STOP! IN THE NAME OF STOP-MOTION FILM

Stop-motion film is such a unique filmmaking medium. The techniques behind it were pioneered nearly one hundred and fifty years ago. But what was the very first stop-motion film?

That’s actually a loaded question. But it’s a fun one to explore! So let’s get to it.

WHAT IS STOP MOTION?

Stop motion is a type of filmmaking where a physical object is moved in small increments between individual photographic frames. When these frames are strung together and played in rapid succession, the images run together to create the illusion that the objects move on their own. It’s the oldest style of animation on film and has few limits on the types of objects that can be used: it can be done with clay (claymation), puppets, paper cutouts, and even people.

3…2…1…FIRST STOP MOTION FILM

So! The award for the first stop-motion film goes to…well, it depends on your definition, actually. We have three major contenders:

1) The Horse in Motion - 1878

The first contender isn’t a “film,” per se, but it is one of the first known successful stop-motion clips. Created by Eadweard Muybridge in 1878, “The Horse in Motion” is an 11-frame clip of a running horse. It was made to settle a bet over whether all four hooves of a horse are off the ground at the same time when it gallops. It was done with a series of side-by-side cameras along a track, which took sequential photographs with the help of tripwires.

Using a “zoopraxiscope,” an invention of Muybridge’s own, the still images were played rapidly in sequence so they appeared to be animated and move in motion. This pioneering technique to use individual frames to create an illusion of movement laid the groundwork for stop-motion filmmaking as we recognize it today.

2) Humpty Dumpty Circus - 1897 or 1898

This was the first documented stop-motion film. It was only a short film, however, unlikely to have been longer than a few minutes. The Humpty Dumpty Circus used dolls with jointed limbs to imitate the movements of circus acrobats. Unfortunately, there is no surviving recording of the animation, and no verified stills have been recovered.

We only know of it through mentions of it in a few reviews (including a 1908 review in The Moving Picture World, Vol. 3, No. 18) and co-director Albert E. Smith’s 1952 book titled Two Reels and a Crank, which explains he used his daughter's toy set of wooden circus performers and animals to create the stop-motion film short.

3) The Lost World - 1925

If your definition of “film” is feature-length, then the first was 1925’s The Lost World. This was an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s story about explorers stumbling upon dinosaurs in South America. It made extensive use of stop animated models and became one of the first giant monster movies.

In fact, audiences loved this unique stop-motion film so much that its creator, Willis O’Brien, moved on to create one of the most famous “talkies” (films with sound) of all time: 1933’s King Kong.

IN SUMMARY

Stop-motion filmography was a societal, technological, and cultural landmark. It forever changed the way film was viewed. And even as technology progressed, stop motion never completely disappeared. In our lifetime, we’ve seen gorgeous stop-animated films such as Coraline, Nightmare Before Christmas, Paranorman, Chicken Little, and Kubo. It’s a film medium that’s unlikely to completely disappear any time soon.

Thanks for reading! Have a great day!