Ideas and Storytelling - Stop Motion: Passion, Process and Performance - page 101

A Magritte-inspired poster and animating Magritte for a commercial with Aardman.
be i lmed and a stage set, was an animated snippet of his raining men ( Golconda , 1953) in
the Aardman Manchester Evening News commercial. I am glad that Magritte was chosen to
represent art.
What sort of fi lms do you like? Do they refl ect the sort of animated fi lms
you try to work on? Would you actually watch animation for pleasure or, as
most fi lms are aimed at children, is it a guilty pleasure?
JD - A most interesting question. I don't much like watching long animated fi lms any more (but did
enjoy The Corpse Bride ); perhaps that's because I know subconsciously that I won't get to do the fi lms I
wanted to. I almost never rewatch the Harryhausen fi lms because the 'fi lm-making' is so bad that they
no longer entertain me. The black-and-white Harryhausen fi lms are an exception for some reason, and
I occasionally watch those - The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms , or particularly It Came from Beneath the Sea
because I like the repartee between the three leads. Sometimes I watch a Trinka fi lm, but not often.
TB - I enjoy character-driven fi lms. I'd watch animation any time and day. Animated fi lms that have
strong stories speak to me. The Iron Giant is an animated fi lm, but the story and relationship between the
boy and the iron man is most touching, and succeeds on many levels. Its ending is what I enjoy most;
self-sacrifi ce and loving selfl essness, themes that I am attracted to the most.