Credit: Laika

Stop-motion animation is one of the earliest forms of cinema and it’s only thrived over time. But you can’t really see how far we’ve come without looking all the way back.




Vugar Efendi recently released a video called “The Evolution of Stop-Motion,” showcasing 116 years of stop-motion in just under three minutes. It doesn’t show the first credited example of stop-motion animation, Vitagraph’s The Humpty Dumpty Circus in 1898, but it showcases some of stop-motion’s earliest roots, like The Enchanted Drawing, through the most recent stop-motion works, like Kubo and the Two Strings.


For those who haven’t seen Kubo yet, it’s a technological marvel, representing just how far stop-motion animation has come in the past 100+ years. Animator Kevin Parry recently shared a GIF of some of the work he did bringing Kubo’s grandfather-turned-dragon to life, and it’s seriously impressive work. Plus, look at Kubo’s sweet slide. That puppet’s got skills.



I’m still waiting on Guillermo Del Toro’s stop-motion adaption of Pinocchio, which has been loosely in the works since 2008. If you check out some of the designs and concept art, it looks absolutely gorgeous. Last we heard in July, Del Toro was penning a new draft of the script.



[Nerdist]