The technique of most cutout animation is comparable to that ofshadow play, but with stop motion replacing the manual or mechanical manipulation of flat puppets. Some films, includingDie Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed, also have much of their silhouette style in common with shadow plays. Cutout animation pioneer Lotte Reiniger studied the traditions of shadow play and created several shadow play film sequences, including a tribute toFrançois Dominique Séraphin inJean Renoir's filmLa Marseillaise (1938).[2]
While sometimes used as a relatively simple and cheap animation technique in children's programs (for instance inIvor the Engine), cutout animation has also often been used as a highly artistic medium that distinguishes itself more clearly from hand-drawn animation.
Cutout animation can be made with figures that have joints made with a rivet or pin or, when simulated on a computer, an anchor. These connections act asmechanical linkage, which have the effect of a specific, fixed motion. Similar flat, jointed puppets have been in use inshadow plays for many centuries, such as in the Indonesianwayang tradition and in the "ombres chinoises" that were especially popular in France in the 18th and 19th century. The subgenre ofsilhouette animation is more closely related to these shadow shows and to the silhouette cutting art that has been popular in Europe especially in the 18th and 19th centuries.
While many cutout animation puppets and other material is often purposely-made for films, ready-made imagery has also been heavily used in collage/photomontage styles, for instance inTerry Gilliam's famous animations forMonty Python's Flying Circus (1969-1975).
Lotte Reiniger, and movies likeTwice Upon a Time (1983), used backlit animation, where the source of light comes from below. Animators like Terry Gilliam use light coming from above.[3][4]
Cutout techniques were relatively often used in animated films until cel animation became the standard method (at least in the United States). Before 1934, Japanese animation mostly used cutout techniques rather than cel animation, because celluloid was too expensive.[5][6]
Today, cutout-style animation is frequently produced usingcomputers, with scanned images orvector graphics taking the place of physically cut materials.South Park is a notable example of the transition, since itspilot episode was made with paper cutouts before switching tocomputer software.
Lotte Reiniger made animated silhouette sequences forDie Schöne Prinzessin von China (1917),Apokalypse (1918. lost) andDer Verlorene Schatten (1920)[2]
Reiniger created her own short silhouette filmsDas Ornament des Verliebten Herzens (1919),Amor und das Standhafte Liebespaar (1920),Der Fliegende Koffer (1921),Der Stern von Bethlehem (1921),Aschenputtel (1922),Das Geheimnis der Marquise (1922, advertisement for Nivea),Dornröschen (1922) andBarcarole (1924, advertisement for Mauxion), before creating her first feature. AfterDie Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed she continued to make dozens of shorts. From 1938 to 1982 she worked and lived in the United Kingdom.[2]
Noburo Ofuji worked primarily with cutout animation, for instance usingchiyogami (Japanese colored paper) in馬具田城の盗賊 (Burglars of "Baghdad" Castle) (1926).[8]
Le merle (1958) byNorman McLaren is a combination of (white) cut-outs and (pastel) backgrounds to the music of the French folksong "Mon Merle".[9]
Before co-foundingArt And Animation Studio with her husband, Dagmar Doubková created several short cutout animations, such asOparádivé Sally (1976) (broadcast in the US asAbout Dressy Sally onNickelodeon'sPinwheel and subject of a 5-year long lost media search on internetfora),[12]Perníkový dědek (Gingerbread Man) (1977)[13],Sbohem, Ofélie (Goodbye Ophelia) (1978),Královna Koloběžka první (Queen Scooter First) (1981),The Impossible Dream (1983) andShakespeare 2000 (1988)
Twice Upon a Time (1983), an animated movie directed byJohn Korty and produced byGeorge Lucas, uses a form of cutout animation, which the filmmakers called "Lumage", that involved prefabricated cut-out plastic pieces that the animators moved on a light table
John Ryan'sCaptain Pugwash (1957–1966, 1974–1975) used cardboard cutouts that were manipulated with levers in front of painted backgrounds while filmed real-time
Outer Space Astronauts (2009) blended live-action footage of actors' heads on computer-generated bodies against 2D and/or 3D backgrounds, a style that is associated with cutout animation
Uncle Grandpa (2013-2017) featured photographic cutout character "the Giant Realistic Flying Tiger"
The video forRöyksopp'sEple (2003), features a specific kind of cutout animation, continuously zooming out and panning through many old (still) pictures that are seamlessly combined. The technique is a variation of theKen Burns effect, which has often been used in documentary films to add motion to still imagery, but rarely as a standalone animated production.
