> I would like to see studios branch out and produce animated films that
> are a bit more adventurous and experimental than the rather generic
> stuff that is being produced today. What is being created today is
> beginning to have the same *look* about it. I'd like to see more
> *Yellow Submarine meets Karel Zeman* type of animation. MIRRORMASK is a
> good example of something out of the ordinary. I realize this type of
> film is not a *money-maker*, but after the big films rake in the money,
> why can't a studio create one or two visionary features...?!?

> ...or am I just out of touch?

> In article comcast.com>, Lookingglass
>
> comcast.net> wrote:

>> I would like to see studios branch out and produce animated films that
>> are a bit more adventurous and experimental than the rather generic
>> stuff that is being produced today. What is being created today is
>> beginning to have the same *look* about it. I'd like to see more
>> *Yellow Submarine meets Karel Zeman* type of animation. MIRRORMASK is a
>> good example of something out of the ordinary. I realize this type of
>> film is not a *money-maker*, but after the big films rake in the money,
>> why can't a studio create one or two visionary features...?!?
>> ...or am I just out of touch?

>
> Not necessarily. The problem you may be having is knowing where to look.
> After all, if the only place you look is the mainstream, then all you will
> get is the generic most of the time and, if you look outside the
> mainstream, you may still only get what you are looking for if you are in
> the right place at the right time, or thereabouts. Most of the main
> studios, these days, are run by people for whom the bottom line is the ...

>> ...or am I just out of touch?

>
> Not necessarily. The problem you may be having is knowing where to look.
> After all, if the only place you look is the mainstream, then all you will
> get is the generic...

> I've also been rediscovering an unusual stop-motion film made by amateurs in
> 1954...HANSEL AND GRETEL. I was fascinated by this film when I saw it as a
> child...it contributed greatly to my interest in puppets and stop-motion and
> animation in general. It also added to my increasing interest in music. This
> film was made by folks with absolutely no experience in stop-motion
> animation...and it shows. But it was a labor of love...and THAT is what
> really shows! While it is primitive by today's standards (a flawed
> masterpiece?), it still has the ability to enchant...the wicked witch is
> *delicious*.

> Lookingglass wrote:
>

>> I've also been rediscovering an unusual stop-motion film made by
>> amateurs in 1954...HANSEL AND GRETEL. I was fascinated by this film
>> when I saw it as a child...it contributed greatly to my interest in
>> puppets and stop-motion and animation in general. It also added to my
>> increasing interest in music. This film was made by folks with
>> absolutely no experience in stop-motion animation...and it shows. But
>> it was a labor of love...and THAT is what really shows! While it is
>> primitive by today's standards (a flawed masterpiece?), it still has
>> the ability to enchant...the wicked witch is *delicious*.

>
> Is that the one with Anna Russell as the witch?

> Lookingglass wrote:

>> I've also been rediscovering an unusual stop-motion film made by amateurs
>> in 1954...HANSEL AND GRETEL. I was fascinated by this film when I saw it
>> as a child...it contributed greatly to my interest in puppets and
>> stop-motion and animation in general. It also added to my increasing
>> interest in music. This film was made by folks with absolutely no
>> experience in stop-motion animation...and it shows. But it was a labor of
>> love...and THAT is what really shows! While it is primitive by today's
>> standards (a flawed masterpiece?), it still has the ability to
>> enchant...the wicked witch is *delicious*.

>
> Is that the one with Anna Russell as...

>>
>> Is that the one with Anna Russell as the witch?

>
> Yep:
> http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Hansel_Gretel_An_Opera_Fantasy/70061613
>
> (Also unusual in turning the Sandman's aria from a female soprano to a
> male tenor--Always thought it sounded better that way.)
>

>> A nod to her memorable explanation of the Ring cycle, available on
>> several albums.)

>
> And, while we're surfing Netflix:
> http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Anna_Russell_The_First_Farewell_Concert/70023982
> (Which, IIRC, also contains her guide on How to Write Your Own Gilbert &
> Sullivan Operetta, also worth the rent alone.)
>
> Derek Janssen (I'm not making this up, you know!) :) ...

> "Kip Williams" comcast.net> wrote in message
> news:5aydnVfHUKIdCUnbnZ2dnUVZ_r3inZ2d@comcast.com...

>> Is that the one with Anna Russell as the witch? She sings "Ho-yo-to-ho!"
>> while flying on her broom? (A nod to her memorable explanation of the Ring
>> cycle, available on several albums.)

>
> That's the very one Kip. No one who worked on that film had ever had any
> stop-motion experience. There were a few puppeteers but the learned the
> stop-motion technique as they filmed.
>
> Of course Anna Russell steals the show.

>
> I'll have to watch my tape of that again. I had no idea they were
> first-timers at animation.
>
> Kip W