I love stop-motion videos. It has a certain charm that makes it always humorous, no matter the video subject. Making stop-motion videos, however, takes a lot of effort. I remember spending almost the entire night in middle school making a simple 30-second video of a pen moving around a sheet of paper.
The history of stop-motion video is over 100 years old. The first stop-motion video was made in 1898. The short film, The Humpty Dumpty Circus, was reputed to be a short film with animated dolls. The first feature-length film was Harry O. Hoyt’s The Lost World. Other than being the first stop-motion movie released to audiences, the film also gained fame for showcasing some of the first realistic-looking dinosaurs on the screen. Since then, stop-motion has made an appearance in a number of films, both short and long.
Although I will never again volunteer to make a stop-motion video, I enjoy watching them. Over the years, I have curated a special collection of short videos, feature-length films, and even commercials. Here are some of them.
- A Town Called Panic
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This was my favorite film from my highschool French classes. The main plot development? A group of friends embark on an epic journey to retrieve back their stolen house. Throughout the film, they travel through frozen tundras, mysterious underwater worlds, and other lands that are far from home.
- Corpse Bride
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Tim Burton’s masterpiece is actually a combination of both CGI and stop-motion. I remember when I first saw this film I was so scared because of all the skeletal creatures and ghosts. Corpse Bride also has an amazing original soundtrack composed by Danny Elfman.
- Western Spaghetti by PES
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This one is a Youtube classic. Fun story: my elementary school art teacher actually showed us this video in class one day because we had extra time. PES actually still uploads videos, so go check them out!