The Art of Animation

In 1946 Gerhard Fieber presented the satire “A Lout On The Subway”, only 40 meters long. Between this first animated film and “The Wolf And The Seven Little Goats” from 1990 telling the well-known fairy tale in flat-figure animation, more than 800 diverse small works of art were created. In addition to fairy tales and instructional fables, satires and scientific films for adults were produced with unusual animation techniques such as photo montage, relief, object and sand animation or combinations. In any case, this form of art lives on the enthusiasm and amazement on the diverse ways an originally inanimate object sets into motion and aims at the punch line.

No Comment

Sometimes satire – especially political satire – is more expressive with no comment. Animated films for adults like Enjoy Work or The Breakdown prove it eloquently. Even instructive films for children can be funny without words like the puppet film "Nobi" or A Peaceful Day. Or is it possible that this colourful cartoon was not meant for children? The story of a small bug chased by a bird until a cat appears on the screen was produced with the working title “Dubious Safety”. Yet, the film could not be shown at the Berlin International Film Festival with this title. It is especially the lack of words that makes these artistic treasures so valuable: Everyone understands them! Whether you are grown-up or a child, speak German or not.