About Event

A selection of the finest work of George Pal is presented in this rarely seen celebration of his Puppetoon films from the 1930s and 40s.

Image:
Arnold Leibovit

The Puppetoon Movie will screen as part of the BFI’s No Strings Attached: Puppets on Film season.

The selection of films in this season celebrates the puppets and puppeteers that have and continue to entertain us, in defiance of our increasingly digital world.

-Justin Johnson, season curator

George Pal’s Puppetoons used ‘replacement animation’ rather than the established stop-motion process. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, more than 60 shorts were produced in this way. This celebratory film showcases some of the best Puppetoon films in their entirety (including the popular Tubby the Tuba from 1947) and demonstrates why Pal received a special Academy Award in recognition of his achievement.

4K scanned and restored from the original negative.