Animation 03: Hansel and Gretel by Lotte Reiniger
Hansel and Gretel (1955) uses the technique of silhouette animation which Lotte Reiniger is known for, as stated on BFI's website "No one else has taken a specific animation technique and made it so utterly her own. To date she has no rivals, and for all practical purposes the history of silhouette animation begins and ends with Reiniger." Silhouette animation is very effective as through careful craftsmanship you can create very detailed and intricate shapes that once made into a silhouetted animation can create interesting effects and also life-like movements.
Silhouette animation is known for being a slow but effective progress, as mentioned by Hutchinson "[Reiniger's] hypnotic films, painstakingly crafted out of snippets of card and wire and animated by hand, have influenced generations of film-makers and artists." (Hutchinson, 2016). Reiniger is known as a trail blazer in this field, and the art of silhouette animation will always be connected back to her.
Her animated short 'Hansel and Gretel' follows the Brothers Grimm original story although as stated on BFI's website "Reiniger's Hansel and Gretel varies slightly from the Brothers Grimm original, particularly at the end. She herself would probably have loved to adhere to the original and would have had the witch burn in the oven, but the producers, having emigrated from Germany, regarded this as a taboo so shortly after the Holocaust, even for a silhouette film." This is an interesting anecdote about Reiniger's version of Hansel and Gretel as it tells you a lot about how she was and also what it was like at the time she was making her work - she was willing to make work that some people may not agree with all while living in a post-war world.
Illustration List
Figure 1 may doll (2007) [youtube video) At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxkIGXVwZTM (accessed on 12/10/2017)
Figure 2 Fernando Katz (2009) [youtube video] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvU55CUw5Ck (accessed on 12/10/2017)
Bibliography
'Film 5: Hansel and Gretel (1955) In: BFI [online] At: http://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/education/gothic-classroom/hansel-gretel-1955 (accessed on 12/10/2017)
Hutchinson, P (2016) 'Lotte Reiniger: animated film pioneer and standard-bearer for all women' In: The Guardian [online] At: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jun/02/lotte-reiniger-the-pioneer-of-silhouette-animation-google-doodle (accessed on 12/10/2017)
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| Figure 1 - Silhouette animation |
Silhouette animation is known for being a slow but effective progress, as mentioned by Hutchinson "[Reiniger's] hypnotic films, painstakingly crafted out of snippets of card and wire and animated by hand, have influenced generations of film-makers and artists." (Hutchinson, 2016). Reiniger is known as a trail blazer in this field, and the art of silhouette animation will always be connected back to her.
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| Figure 2 - The making of silhouette animation |
Her animated short 'Hansel and Gretel' follows the Brothers Grimm original story although as stated on BFI's website "Reiniger's Hansel and Gretel varies slightly from the Brothers Grimm original, particularly at the end. She herself would probably have loved to adhere to the original and would have had the witch burn in the oven, but the producers, having emigrated from Germany, regarded this as a taboo so shortly after the Holocaust, even for a silhouette film." This is an interesting anecdote about Reiniger's version of Hansel and Gretel as it tells you a lot about how she was and also what it was like at the time she was making her work - she was willing to make work that some people may not agree with all while living in a post-war world.
Illustration List
Figure 1 may doll (2007) [youtube video) At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxkIGXVwZTM (accessed on 12/10/2017)
Figure 2 Fernando Katz (2009) [youtube video] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvU55CUw5Ck (accessed on 12/10/2017)
Bibliography
'Film 5: Hansel and Gretel (1955) In: BFI [online] At: http://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/education/gothic-classroom/hansel-gretel-1955 (accessed on 12/10/2017)
Hutchinson, P (2016) 'Lotte Reiniger: animated film pioneer and standard-bearer for all women' In: The Guardian [online] At: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/jun/02/lotte-reiniger-the-pioneer-of-silhouette-animation-google-doodle (accessed on 12/10/2017)
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