sponsorship through Industry. Recent films include Power to Fly , for the British Petroleum Compa ny, a nd Invisible Exchange for Shell. 3. Direct Advertisments, made now mainly for Com­ merical Television. Halas a nd Batchelor made the famous Murraymints series, as well as a special series for Dunlop. 4

M ,·. F inl ey ' s F eelings, Ea,·th ·is a Battlefield, B ,.i t v .;c Co>n>ne,.ci al, T he Gas T u,.bine (Gr eat Bri tain) , Using the resources gained over years Halas and Batchelor produced the first of work in the "bread-and-butter" business, feature-length cartoon in this country (Animal Halas and Batchelor have been able to amuse Farm), the first stereoscopic experiment in ani­ themselves (and very large cinema audiences) mation (The Owl and the Pussycat), a nd the first with such pictures as their delightful History major puppet-animation production (Figure- oj' the Cinema, which was chosen for the head). Ever since their formation in 1940, they Royal Film Performance in 1956. Of a more \ have remained completely independent of any serious character was the feature length "'-.nnancial links with other organisations. Animal Farm, a rare example of an attempt The second type of Unit in Britain is that to use the cartoon film for the interpretation devoted entirely to sponsored work, but of a complicated political satire. The Unit taking fu ll advantage of the chances offered + that made these films is now ninety strong ; them by en li ghtened business concerns to it is run personally by John Halas and Joy experiment. The William Larkins Studio, Batchelor, both of whom are active at every operated by Geoffrey Sumner and Theodore stage in the making of the films as well as Thumwood, was started in 1942 under the handling the complicated business problems name of Analysis Films. It became part of that arise in sustaining the flow of the spon­ the Film Producer's Guild in 1947 and, as sorship so essential to ilieic conti.f.l.ued.-exis­ Larkins Studio, has since produced about 820 tence.) The shapingof spira lling movements short anim ated films. There are seventy around little twirls of Matyas Seiber's clever people in the Unit, which turns out about wood-wind orchestrations in well-known tunes 30,000 feet of final-cut material a yea r. is characteristic of their work, as well as a Personnel tends to remain static, and the love of perky, bouncing little men who tackle Unit's tradition in training can be gathered everything from I ncome Tax forms to oi l-well from the fact that, on a recent prize-winning drilling with a gay, impertinent but pleasing film , the average age of the production team confidence. was 23. A n ·imal F aTm (Gr eat B ritain) A 8ho,·t V·i8ion, Down a L ong Way (Gr eat Britain) As in the case of Halas and Batchelor, Finally, there a re the experimental groups, certain of their films have broken through to whose status borders between professional the theatrical field , although they have not so and a mateur. Typical is the case of Joan and far made films except to order. Men of Merit, Peter Foldes, who produce a nimated films for example, was shown in some 3,000 ci nemas in their own home in Edgware. Peter Fold es, in this country alone; 602 copies were printed li ke John H a las, came to London from by Technicolor. The studio's style is still, Hungary; he met hi s wife here and they now perhaps almost unconsciously, influenced by work together on all their fi lms. Animated the work of Peter Sachs, notably by his Genesis, their first fi lm, was made on their own angular fig ures, clear-cut lines a nd sharply­ resources up to picture rough-cut stage. It defi ned backgrounds, in which detail is was then shown to the British Film Institute, reduced to a minimum . Earth is a Battlefield, who persuaded Sir Alexander Korda to see it ; their current production, has a clever exten­ he completed the sound track and gave the sion of the technique in a series of disjointed, picture di stribution through British Lion. cut-out figures which perform to a sound track A Short Vision, the six-minute story of a n in the r hymin g style of Enterprise, a n earli er artist's impression of the world destroyed by film by Peter Sachs. nuclear fission , was also made as a private The third m ain type of a nimation U nit is ve nture in the beginning; it was completed exemplified by Nicholas and Mary Spargo's with the help of the British Institute's group at Henley-on-Thames. Formed to Experimental Production F und, a nd later produce material specificall y for Commercial shown on Ameri can television. Television, the Unit now consists of eleven The personal quality of British animation people workin g in a large room over a shop fi lm s derives from the struggle for indepen­ in the centre of the town. Foll owing the dence, the imprint of a beneficent sponsorship well-established pattern, there are al ready a nd the style of those who founded their own two trainees in the group, working on the groups and contin ue to run them. The system fifteen , thirty- and fifty-second commercials is not without drawbacks. Experiment, for wh ich the U nit was set up. Because they especia ll y in subject matter, is always subor­ are li vely and imagin ative, work flows at a dinate to the needs of the sponsor. Full fast pace; Nicholas Spargo spends much of his public scree nings are the exception, however time on the busin ess side at the moment, while deli cate the advertisement. The Units a re hi s wife is usuall y to be found in the studio. too busy with their own work to indulge Both gain ed their experience in the tough in large-scale publicity. They have to contend school of the David H a nd Unit at Cookha m. with the fact that the major circuits are, by­ Jn addition to the ind ependent units, and-large, completely deaf to their work. there are a number of sma ll animation groups By contrast many E uropean countries en­ in Britain attached to certain large organisa­ courage the work of their a nimation units. tions like the Shell Film U nit. Francis J n spite of these difficulties, British a nimated Rodker a nd a small team of specia li sts have fi lms have won ma ny international awards. been producing excellent diagrams a nd These films are being used increasingly in the a nimated sections for the Shell U nit si nce U nited States, both in the cinemas a nd over its formation in 1935. Three a nimation television. The battle for a screening is being cameras are in use, each producing about won at long last; in every country, except 4,000 feet of exposed film a year. Britain . 6 M u n 'aY1n'ints CO?n?ne?'cial , The Ow l and the Pussycat (Great B r i tain) Rl. 05. m. ANIMATED FILMS IN THE U.S.A. PHILIP STAPP, New York

AT TH E Cannes Film Festival in the spring of free) bore little resemblance to the self­ 1956 I overheard a ticket taker remark to a conscious, publicity hungry international puzzled tourist who evidently had tried un­ set which attended the gala openings of the successfully to get into the premiere of one of longer features. The cartoons were attended the full length feature presentations, "II y a by the producers themselves, a motley crew aussi des petites dessins-animes." Judging from every corner of the earth, and casual from the tone in which he spoke, half spectators from the streets, curious and condescending, half affectionate, his words unprejudiced. It was interesting to watch seemed to imply " tough luck, but as a the reaction of this audience to films which consolation there are some little cartoons to ranged all the way from animated folk tales of be seen if you care to have a look." He was Texas to heavy political propaganda from referring to the International Festival of both sides of the iron curtain. The actor who Animated Films which was taking place at the drew the most spontaneous outburst of same time in another part of the cinema laughter was that ageless veteran whose Palais. H is attitude was similar to that of the career has remained unchanged throughout general run of movie-goer everywhere. The the years, Mr. Donald Duck. His frustration cartoon is usually considered a pleasing in the fi lm which so delighted the audience little hors d'oeuvre to be enjoyed along with was caused by his ineffectual efforts to fall more substantial fare. That this hors d'oeuvre asleep in spite of a relentless neon light wh ich is we lcome is apparent in the little murmurs kept flashing off and on, and the insistent of anticipated delight which still run through sound of dripping water from a tap wh ich most audiences when the faces of Pluto, gradually increased in his imagination until Mickey Mouse or Mr. Magoo come on to the each drop seemed a bomb visibly shaking the screen. Jt is as though the a udience realizes whole earth with rhythmic concussions. that for a few minutes they will be spared the Donald's frustration seemed on that after­ sensational horrors which so often appear noon in Cannes to touch a note of under­ in the newsreel, or the tired cliches of a third standing which reached across the barriers of rate travelogue. With the cartoon the language and nationality. This particular film audience can enter into a realm of pure was, as always with Disney, elaborately fantasy, in which the laws of gravity are non­ animated, 110 economy tricks employed, no existent, where pain is not pain and where corners cut. The sound track with its characters become symbols or stereotypes, metamorphosis of dripping water to world­ not to be taken very seriously. shaking "booms" was imaginative and ap­ The audience which strayed in to see the propriate to the medium. Also, like most animated films at Cannes (the tickets were of Disney's films, it was a sample of the usual 7 over-cute style with background drawings now popular cartoon character, Mr. Magoo, similar to the easiest kind of commercial whose blithe innocence and near-sightedness advertising. leads him unscathed and unconcerned through It is impossible to consider the animated the violence of the modern world. Mr. film in the United States without thinking Magoo, like Donald Duck, has become a first of Disney. After 30 years his name is beloved international personality. still synonymous with the short cartoon in the The U.P.A. style, according to their own minds of most of the American movie­ spokesmen, derives from " modern" art. 1t is audience. Sometimes during the long period uncluttered, flat and often linear. The since his first exciting Silly Symphonies characters do not seem bound by any natural appeared, the work from his large organisa­ physical laws of movement. Perhaps one of tion in California seemed to have sunk into the greatest contributions of the U.P.A. is the doldrums. Formula replaced invention. that they have shown the public that the less The medium lost its initial public appeal. realistic a movement is , the more creditable Disney's excursions into the field of "live it becomes optically. Disney sometimes action" have been sometimes rewarding, bases the movement of his characters on live sometimes disappointing. Some of the wild action models, as with Alice in Alice in life films have recaptured the excitement of his Wonderland. The greater the effort to early cartoons, while the romantic historic imitate realistic movement, the more apt costume pieces have often seemed banal. one is to be aware of the stroboscopic Always a clever showman, he has recently nature of the medium, the more jittery the built a large fun fair, or amusement park in result. If legs are used to express the symbol California which serves also as a setting for of walking, rather than the imitation of television programme material. When, from walking, the illusion of movement is more time to time, a new feature length cartoon acceptable, a paradox which indicates the appears, such as Lady and The Tramp, in validity of the " modern" art approach. Like which the chief characters are dogs, one is any device this simplification can be carried amazed at the technical slickness of the too far. If the human figure becomes too animation and annoyed by the weak story line, abstract it may lose all its expressive power. which seems to be influenced by the wish Usually the U .P.A. figures, moving flatly on a to include every sure-fire box-office trick. flat screen are consistent, humorous and This approach does not lead to any fresh convincing. experiments within the medium. Less effective have been certain of the It was the short film Gerald McBoing­ U.P.A. attempts to animate the drawings of Boing which first brought a radical change of "big name" illustrators, such as Thurber and style to the attention of the public in America Bemelmans. The Unicorn in the Garden and and soon after to the cinema-goers in Europe. Madeline are examples. Since the quality of This highly original short film , produced by both Thurber's and Bemelmans' drawings U.P.A. Pictures, with finely integrated music depends on a subtlety and unevenness of line by Gail Kubik and with sophisticated visual which is impossible to use in the animation elements, seemed to satisfy a public at that technique, where every celleloid must have an time weary of the Disney formula. The almost mechanical similarity, the flavour of talented minds which produced " Gerald" the original is lost and the result is far less had made previous cartoons in which visual successful than the work of lesser known wit and economical animation had replaced artists, whose training within the film medium the elaborately evolved techniques established has taught them its restrictions. by the larger studios, but these films had never Nevertheless, the U .P.A. has been a healthy been seen in the theatres. Some of the U .P.A. influence in the United States. The proof men had worked previously in the Disney that a new style has had its effect on Disney Studios. The organisation under the leader­ and his imitators is seen in their efforts to ship of Stephen Busustow has now expanded modernise their own productions. Disney into the field of television. Robert Cannon, has released a short history of music called one of the most brilliant U.P.A. directors, Whistlc, Toot, Plunk and Boom, which seemed brings a fertile imagination and fresh ap­ to imply that if his studios wished, they too proach to each new film he creates. Another could work in the " modern" style. The director, Pete Burness, who has been with popular M.G.M. films, with incredibly fast the U.P.A. since its early days, has created a pacing and surrealist gags, seem also to have 8 been influenced by the general trend toward simplification and more abstract charac­ terisation. The U.P.A. quite justly boasts that its background painters are serious modern artists, some of whom exhibit in well known ga ll eries and have work in art museums. But the real problem of any single individual in the United States who wants to use the animated film as a creative medium is quite different from the problem of the easel painter. Film-making has become, although not necessarily, a collective undertaking. An individual artist, in making a film , must face the fact that the essence of animation is the creation of an illusion of movement sy nchronised to a composed sound track. This requires a certain knowledge of music and of choreography of line, form and colour. Even if the artist masters these elements, he is then confronted with the inescapable fact that to produce even a short film involves a costliness out of proportion to the creation of the other arts. Few individuals are free to cope with this dilemma. Norman McLaren, in Canada, is the outstanding exception. McLaren, since he began, has worked a lone, or with the single collaboration of a com­ poser. His experiments are the direct impact of his own ideas on to fi lm. No assembly line of animators, tracers and painters stands between him and his finished product. But McLaren is subsidised by the Canadian Film Board which, in the face of some opposition, has had the courage to defend the position that McLaren's contribution has brought them large di vidends in prestige. Surely it is accurate to say that the most forward looking groups offilm-makers owe much to McLaren's researches. I n the United States a few colleges with courses of study in film techniques provide the student with equipment a nd the oppor­ tunity to experiment. It is too soon for these islands of isolated effort to show any tangible results on the professional field. Certain foundations in the United States have, in the past, granted stipends to individuals for "creative work in film-making". These generous gra nts made it possible for an individual to plan a film, but it is outside of their scope to provide the vastly greater sum of money necessary for production. Few of these projects have been realised. Sponsors who do provide enough money for even a one­ reeler quite understandably want the film to sell their product, no matter whether it be soap, 9

To You,' H ealth (Gr eat Britain-U.S.A.) To ?}~ and J erry, Balant'ine Con~?neTcial) TV C01l1me,'cin/ fa" a R estlluTant (U.S.A.) The Lady and the Tmmp (U.S.A.) cancer research or democracy. Which does been if Disney had not had his enormous not mean that good films cannot be made on influence. In the first place, animation these themes. But there is li ttle chance for the might not necessarily have been only cartoon. individual to produce a genuinely experi­ The simplest visual element, a dot, or a line, mental fi lm on his own subject. can become a dancing symbol and convey an It is difficult to say what the future of this idea, an association. These ideas could be medium in the U.S. will be. At present developed with other means than by con­ animation is still popular in the entertainment ve ntional story telling. The film need not fields and in commercial television. Some of always be based on a literary concept. It the most imaginative uses of animation at could be, for the spectator, an expenence present are in one-minute TV commercials. like seeing dancing, or hearing music. Within A nimation is in demand in those sponsored the medium not only new forms, but new industrial films where a mechanical concept ways of expression could be evolved. The can be shown more clearly than it can in live­ animated film need not always be a pastische, action. Animation is also useful in industrial a sequence of gags or a fairy tale. It could films which try to express abstract ideas or be a powerful medium. It is condensed and fantasy. potent. Like most potent things, it is better in Donald Duck, in his better movements, small doses. But in a brief time it can pack a still communicates to an international terrific punch. In the end its possibilities are audience. It would be interesting to speculate, limited only by the imagination of the film­ however, as to what animation might have maker. 10 Mr. M agoo Beats the H eat> Madeline (U.S.A.) Yranee What Future is there tor the Animated Film? JEAN IMAGE, Paris

BETWEEN 1942 and 1953, our production of Cineastes Associes, many producers are entertainment short and feature-length car­ devoting themselves exclusively to this form toons was relatively flourishing ; advertising of the cartoon fi lm. Strong influences of cartoons had not yet attained their present­ " modernism" and "stylisation" are notice­ day importance. able in the latest productions, and it is After producing three feature-length films: undeniable that on this level the French La Berge,,:; et Ie Ramoneur (Paul GrimauIt animated cartoon is amongst the best in the and Andre Sarrut), Jeannot l'Intrepide and world, the proof being that our studios work Bonjour Paris (Jean Image) and a certain not only for France but also steadily for the number of shorts such as Le Petit Soldat, Le United States, Great Britain, Belgium, and Voleur de Paratonnerres (Paul Grimault), other countries. Le Troubadour de la Joie (Orner Bocquey), Les It should be noted that outside the tech­ Actualites Romaines (Jacques Remise), Kapok nique of animated cartoon, France has been (Arcady), Les Aventures du Capitaine Sabord for some time among the leading countries (Andre Rigal), Les Fables de la Fontaine (Jean developing three-dimensional puppets, Image), French cartoon films obtained world­ through the work of Raik and Alexeiff. wide success and rewards at Film Festivals. Parallel to the advertising film, production It should be stressed that the greater part is also carried out in France on instructional of these productions were made under pri­ films and animated-diagrams; Jean Image's mitive working conditions, and their distri­ studios produced in 1955 the first lO-minute bution was never assured. Towards 1953, in instructional film in cartoon form in colour spite of every effort, nearly all production of for the French Mining Industry called: non-advertising animated films was stopped; Un Grain de Bon Sens. alone Henri Gruel and Jean Image continued Such is the present position. As for the their efforts to maintain French production in future, I believe that world television offers this field . . countless openings for animation. Already a Here are the films produced between 1955 very large number of advertising films are and 1956: Le Voyage de Badabou, La Rose et Ie being made for television. It is true that for Radis Noir (Henri Gruel), Le Loup et [' Agneau, the moment television in France does not use Monsieur Victor or La Machine a retrouver Ie advertisin g, but nearby stations such as Temps (Jean Image). Luxembourg and Monte Carlo will be needing The constant progress made by advertising more and more short advertising films. animated films during the last ten years is The big opportunity offered to us is indisputable. As well as the two largest colour television, which is making such a production companies, La Co mete and Les brilliant start in America. Short subjects of 11 , ...... from 7 to 13 minutes wil l be required for this tlSlllg films . A form of entertainment, which will soon be great challenge introduced to European stations. is offered to We are well aware of the great success artists a nd which the work of Wa lt Disney and U.P.A. animated film has obtain ed on American television, and we producers to beli eve that we have before us immense find something possibilities for new forms of arti stic expres­ "new" . sio n suitable to this new kind of entertain­ The non- ment. ad ve rtisi ng and I n front of the sma ll television screen, with non - sponsored its family a udience, a kind of intimacy is film can rarely growin g up between the artist film-maker and survive outside the spectator. The new factor is that while the frame-work we a re in fact addressin g millions of spec­ of a state-sub­ tators at o ne time, each o ne of them must be sidised organi­ addressed individua ll y: in fact " intimate" sation ; the interesting and prospering films must be created for " milli ons of people". Canadian ex periment (National Film Board I n fact, at the moment, French animated of Canada) shows that a result can be obtained film producers want nothing more than to on this level within a democracy. ex ploit to the full their international success An ex periment is being made in Fra nce a t in ad ve rtisin g film s. According to the latest the moment which aims to band together the reports given at the Cannes Festival on the few remaining independent animated film subject of adve rtisin g film s, 27 animated films producers- or those wishing to acquire were shown by foreign organisations, which independence- to pool, as it were, their work proves that the animated film (s uch as in a nimation. This organisation would a im puppet-films by Alexeiff a nd Raik , and car­ to make ex perimental film s a nd carry o ut toons by two or three bi g specialised organisa­ research with the object of finding fres hness tions) has reached its greatest level of of style and a lso of technique. prosperity since its conception in France. At the time of writing, nothing definite The principal preoccupation of designers can be said yet about this new scheme, except a nd producers of these films is novelty of the fact that the idea was first proposed at the expressio n, novelty not o nl y in subject Animated Film Festival at Cannes where, at matter but also on the drawing-board. last, after years of competition and isolation, Takin g into account a ll that is being done, one our producers were able to meet, excha nge wonders what will be the future of this kind id eas, explain their difficulties, a nd express of development a nd whether the advertisers their desi re for a solution to their probl ems. who are at present interested in this type of It was realised that there is sti ll a future for publicity will maintain their preference for this work in France, where the animated film this kind of film. It is a fact, however, that it was invented just over 50 years ago, a nd that is through cartoons a nd puppet film s that following the fin e work produced during the adve rtisin g can be most effective in the short­ years 1945-50 there is a lso hope for the es t possible time. This affects also Interlude animated film for both cinema a nd television. La. B e1'f) e1'e et l e, Ra.1noneu1' .. Un G1'wi:n (le Bon S e n. ~ , transmissions for television as much as ad ver- Ombnlle et P(!"(!plwi.e (France) Rl,oS,oS,§(, CAn TOON FILMS IN SOVIET UN'ION I. IVANOV-VANO, Moscow

GREAT importance for the development of development which can be said to be the ma in cartoon films in the Soviet U ni on attaches to one in Soviet cartoons, a nd that is the filmin g the Government's decision in 1936 to set up of fai ry-tales, the world of fantasy and in Moscow a special cartoon studio­ caricature. The main audiences for which we Soyuzmultfilm, This studio brought together are working are children of all age-groups. a number of the main groups working on The main task the Soyuzmultfilm studio was cartoons in Moscow under the direction of given at its inception was the provision of films veterans of Soviet cartoon-making, for children and young people. During the During the first stage of Soyuzm ultfilm's thirty years of its existence it has coped development it included groups working creditably with this task, a nd in the course of under the following artists: A. V. Ivanov and recent years can clai m successes of some P . P. Sazonov; 0 . P . Khodatayeva and the importance. sisters Valentina and Zinaida Brumberg; Children's cartoon films from the Soviet I. Ivanov-Vano ; D . N . Babichenko; L. A. Union are well known beyond the bounds Amalrik ; V. 1. Polkovnikov; V. G . Suteyev; of our country. Films such as The Little B. P. Dezhkin. Later these were joined by Hump-Backed Horse directed by 1. Ivanov­ artists from Leningrad, M . M . Tsekhanovsky Vanoand Grey Neck di rected by L. Amalrik a nd M. S. Pashchenko, and by a representa­ a nd V. Polkovnikov have been shown with tive from Armeni a, L. K . Atamanov. These great success in America as well as in film-makers remain to this day the basic Europe. Director Mstislav Pashchenko's artistic nucleus of the Soyuzmultfilm studio. films Forest Travellers, When the Christmas Trees Are Lit, The Disobedient Kitten and The unification of small, scattered cartoon The Unusual Match have appeared on the studios into one large studi o of ali-Union screens of many countries. importance did not depri ve directors and EquaJJy well known is the work of the artIsts of their individuality; on the contrary directors Leonid Amalrik and Vladimir it made possible the development of more Polkovnikov- The High Hill, The Magic Shop, advanced undertakings from the point of The Arrow Flies Into Fairyland and Snowball view both of a rtistry and production, and Postman ; and the work of Mikhail Tsekhanov­ set cartoon-making in our country on a new sky, who in recent years has directed The Tale path. of the Fisherman and the Fish, Kashtanka and The Soyuzmultfilm studio is today the The Frog Princess. The talented director Lev biggest studio for the production of cartoon Atamanov also has some interesting works to films in E urope, not merely in the Soviet hi s credit-The Yellow Stork, The Crimson Union. It is equipped with the latest in Flower and, particularl y, his Go/den Antelope; modern apparatus for new technical processes, the same can be said of Alexander I vanov and and has on its staff a large number of a rtists his Rab and Bit, The Painted Fox, Deep In specIalising in various branches of cartoon the Forest, The Pipe and the Bear, etc. A production. number of Soviet cartoons- Song of Joy, The lines along which Soviet cartoon­ The Fox and the Blackbird, The Little Hump­ making is developing are extremely varied. Backed Horse, The Seven-fold Flower, Grey Political a nd social satire, film "pamphlets", Neck, The Disobedient Kitten, The Painted cartoon posters, scientific a nd educational Fox, The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish, cartoons, fables, fairy-tales (both traditional The Un usual Match, The Magic Shop, Sarmiko, a nd modern), fantasy, musical comedy­ The Gallant Heart, Deep in the Forest, Fire in these are only a few of the genres in which Yaranga etc.- have received first prizes Soviet cartoon-makers are working. But in and diplomas of honour at international film spite of this variety, there is one line of festivals . 13 At the present time large numbers of thank for the ideas behind many of the best Soviet cartoons are being dubbed into the works produced in the post-war years. languages of Europe, Asia and of a number of Tn Moscow there are a number of special African countries; they are, in fact, being children's cinemas which show nothing but shown today in fifty-nine different countries. cartoons. In their repertoire of Soviet The central cartoon film studio Soyuzmuit­ cartoons for children there are fables, film has sixteen full-scale production groups Russian fo lk-tales and folk-tales of other engaged on regular planned work. Each peoples of the USSR, the classical fairy­ production group possesses its own character, stories of Pushkin, stories and little tales in and works in its own particular style. verse for very small children, films about Alongside the "old masters" of our art sport, musical films and adventure stories. there is growing up a new and talented At the present time the Soyuzmultfilm studio generation of cartoon directors and artists; is preparing for release fairy-tales of many for instance, the young director Ivan Aksen­ nations. Hans Andersen's Ugly Duckling, in a chuk, to whom belongs the excellent produc­ cartoon version produced by a young director, tion The Hazel Wand, based on the Rumanian Vladimir Degtyarev, is already being shown. folk-tale of the same name ; Yevgeni Raikov­ So is a full-length film , The Enchanted Boy, sky and Vladimir Degtyarev, who have made based on the fantasy by the Swedish authoress an interesting film from a Korean folk-tale­ Selma Lager/of. This film has a script by Pak the Brave; also the talented artist M. Volpin ; the directors are Vladimir Yevgeni Migunov, and others; in the near Polkovnikov and Alexandra Snezhko­ future they will carryon with honour the Blotskaya; artists-Lev Milchin and Grazhina work of the older generation of Soviet Brashishkite. Production of another full­ cartoonists. The ranks of those working in length film is now completed-The Twelve cartoon films are reinforced by a planned Months, based on the fairy-tale play by intake of new recruits ; in the All-Union Marshak, directed and produced by I. State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) Ivanov-Vano. The Brumberg sisters, those special training is provided for artists who will veterans of cartoon direction, recently later work in cartoons. All those students completed production of an Albanian folk­ who have successfully completed these courses tale, The Helpful Stick. The young director in the Institute are now working satisfactorily Ivan Aksenchuk has made a film from an at the Soyuzmultfilm and other cartoon Uzbek tale, The Stork. Vladimir Polkovnikov studios within the' Soviet Union. The names is finishing a screen version of an Tndian folk­ of former students of the Institute who are tale, The Young Jackal and the Camel. now talented cartoon artists are well-known Mikhail Tsekhanovsky is at present working in the Soviet Union. Apart from this source on another Indian tale, The Little Girl and the of new workers, the Soyuzmultfilm studio Tiger. This film will be ready by the end of itself trains cartoon artists at courses it this year. organises independently, and which are Director Dmitri Babichenko, who recently attended by thirty young artists who passed a made an interesting three-reel film which was competitive entrance examination. well reviewed in the press, A Million in the In recent years the masters of cartoon­ Bag, is now working on a film to be called making have come to turn more and more Little Sh ego, which is based on themes from often to the best examples of folk art and of Afghan folk-tales. This production is to be classical literature for their subjects, and have completed in November of this year. One striven to re-create on the screen not only the of the studio's oldest directors, Alexander idea and content of such works, but the full Ivanov, has completed a "comic tale with a flavour of their particular artistic form. moral for children"-Trouble in the Wood, Directors have begun to approach a script, which relates how the bear ate too much honey regarding it not as ao opportunity for the 'and then got toothache. (Moral-look after production of a spectacle full of tricks and your teeth and don't be afraid of the dentist.) transformations, but as the basis for the Two young directors, Yevgeni Raikovsky and general sense of the film and for its artistic Boris Stepantsev, have made a film called character. For this reason a whole series of Murzilka's Adventures which is to be the well-known children's authors and script­ first of a series showing the same cartoon writers have been drawn into work on characters. cartoons, and Soviet cartoons have them to Director Leonid Amalrik is working on a 14 film for small children to be called The Little Fairy tale for Grown-Ups, which will criticise Ship; script is by Vladimir Suteyev. Director some less worthy aspects of our daily life. Pyotr Nosov is completing a film based on a After the famous productions by Alexander Ukrainian folk-tale, The Pie. Director Ptushko The New Gulliver and The Golden Key, Msti slav Pashchenko, in collaboration with three-dimensional puppet cartoons have artist Boris D ezhkin, has fini shed Old received a new lease of life ; new, young Acquaintances- this is a comedy of sport, artists have taken up work in this genre, as in which the audience once again meets the has also a famous master of the art, Sergei same heroes as in The Unusual Match. Obraztsov, Artistic Director of the State Besides the film s already mentio ned, there are Puppet Theatre; he has just finished produc­ others now in production in the studio based tion in the Soyuzmultfilm studio of a big on Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, film called A Heavenly Creature. Italian, Russian, Chinese and Egyptian folk­ Director Vladimir Degtyarev is just finish­ tales. Also in production is a full-length ing work on a puppet film based on the well­ screen version of Andersen's Th e Snow Queen, known Russian folk-tale Jack Frost. At directed by Lev Atamanov. The Brumberg present in production is a puppet cartoon sisters are starting work on a film to be called called Safe in Port. This is a musical comedy Wishes Come True or Z erbinoteau the Solitary. film with a contemporary theme; in it are This film is based on the French tale by ridiculed people who hide inner poverty E. Laboule about the happy wood-cutter beneath a glossy surface. This film is directed Zerbinot. Mstislav Pashchenko will begin by A. Karanovich. Two more satirical films work on a four-reel film , Cipollino- a screen are also in production- Three-Course Dinner, version of the story by the well-known Italian directed by G . Lomidze, and The Bogy Who writer Gianni Rodari, about the adventures Couldn't Scare Anyone, directed by Roman of the " onion-boy" Cipollino, a tireless fi ghter Davydov. The output of cartoon and puppet for justice who is a favourite with children. film s in the Soviet Union is increasing greatly Director Ivan Aksenchuk is to start work on from year to year. Apart from the Soyuz­ Cicco of Naples in the Magic Forest, the script multfilm studio cartoon production has been for which is written on themes from a play started once again at the Tbilisi Film Studio. by Gianni Rodari and M . Saratelli called The Production of scientific and educational Wishing Plant and from Rodari's poems. The cartoons is widely developed in the Soviet general theme of the script is peace, friendship Union; this form of cartoon-making is and happiness for children over all our planet. mainly concentrated in the popular science T. Ivanov-Vano is thinking of work on a film film studios of Moscow, Leningrad, Sverd­ based on a Russ ian folk-tale- At the Pike's lovsk, Kiev and other cities. Cartoon Bidding-about the poor but cheerful Yemel, technique is widely employed in documentary who is amply rewarded for his wit, kindness and news-reel studios too, particularly at the and hard work. After directing The Little Ship Central News-reel Studio in Moscow. Leonid Amalrik will be working on Pussycat's A whole series of higher educational House. The script is based on the fairy-tale institutions of the Soviet Union-Moscow play of the same name by Marshak. The University, the Moscow Aviation lnstitute young and talented artist Yevgeni Migunov is etc.-also various scientific research centres, starting work, in collaboration with Arkadi have their own cartoon studios and labora­ Raikin, a well-known variety actor, on tories producing scientific and teaching production of a film-feuilleton to be called A cartoon film s. The Unusual M at ch , The Vain B ear (U.S.S.R.) ANIMATION FILMS IN CANADA GUY L. COTE, Montreal TH E story of the a nimated film in Canada from simple drawin gs o n tra nslucent paper to largely centres a ro und the work accomplished complex ce ll fi lm s. The department works in at the National Film Board, the official sma ll un its, whose members are engaged in government film agency established in 1940 o ne o r two pa rticul ar projects over long by John Grierson to " interpret Canada to periods of time, each drawing their own sto ry Canadi a ns a nd to other nati ons". U nder the board, designing the backgro unds, work in g direction first of N orman McLaren, then of o ut the animation, editing the picture a nd Jim M ackay a nd now of Colin Low, the supervisin g the sound recording- in fact, t he a nimati on depa rtment of the N .F.B. has a rti sts have the o pportunity of foll owin g the grown from a tiny nucleus of workers in 1941 creatio n of their fi lm thro ugh all its stages. to a thriving unit of some fo urteen animation Thus, each member of Canada's anim ation arti sts. Durin g that time, over 75 sho rt film s department has ex perimented with most of have been produced, not including specia l the sta ndard methods now employed in the a nimati o n sequences made fo r the Board 's industry a nd each in his own way has evol­ documentary producti ons. ved fresh approaches to the technical and D iversity has been o ne of the characteristics artistic problems of film p roduction. of the department's work, both in the multi­ Earl y in the Board 's hi sto ry, it was decided tude of purposes for which its films have been to produce a seri es of animated film s illustra­ executed as well as in the vari ety of animation tin g Canadian fo lksongs of F rench a nd Engli sh techniques that have been employed, from origin . Of these, the Chants Popu/aires are per­ pa per cut-o uts to three-dimensional puppets, haps the most familiar to E uropean a udiences. The R omance 0/ TTa1lsj)01·tation (Canada) Cadet Rousselle, also, was a spirited version of the old French ballad in which George Dunning and Colin Low utilised to good effect the technique of metal cut-outs. Dunning (who is now at the London office ofU.P.A.) and lim Mackay (who works independently in Toronto) are two well-known Canadian animation artists who have si nce set up their own production units: their early N.F.B. films- Grim Pastures and Three Blind Mice (Dunning), Teeth are to Keep and Stanley Takes a Trip (Mackay)- remain ex.cellent examples of in genuity, style a nd conciseness in educational films. [n later years, artists such as Wolf Koenig, Robert Verrall, Grant Munro a nd Sydney Goldsmith were to collaborate on equally imagi native though more hi ghly polished productions: The Romance of Transportation (which won the British Film Academy award in 1953), Riches of the Earth and Huff" and Puff; to name a few. Colin Low, the present director of the unit, has not only distingui shed himself in the field of animated films (Challenge: Science vs. Cancer) but i ~ also a sensitive director of documentaries (Corral, Gold), an occupation which he feels gives him perspective a nd useful stimulation in his animation work. Now installed in its new quarters in Montreal, the unit is currently working on two ambitious projects about astronomy and architecture, as well as on numerous \ sponsored films for government departments. It is true to say, however, that the work of Norman McLaren has somewhat overshadowed that of his Canad ia n colleagues. His unique position at the Board, which enables him to ollow the byways of his fancy, has earned for him the international reputation of being a tireless ex.perimenter. His pyrotechnical "doodles"; as his friends someti mes refer to them, always seem to bring something new and unexpected to the screen. From his early beginnings at the Glasgow School of Fine Arts, McLaren has looked upon the business of picture making as a real adventure, inventing his own tools and dispensing with most of the paraphernalia that surrounds conventional productions, including cameras and sound recording apparatus. For many years, he has been helped by Miss Evelyn Lambart, who has been closely associated with a number of his films. For others, he has worked alone, tirelessly, the twentieth-century equ ivalent to a fifteenth-century miniaturist, often drawing his im ages by hand directly on to 35 mm. film­ frame by frame- controlling by the subtleties of his brush stroke the life of those magic shadows which spring out of hi s personal world of poetry and fantasy. There is little doubt that his short a bstractions such as Begone Dull Care and Blinkity Blank (which won the British Film Academy Award in 1956) often surprise and ·deli ght an unsuspecting audience; nor can one deny that the message of Neighbours, the unfettered espieglerie of Rhythmetic, or even the simple gentleness of La Poulette Grise, can hold and fascinate a spectator by the novelty of the invention, the carefree humour and the depth of observation which these films so 17

Blinkit y-'/;;lan l< (Ca n ad a) abundantly display. McLaren's work has " Animation is not the art of drawings­ gained a succes d'estime which the com­ that-move, but th~ rt of movements -that-are­ mercial exhibitors-had they somewhat more drawn" h - McLaren. " What initiative and daring- could readily transform happens between each frame is much more into a larger public acclaim. What is possibly important than what exists on each frame. not so readily appreciated, however, is the Animation is therefore the art of manipulat­ very great contribution which McLaren has ing the invisible interstices that lie between made to the aesthetics of the cinema, and frames." Tau .- 'q.u~ G&.d-ie-a-teEl- film­ more particularly of the animation film . For, ar.t~s-t:-e-X'p'lains--what-h-e-e(') ns-ta fI tl y re min d s --u s in his own way, he has once again restated of in his O"fr,-ffOTI'lth; chaTmmg- C'est the importance of the cinema's very funda­ L'a.viroa - to the therea ~movementso f mentals: motion and picture. Tn the early ...... ,t.V-"...... ~ 'huim e---a-lTd-t:f'i e-5TilTi a n t.s Im pI ici lTo f 940 s, at a time when the naturalistic '1£e-n op~ The road in which he is engaged cartoon was in its heyday, McLaren was is a narrow one- few, if any, had they a pen, a already instinctively asserting by his work razor blade, a chalk pencil or a pair of that the future of the animated film did not scissors, could hope to follow him or build reside in clever imitations of a sentimentalised on hi s inventions. But McLaren's message is reality. Stripping the film to its bared, trans­ clear and universal: through the most parent celluloid, McLaren dahl€ re­ abstract of his doodles, the most well-timed investigate the powers of cinematic movement, of his movements, the most riotous of his of visual and aural counterpoint, of intermit­ colour fantasies, McLaren tells us that the tent animation, of impressionistic clusters, of world of the animated film is far from fully overlapping dissolves, inventing his own explored a-Ild-t-hat- t-l:l-es i-R-vi-sit>le--i n-tef . es sounds, destroying the rectangular visual frame bet-ween frames still have many sec ·e.t-s itself by the very act of drawing a single brush H>clo e. - stroke across a succession of time-images. /~)

IS ANIMATED FILM A TnUE AnT? ONE of the pioneers of the puppet film was a and Karlovy Vary Festivals, but there are also Pole- Wladyslaw Starewicz, who worked in some younger film-makers who are busy France. Although animation was developed developing their technique. Of the senior to a minor extent in Poland itse(f before the puppet film-makers I should mention Zenon War by such film-makers as Fran ciszka and Wasilewski (The Dragon of Cracow) , Wlodzi­ Stefan Th emerson, it was th e post-war work of mierz Ha upe and Halina Bielinska (Laurence's Potecki and Wasilewski which established Orchard, Circus Under the Stars and The Moon's contemporary Polish puppet and, later, cartoon Story), and of the younger generation films. In this article, Wlodzimierz Haupe, film Teresa Badzian (The Uncommon Journey and director and Chairman of the Artistic Council The New House) and Edward Sturlis (The of Animated Films in Poland, discusses the Dirty Boy and Adventures of the Hoity-Toity problem of organising special animation studios Knight) ; and for cartoon films: Lechoslaw and developing cartoon and puppet films as Marszalek (Stubborn Little Goat and Mrs. works of art. Twardowska), Wladyslaw Nehrebecki (The In Poland we now have two centres Woodpecker Told the Owl and Professor producing anjmated films. They are: the Filutek in the Park), and Waclaw Wajzer (Tale Puppet Film Studio in Tuszyn near Lodz, and of Siskins and The Land of King Eel). the Cartoon Film Studio in Bielsko. A third I have only mentioned above the titles of studio is being set up in Warsaw; it will such Polish animated films that are, or could produce both puppet and cartoon films. In be, known to European audiences. But to be these studios many film-makers are working; exact I should add that the film-makers I have the work of some of them is already known to named have produced about fifty films, audiences at the Cannes, Venice, Edinburgh inclusive of those that are in preparation. 18 This is little enough, considering it represents the results of a pro­ duction period extending over ten years. But one must take into account that a great deal of time has been needed during these years in experiment.. The existing animation studios have only recently been organised in their present form , and can produce now about JO animated films a year. 1n the future, the output should rise from 30 to about 60 films a nnually. The makers of animated .films have the working conditions necessary for regular prod uction, and the chance to develop individual artistry. They have established their own Artistic Council where they can freely exchange their views. These dis­ cussions enable the more ex­ perienced to test their views against those of the others, and so confirm that their artistic line is the right one, and for the less experienced the discussions are of help in the development of their artistic individ uality.

Tn this work there are two main rroblems : first, unit organisation and, second, the strictly creative problem. Unit organisation de­ pends on the difficulty of main­ taining the artistic individuality of each creative film-maker, as all . - "­ of them have to use the same ~am of assistants. Between the q,dgj\'· \ \ nating film-makers and tlieir \finished fI:!m stands a considerable . number o:(people. In the cartoon film they are animators, in­ betweeners, tracers, painters; in the puppet film setting-designers, doll-makers , animators, costumers, assistants, and so on. This team of people, having ended work under one director, have to begi n to work with another, whose method of work and plastic style are quite different. The difficulty is that the team is scarcely able to change immediately from one style to a nother and so develops a style of its own, derived from that of the individual directors.

[Catll1'ynka, P"o/esso" F i lutek's Kata,.ynka (Pol and) Thus the artistic individuality of each director entertainment o nl y. But there ex ist ma ny is lost. This is why, in stead of continuing different subjects for films at the moment. to use the same unit for a ll directors, a method Further, the lines of a rtistic interest of the of separate teams for each indi vidual director individual creative directo rs are essenti all y has been developed. This preserves artistic establi shed . They do not search for subjects individuality, but on the other hand makes the blindly, a nd they do not make finding a good organisation of production more difficult. script dependent o n chance. For example, we The directors claim now that it would be can find in o ur production fo lk tales, short better to retain individua l creative teams stori es, adaptation of epi sodes from classical consisting of the director, camera man, literature, satiri cal caricatures and, fina ll y, scenographer, animators a nd assistants, but more experim enta l attempts to depart from that the executive studio sho uld remain the normal pattern of animatio n in the common to them all. This should offer a di rection of fo rmal conception. unified production-line common to the whole One of the important problems connected studio. In the immediate future some solution with the further development of our produc­ to this question must be found. tion is the lack of professional fi lm cri ticism o f The matter I referred to as the " creative a nima ted film s. Film critics a re a lways a pt problem" concerns the direction in which the to ho ld the opinion that the animated animated film should develop. First of all film is something still clin ging to the fa ir­ [ should mention the adve rtising film. In gro und. I a m not referring here merely to Pola nd this kind of production does not yet Po land. The talks I had with the F rench exist. Sometimes a n occasional advertising critic, Andre Martin, an enthusiast for the film appears, but these do not represent a nimated film , prove that the a bsence of thi s any standard form of production. The very branch of film criticism is not confined to few foreign ad vertising film s that we have seen Pola nd. This is a n astonishin g fact. Our were on a low level, a nd this has had a international achievements in every ki nd of restraining influence on the development of a nimation we re demonstrated at the last this branch of production at home. Cannes Festival a nd were a proof of how greatly the a nimated fi lm has developed in So in principle, there exists in Poland only recent years its capacity to offer a ud iences the artistic animated film , unrelated to any hi therto unknown artistic enjoyment a nd didactic purpose. ] have already stressed that res ponses. Bu t the absence of pro per criticism up to now our puppet and cartoon films have a nd a ppreciation has a disintegrating effect appeared only in a standa rd technical form . o n the creators of a nimated fil ms, a nd you We lack any experimental search for some often hea!' that some of them- even those with other less determined form of animation. I established reputations- abandon puppet or mean such experiments as those of Norman cartoon fi lm-making to take up other kinds of McLaren, Alexeiff a nd others. This does fi lm art. The position in Pola nd is better in not mean that we have done nothin g at all. this respect because animated fi lms a re very We regard the animated film not only as a popular with o ur a udiences, but in genera l mea ns of telling stories in recognisable forms, this problem exists and it is wrong not to feel but also as a means of developing sha pes, conc'e rned a bout the problems of coll eagues colours, sounds and a ll other a rtistic elements with whom we fee l lin ked ve ry closely. which can arouse subtle a rtistic responses in U nder such conditi ons the question whether the audiences. a nimated fi lm s can be counted seri o usly as art Nevertheless, we must not forget the peopl e or have o nl y a fut ure in advertisin g (which to whom our work is addressed. It is difficult does not excl ude its own a rtisti c val ues) is not to offer complicated artistic forms to a n a fooli sh query. The teething troubles of the audience unprepared for them by a gradual a nimated fi lm , whi ch even after fifty yea rs is process of breaking in . Persona ll y, 1 admit still the cin ema's big child, can be cured o nl y that I am working first for the a udience a nd by the creative fi lm-makers themselves. then for myself. I may be wrong, but I only I wo uld like to express my profound want to explain why Polish a nimation has belief that the animated film is rea ll y a great developed primarily in the directio n of a rt form.

20 A nEVIEW or THE PAST YEAn JAROSLA V BROZ, Prague

FOR the uninitiated observer from abroad, the last year was a barren one for Czecho­ slovak puppeteers and cartoonists. One might perhaps even speak of a certain stag­ nation in the creative work of the Czecho­ slovak puppet and cartoon film-makers. Even Jiri Trnka, the most talented of artists in this special field was unproductive for a while after finishing his not too successful film in three parts, The Good Soldier Schll'eik, because he needed to become familiar with the new technique- the use of the wide screen. Those who love the Czechoslovak puppet films remember longingly the time when from Trnka's unit there issued one weird and wonderful puppet film after Goldi locks (Czechos lovakia ) a nother! Not even Trnka's coll eagues and com­ the art or animation were discovering a new petitors, Hermina Tyrlova and Karel Zeman path, a number of new talents appeared on the of the puppet studio in Gottwaldov, made scene. To start with, Bretislav Pojar, the any outstanding films this year. During the most talented of Trnka's pupils (his film making of the fairy tale puppet film Goldilocks, A Drop Too Much which received a mention Hermina Tyrl0va attempted a dramatic style two years ago at Cannes introduced him to the which was essentially foreign to her lyrical film public) has made a short and amusing talent. And Karel Zeman, after his out­ detective film called Spejbl on the Scent, the standing feature-length film Journey to heroes of which are the two well-known Primae val Times (shown at the Edinburgh puppets of the Josef Skupa theatre company. Festival in 1955), only produced a light and Pojar is now working on two further short amusing fragment Mr. Prokouk, a kind of film s The Lion and the Ditty and The Puppet intermezzo in his work. Review. His colleague, Stanislav Latal; has That perhaps is the right word- intermezzo. made use of two other well -known figures in The past year was an intermezzo in the work puppetry in a fairy ta le for children called of the Czechoslovak puppeteers and car­ Kutasek and Kutilka at the Fair. He has toonists. It was not a period of stagnation, heightened the miming potentialities of the but rather a temporary pause during which to puppets by making use of animation in stages gather forces, a time of search for new (stop-frame). Milos Makovec, a director of media and new malerials. But at the same feature films, has made his debut in puppet time during this period in which masters of films with The Lost Sentry shot on the basis

21 of a popular skit from past times. (It gained a R. U.R.) SO delighted audiences of children, " mention" this year at Venice). Two of has found in France a new theme and arti stic Zeman's pupils, Zdenek Rozkopal, the inspiration for his current film in the work artist, and Arnost Kupcik, the animator, of the cartoonist Jean Eifel; he is making a have made a popular science trick film called cartoon series in three parts of Eifel's The Black Diamond which deals with the story of Creation of the World. The first part is alm ost the origin of coal in the earth. fini shed, and the two further parts about the But let us return to the masters of puppetry. creation of Adam and Adam's union with They too have been active during the past Eve are in preparation. It is worth noting year or so, although the results of this that the commentary in verse and the dialogue activity must be judged in the future. Trnka belongin g to all the characters will be spoken has definitely decided to adapt Shakespeare's by the comedian Jan Werich, whom filmgoers Midsummer Night's Dream into the medium may remember from his dual star role in the of the puppet film. For the present he has film The Emperor's Baker. produced a script complere with drawIngs Of the other cartoonists, who have recently and sketches, and he is also doing something concentrated pernaps almost too much on the which makes him the envy of any feature production of advertising film s, the only work fi lm producer- he is creatin g the actors for worthy of attention is the medium-length film the puppet film . As to his plans, we can only The Devil and Kate, directed by Vaclav tell you th is much, that Midsummer Night's Bedrich (who made Boil, Little Pot, which Dream will be presented in puppet panto­ gai ned a " mention" in Venice), in which mime style. use has been made of a national fairy tale in Hermina Tyrlova is working on a fairy tale the traditional Czech style, the drawin gs of about toys come to life, called The Fairy which are the work of the artist, Josef Lada. Tale about a Naughty Ball, which lell s how a For the smaller children a short film called little ball that would not listen to Grand­ Ho w the Mole Earned his Trousers will be father's warning was deceived by an ev il kite. fini shed by the end of this year. This is a Her next film will be Kalamajka, a puppet modern fairy tale which explains how fl ax dance suite based on Moravian national is cultivated, processed and used. By setting songs. the action in the animal world (which in itself Karel Zeman, after many experiments in catches the attention of a young audience) the most various subjects, has fo und the one and by introducing humour and wit, Zdenek most suited to him in science fiction , and he is Miler, the director, has avoided giving an preparin g a film which is bein g awaited impress ion of giving instruction. eagerl y based on Jules Verne's The Discovery On the whole, we think the outl ook for the of Destruct ion (Face a u Drapeau) . Zeman Czechoslovak cartoon and puppet film is a intends to produce this film as a composite satisfactory one. trick film (with puppets, animated cartoon and li ve actors) in the style of the original illustratio ns to Jules Verne's novel. His aim is to reproduce as faithfully as possible the _ \\ f atmosphere and colouring of Jules Verne's I; ~ period, which is dear to young people. --- ~ ------The situation in cartoon films is similar to that of the puppet film. Eduard Hofman, whose Doggie and Pussy (based on the fairy story by Josef Capek, the painter a nd writer­ the brother of Karel Capek, the author of

The C,.eation of the World (Czechoslovakia) Song of the P,·wirie . SlJe.ibl on the Scent (C7,f,ehosl o vakia) ANIMATED FILM FESTIVAL LONDON, 1957

THE first International Animated Film Festival in Great Britain is taking place at the National Film Theatre, South Bank, London, from 23rd February to 8th M arch, 1957.

The aims of the Festival are to demonstrate the contribution of animated films to the cinema during the past sixty years and to present the international development of this medium. Productions from the following countries are being shown:

U.S.A. China Canada Rumania France Japan U.S.S.R . Jtaly Norway Holland Germany Spain Poland Denmark Czechoslovakia Estonia Mexico England

A wide range of techniques is being demonstrated, from fluid celluloid animation to stop motion puppet animation, from si lhouette to stereoscopic films and from abstracts painted directly on to film to fi lms about paintings. The entries fall into distinct categories, according to their content. Each day a different aspect of animation is featured, such as the comic, poetic, satirical, lyrical, dramatic and caricature cartoon, as well as puppets. The daily programmes comprise one feature and five or six short supporting cartoons' Among the features is the French " La Bergere et Ie Ramoneur", the Russian "Golden Antelope", the Italian " Rose of Baghdad", "Animal Farm" and at least three American full-length films·

Some of the latest short cartoons from Europe and the U .S.A. are being shown for the first time in this country, including the works of Henri Gruel and Tarcaly (France) and Imre Nemeth (America). An exhibition of original celluloids and backgrounds is to be arranged in the entrance hall of the Festival Cinema. 23 BOOK REVIEW and, secondly, again quoting the publishers, "any encyclopredia is mostly used for track1r,g down The Focal Encylopl£dia of Photography. The Focal information on subjects with which the reader is not Press, £5.5.0d. rarticularly familiar. No specialist is likely to seek For a review to do real justice to a magnum opus information within his own field of work from a constructed on the scale that this one is, it should general reference book." Within this frame of really be written by a team of experts; experts who reference I consider the subject has been thoroughly would be the counterparts of the editorial team of ten, covered. the fifty specialist consultants and the 197 authors Though I read through a ll the articl es I can only fro m twenty-three countries who together were make detailed references to a few of the main ones. responsible for the two thousand articles which make The general article on Cinematography, thejoint effort up this new photographic encyclopredia. I am of Julien Caunter and G. H. Sewell, succeeds more than sli ghtly encouraged, however, by the thought of the adequately in squeezing a hogshead in to a pi nt pot. reviewer who, singlehanded, tackled the Encyclopredla I did fee l though that both in the illustrations a nd in Britannica. the bibliography there seemed an undue emphasis on The scope and a ims of the Encyclopredia of Photo­ sub-standard practice. The glossary of Cine Terms graphy a re ~et out at the begi nning in the publisher's compiled by Tony Rose provides clea r and concise preface, " The subject of this encyclopredi a," it says, definitions of most of the technical expressions in " is the realm of photography- its technique, its art frequent use. Cine History by Brian Coe of the Kodak and its business. Adjoining and related technologies Research Laboratories is in my opinion absolutely ... a re covered in ample detail." And even the most first class-though 1 wonder if 1 might dare to casual look through this huge book- it runs to over challenge him on one small point and suggest, I ,300 pages of text-suggests that the editors and their writing entirely from tnemory, that La Cucuracha and coll aborators have achieved what they set out to do not Flowers and Trees was the first three-colollr impressively, and in the style one has come to expect Technicolor picture to be shown? of the Focal Press; i.e., technica l subject matter dealt You reali se, reading this article, how long ago a ll with in straightforward jargon-fr"e English, and well­ these new gimmicks that have appeared In the last chosen and designed illustrations to illuminate the few years were first thought of. For instance, text. Incidentally, it has been ten yea rs in the making "Cineorama" a process using 10 projectors to throw and has grown three-fold on the original design. a 3600 picturd on the walls of a circular building was Contributions have been sought from a ll over the patented in 1897. (Apparently the main reason why world ; the impressive list of a uthors and consultants it never came into use was the difficulty of cooling a from the Commonwealth, U.S.A, U.S.S.R., China small projection room housing ten arc-projectors!) a nd most of the European countries bea r testimony to And in J900 Louis Lumiere using 75 mm. fi lm was this, and it is good to see the names of so many mem­ showing pictures on a 65 foot screen to audiences at an bers of the British Film Academv in the li st. R oger exhibition. A British patent of J898 outlined the Manvell and Denis Forman, for example, have been principles of stereo-cinematography by both anaglyph responsible for the entries on the B.F.A. and the B.F.r. a nd pola rising methods. respectively. 1. D. Wratten has acted as consultant on In conjunction with Brian Coe's article one should C inematography, and R. J. Spottiswoode, W. Sus­ a lso read the one on Chronophotography which chitsky, and Howard Cricks a re among the other describes the in vestigations by Muybridge and Ma rey Academv members contributing. into human and animal motion. It is quite impossible in the space at my disposal to give any adequate idea of the scope and range of the Among the a rticles dealing with Special Aspects I entries. One can hint at it by picking out at random a should like to mention for their general excellence few names of internationa l experts like Rudolph High Speed Cinema/ography by G . T. Schwartz: Time Arnheim, Charles Brown, Ha rold Edgerton, Max Lapse Ph% graphy by R. McV.Weston, 3 D-ProJec/lOn F actor Jr., Dr. G . B. H arrison, who have contributed by Howard Cricks- though there IS no mention In the articles on subjects lying in their spheres. Probably bibliography attached to this article of the books by the best way to get a bird's-eye view of the vast field the Spottiswoode brothers, Clyne, Dudley, etc. covered by the encyclopredia is to look a t the Synopsis Projec/ion Principles by G. H. Cook of Taylor, of Subject Divisions where a ll the rela ted major Taylor & Hobson, apart from its own meflts, IS as entries 'are brought together under subject headin gs. good an example as any of the very thorough cross­ This a lso makes it an indispensable a iel to anyone referencing which runs all through the encyciopredJa. wishing to follow up a particu lar line of st udy or Returning to consideration of the work as a whole, research. a word must be said about the illustrations; the For instance, I decieled to make Cinematography my diagra ms, always a feature of Focal Press books, are research project and my sampling dip into the en­ excell ent and have been used generously to point the cyclopredia. Under this heading in the synopsis a ll the examplations given in the text. In addition some entries dealing with the subject were grouped under two 400 beautifully reproduced photographs " serve. a sub-headings, General and Special Aspects in the twofold purpose. In some cases . . . to clarify following manner: Under General: Cinema/ography­ technical points ... more often, however, they are Cine Terms- Cine Films (sub-s/andard)-Pel/ora/ions meant to exemplify the range and variety of expresSIOn - magazine-spool- cine film processing- Cine labora­ of which the photographic medium is capable." /ories- splicing-Projec/ion principles- Cine his/OiY. Finally, this is by no means a cheap book, but when Under Special Aspects: High Speed Cinema/ography­ you remember that it is a whole photographic Elec/rc>plane camera- Eye camera- Time Lapse Ph% ­ reference library in one volume, it is good va lue for the graphy- Sound Recording- Three Dimensional Pro­ money. jec/ion-·-Cinema S/il/s. Everyone associated with the Encyclopredia of When assessing this section, I bore in mind first Photography can be justifiably proud of a fine that, as far as this encyclopreelia was concerned, cine­ project finely carried out. matography is "an adjoining and rei ated technology" A. E. JEAKINS. 24 · .,

THE SltITISH FILM ACADEMY

THE BRITISH FILM ACADEMY was founded in 1947, by a number of leading British film-makers to advance the art and technique of film-making .by . discussioQ and research and to encourage the exchange of ideas between creative film­ makers both at home and abroad. Its present membership numbers some 400 senior British film-makers. The present activities of the Academy include:

* the organisation of weekly discussion meetings and screenings for its Members and Associates during a nine.,.month season each ' year;

* the presentation of Annual Awards, seven for the best films of the . year, British and foreign, and five for acting performances;

* the preparation of books and other publications concerned with the history and technique of film-making, and with the expression of the British film-makers' point of view about the medium in which they work;

* the development of contacts at home and abroad between British and foreign film-makers, and the encouragement . of further . interest in the beSot in British production through lectures and broadcasts in Britain and overseas, and through the Academy'S books and publications;

* the collection and preservation of film-scripts, documents and other information relating to British films and film-makers. PATRONS i~ .. Arthur' Rank' Organisation, Ltd. . Ealing Studios, Ltd. Associated Bri"tish Picture' Corporation, Ltd: London Film ' Productiorts,"Ltd~ . Teclinicolor;'Ltd; ' Kodak, Ltd. ,Monty Berman: Ltd:' B: 1. Simmons & (1941) ;Ltd;' Anvil:Films, Ltd.' . Halas and Batchelor Cartoon' Films, . ~ ' Mole,.~icharqson (England) Ltd:

Other: S'upporters include:. . .

· Shell"f.eliok~um Company, Ltd. : . British LionFilms ~ Ltd. '~a:tional Screen' Service, Ltd. Kinematograph Renters: Society, Ltd. ," . - . .... , The British Petroleum Company,Ltd. . .", ~ ~ . ~. ~. ~ ,.1.. -.

OFFICERS OF THE ACAD'EMY

'Chairman: 'EDGAR ·ANSTEY" ' . .... Vice-chairme"n.! JOHN, BRYAN' IANDALRYMPLE 1 -' COUNCIL OF FELLOWS: Hori> Anthony Asquith Vivien Leigh Sir Carol Reed Sir Michael:Balcon Sir Laurence Olivier .,. .. , Paul 'Rotha " .' vincerii Korda George Pearso~, ' a .B.E. . , ~ :0: )\lb(fFt Smith David"Lean,.C.B:E. . . Michael Powell : ;Basil Wright

COU~CIL OF MANAGEMENT 1!)56~57: . , .. ' . , ._ ...... • . I ," . ~ silMichaeIBalcon Mary Field, b:B.E...... JaIl1es.La~rie Keh Cameron, O.B.E. George.Gunn ... ' Muir'Mathieson,Q.B.E . Henry Cornelius ' Guy Hamilton Peter Tanner , ,Ch~rh~s Crichtp~ . Frank Launder: Michael Truman

' ; ,- -~~ . ~~ ~ Director: Roger ManvelI, Ph.D. Executive Secretary: M,rs. P.J. Steele­ Honorary pub{icityOfficers: Vivienne Knight and Theo Cowan

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