Animated Animalia

Animation provides an ideal way to explore animal life and has been the preserve of mainstream cinema through legendary animation studios throughout the 20th century. As any armchair historian of experimental animation knows, the topics, techniques, and interests of mainstream and experimental animators have consistently overlapped throughout history. Both constituents use techniques such as the incorporation of hand-painted frames; collage; tinting and rapid-fire editing to explore, empathize, and make symbolic our relationship to the animal world. Spanning over 40 years, here I have selected a handful of films from the FMC Collection that capture the wonder of the nonhuman animal and our interaction with it. Covering a variety of modes and practices, the films assembled here touch on all manner of beasts real and imagined (including birds, mice, turtles, chickens, and cats) and engage with them in playful, profound, and aesthetically pleasing ways.