South African Stop-Motion Animation from 1980 - 2005 
 
Andrew Haycock 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, 
Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts 
in the field of Digital Animation by Course Work and Research Report. 
 
Johannesburg 2010 
 i 
Abstract 
 
A critical history of South African animation that focuses on the use of three-
 dimensional (3D) stop-motion techniques in South Africa between the years 1980 and 
2005, by three stop-motion studios: Klaybow Films, XYZoo, and Triggerfish. The 
history of these studios, as well as the technical and stylistic elements of the stop-
 motion they produced, will be discussed in terms of the social, political, economic 
and technological conditions that existed in South Africa during these years. Through 
this understanding of context, history, technique and style an attempt will be made to 
suggest a uniquely South African 3D stop-motion aesthetic.  
  ii 
Declaration 
 
I hereby declare that this dissertation is my own work. It is submitted for the degree of 
Master of Arts in field of Digital Animation at the University of the Witwatersrand, 
Johannesburg. It has not been previously submitted for any degree or examination at 
any other university.  
 
 
 
Andrew Haycock 
18 day of February 2010
 iii 
Acknowledgements 
 
I would like to acknowledge the following people for their guidance and support 
during the course of this research project: 
 
? My supervisor, Prof. Christo Doherty for his guidance encouragement, support 
and advice over the last year. 
? Lindsay van Blerk, Ted Berenson, Jacquie Trowell and Emma Kaye, for 
participating in my research, and granting me access to information, photos 
and films.  
? My parents, Kenneth and Elvira Haycock, for their support and understanding.
 iv 
Contents 
 
Abstract???????????????????????????.....page i 
Declaration??????????????????????????...page ii 
Acknowledgements??????????????????????.?page iii 
Contents??????????????????????????.?..page iv 
List of Figures?????????????????????????.page vi 
 
1. Introduction??????????????????????.??..page 1 
 
2. The technique of 3D stop-motion production??????..?.?..page 10 
2.1 Characteristics, advantages and limitations?????????.?...page 11 
2.1.1 Clay animation 
2.1.2 Puppet animation 
2.1.3 Pixilation 
2.1.4 Inherent three-dimensionality 
 
3. The history of 3D stop-motion techniques???????????.page 17 
3.1 The origins of stop-motion animation??????????????page 17 
3.2 The history of puppet animation????????????????page 21 
3.2.1 Puppet animation pioneers 
3.2.2 Czechoslovakian puppet animation 
3.2.3 Other important puppet animators 
3.3 The history of clay animation?????????????????.page 28 
3.3.1 Art Clokey 
3.3.2 Will Vinton 
3.3.3 Aardman Animation 
 
4. The aesthetics of 3D stop-motion animation????????...?..page 37 
4.1 Narrative and structural design???????????????.?page 38 
4.2 Treatment of three-dimensional forms????????????..?page 40 
4.2.1 Treatment of forms in clay animation 
4.2.2 Treatment of forms in puppet animation  
 v 
4.3 Treatment of three-dimensional spaces?????????????.page 47 
4.3.1 Treatment of spaces in clay animation 
4.3.2 Treatment of spaces in puppet animation 
4.3.3 Treatment of camera and lighting 
4.4 Treatment of movement in three-dimensional animation????..?.page 53 
 
5. South Africa 1980-1989: 
 Ted Berenson and Klaybow Films???????????????.page 57 
5.1  The South African animation industry: 1976-1989???????.?page 57   
5.2 Ted Berenson and the formation of Klaybow Films: 1973-1981??.?page 58 
5.3 Dr Kleiman and the growth of the studio: 1981-1982???????..page 60 
5.4 Limitations of working with the SABC?????????????.page 62 
5.5 Bimbo?s Books: 1985-1987??????????????????..page 63 
5.6 The intensification of economic sanctions????????????.page 66 
5.7 Billybudd Films and The Star Child: 1987-1989?????????..page 67 
5.8 Aesthetic analysis of Bimbo?s Books??????????????..page 70 
5.9 Concluding thoughts on Klaybow Films????????????...page 72 
 
6. South Africa 1989-2005:  
Lindsay Van Blerk and XYZoo ????????????????page 73 
6.1 The South African animation industry: 1990-1996????????..page 73 
6.2 Lindsay van Blerk and Klaybow Films: 1983-1989????????..page 74  
6.3 Miros productions: 1990-1991?????????????????page 76 
6.4 The formation of XYZoo Animation??????????????..page 79 
6.5 Stop-motion television commercials: 1995-2004?????????...page 83 
6.6 Billybudd Films and the Clay Classics: 1996-2003????????...page 85 
6.7 Aesthetic analysis of The Chimes???????????????...page 88 
6.8 Concluding thoughts on XYZoo Animation??????????..?page 93  
 
7. South Africa 1996-2005:  
Jacquie Trowell, Emma Kaye and Triggerfish?????????..page 98 
7.1 Jacquie Trowell and XYZoo Animation: 1990-1996????????page 98 
7.2 Emma Kaye and the formation of Triggerfish????????..??page 99 
 vi 
7.3 The South African animation industry: 1996-2001????????page 100 
7.4 Early work and studio growth: 1996-1999??????????..?page 101 
7.5 The Children?s Television Workshop 
and Takalani Sesame: 1999-2000????????????????page 104 
7.6 Takalani Sesame season two: 2001??????????????...page 107 
7.7 The South African animation industry: 2001-2005????????page 108  
7.8 The decline of stop-motion in South Africa: 2001-2005??????.page 108 
 
8. Case Study:  
Triggerfish Stop-Motion Produced for Takalani Sesame????....page 110 
8.1 Production context????????????????????.?page 110 
8.2 Narrative and structure???????????????????page 112 
8.3 Three-dimensional forms?????????????????..?page 115 
8.4 Three-dimensional spaces???????????????.??....page 122 
8.5 Sound and Animation???????????????????...page 124 
8.6 A unique South African stop-motion aesthetic?????????...page 126 
 
9. Conclusions and speculations????????????????page 131 
9.1 The evolution of South African animation???????????..page 131 
9.2 The development of stop-motion animation techniques??????page 132 
9.3 The evolution of South African stop-motion??????????...page 133 
9.4 South African stop-motion aesthetics???????????.?page 134 
9.5 Final Thoughts?????????????????????...?page 136 
 
Appendix A:  
South African Stop-Motion Timeline: 1980-2005??????...?page 138 
 
Appendix B: 
Selected Stop-Motion Filmographies: 1980-2005???????...?page 139 
 
Appendix C:  
Description of attached DVDs.???????????..????.?page 151 
Works Cited List??????????..????????????page 153
 vii 
List of figures 
 
Figure 1: Still from ?A Trip to the Moon? by George M?li?s 17 
Figure 2: Still from ?Dreams of Toyland?  18 
Figure 3: Still from ?The Camera Man?s Revenge? 22 
Figure 4: Still from ?The Hand? 24 
Figure 5: Still from ?Jabberwocky? 26 
Figure 6: Still from ?The Pied Piper? 26 
Figure 7: Still from ?The House of Flames? 27 
Figure 8: Still from ?The Owl and the Lemming? 28 
Figure 9: Still from ?Gumbastic? (1988) 30 
Figure 10: Still from ?Closed Mondays? 32 
Figure 11: Still from ?Rip van Winkle? 33 
Figure 12: Still from ?The Little Prince? 33 
Figure 13: Still from ?Michael Raisin? 35 
Figure 14: Still from ?Martin the Cobbler? 38 
Figure 15: Still from ?Gumbasia? 39 
Figure 16: Still from ?Creature Comforts? 39 
Figure 17: Still from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 41 
Figure 18: Sill from ?Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers?   42 
Figure 19: Still from ?Going Equipped? 42 
Figure 20: Still from ?Canhead?  42 
Figure 21: Gumby and his horse  43 
Figure 22: Still from ?The Hand? 44 
Figure 23: Still from ?James and the Giant Peach? 45 
Figure 24: Still from ?Street of Crocodiles? 46 
Figure 25: Still from ?Street of Crocodiles?  46 
Figure 26: Still from ?The Coiling Prankster? 47 
Figure 27: Still from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 48 
Figure 28: Still from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 49 
Figure 29: Still from ?Gumbastic? 49 
Figure 30: Still from ?The Potato Hunters? 50 
Figure 31: Still from ?The Potato Hunters? 50 
Figure 32: Still from ?Street of Crocodile? 51 
Figure 33: Still from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 52 
Figure 34: Still from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 52 
Figure 35: Still from ?Street of Crocodiles?  52 
Figure 36: Still from ?Pib and Pog? 53 
Figure 37: Still from ?The Hand? 53 
Figure 38: Still sequence from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 54 
Figure 39: Still sequence from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 55 
Figure 40: Still from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 56 
Figure 41: Front page of Klaybow Films? promotional booklet 59 
Figure 42: Page two of Klaybow booklet with a list of their productions   60 
Figure 43: Cel animation in ?Bimbo?s Books - Little Red Riding Hood?  64 
Figure 44: Still from ?Bimbo?s Books? - Sigmund falls asleep 65 
Figure 45: Still Sequence from ?Bimbo?s Books? - The wolf breaks out of 
the book 
65 
Figure 46: Ted Berenson standing in front of sets for ?Bimbo?s Books? 66 
 viii 
Figure 47: Klaybow Films crew in front of new London Studio 68 
Figure 48: Still from ?The Star Child? 68 
Figure 49: Still from ?Bimbo?s Books? 69 
Figure 50: Still from ?Bimbo?s Books? 69 
Figure 51: Still from ?Bimbo?s Books? 69 
Figure 52: Still from ?Bimbo?s Books? - The Big Bad Wolf sings 71 
Figure 53: Still from ?Bimbo?s Books? - Cinderella 71 
Figure 54: The Directors - Miros Productions 77 
Figure 55: Production stills from ?Simba Chipniks? 77 
Figure 56: Production stills from ?Simba Chipniks? 78 
Figure 57: Production stills from ?Simba Chipniks? 78 
Figure 58: Production stills from ?Simba Chipniks? 78 
Figure 59: Productions stills from ?InJ? 79 
Figure 60: Productions stills from ?InJ? 79 
Figure 61: Still from ?National Air Conditioners? 80 
Figure 62: Photo - Lindsay van Blerk and Jacquie Trowell 88 
Figure 63: Trowell building clay puppet for ?Pipers Sweet Milk Cheese? 81 
Figure 64: Still from ?Pipers Sweet Milk Cheese? 81 
Figure 65: Still from ?Pipers Sweet Milk Cheese? 81 
Figure 66: Mitchell Camera used by XYZoo 82 
Figure 67: Still from ?The Prodigal Son? 82 
Figure 68: Still from ?SABC Radio? commercial 84 
Figure 69: Still from ?Sanlam? commercial 84 
Figure 70: Still from ?VW Citi Golf? commercial 84 
Figure 71: Still from Wellington VO Brandy - Dragon? (2002) commercial 84 
Figure 72: Still from Michael the Visitor 85 
Figure 73: Armatures from ?The Prodigal Son? 86 
Figure 74: Still from ?The First Christmas? - Wise men   86 
Figure 75: Still from ?The First Christmas? - Roman Centurion 87 
Figure 76: Still from ?The Chimes? 87 
Figure 77: Still from ?The Velveteen Rabbit? 88 
Figure 78: Production stills from ?The Chimes? - Set Building. 90 
Figure 79: Production stills from ?The Chimes? - Set Building. 90 
Figure 80: Production stills from ?The Chimes? - Set Building 90 
Figure 81: Production stills from ?The Chimes? - Characters 91 
Figure 82: Production stills from ?The Chimes? - van Blerk with 
Characters 
91 
Figure 83: Still from ?The Chimes?. 92 
Figure 84: Still from ?The Chimes?. 92 
Figure 85: Still from ?The Chimes?. 92 
Figure 86: Production stills from ?The Chimes? - Brett Schuman animating 
scene 
93 
Figure 87: Production stills from ?The Chimes? - Cinematographer Dave 
Aenmey lighting a scene. 
93 
Figure 88: Preproduction on ?The Chimes? - Rough Thumbnail Sketches 95 
Figure 89: Preproduction on ?The Chimes? - Storyboards 96 
Figure 90: Preproduction on ?The Chimes? - Storyboards 97 
Figure 91: Still from ?Paraffin Safety Campaign?. 102 
Figure 92: Still from ?Plascon Woodcare?. 103 
Figure 93: Still from ?Royco Potato Bake?. 103 
 ix 
Figure 94: Still from ?Slo-jo?. 104 
Figure 95: Still from ?Huapango De Los Volcanos?. 104 
Figure 96: Still from ?Dung Beetle? - Children?s Television Workshop 105 
Figure 97: Plastic chickens in ?Chickens in a Tangle? - Children?s 
Television Workshop 
106 
Figure 98: Wire Farmer and Cow in ?Season Surprises? -  Children?s 
Television Workshop 
106 
Figure 99 - Chameleon in ?Dancing Chameleon? - Children?s Television 
Workshop 
106 
Figure 100: Wooden bird puppets in ?Bird Doctor?  107 
Figure 101: Red in ?Red Sneezes? - Children?s Television Workshop 107 
Figure 102: Red in ?Red Brushes Teeth?, lifeskills narrative ? Children?s 
Television Workshop  
113 
Workshop 113 
Figure 103: Beetles in ?Entering Social Groups?, - Friendship and 
Diversity - Children?s Television Workshop 
114 
Figure 104: Beetles in ?Entering Social Groups?, - Friendship and 
Diversity - Children?s Television Workshop 
114 
Figure 105: Chicken recycling discarded material in ?Chicken Recycle? - 
Caring for the Environment and Playing - Children?s Television Workshop 
115 
Figure 106: Street Art - Masimba Dombo,a bead and wire artists works and 
displays his crafts on the street. 
116 
Figure 107: Street Art - Bead and wire curios made by Masimba Dombo. 116 
Figure 108: Bead and wire curios made by Munyaradzi Alfred. 117 
Figure 109: Chameleon made with telephone wire in ?Chameleon 
Dancing?. Children?s Television Workshop 
117 
Figure 110: Wire and Bead Chameleons. Artist - Munyaradzi Alfred. 118 
Figure 111: Wire Farmer and Cow in ?Season Surprises?. Children?s 
Television Workshop 
118 
Figure 112: Beetles made with tin cans and wire in ?Beetles find a Button?. 
Children?s Television Workshop. 
119 
Figure 113: Street Art: guitars made out of tin cans. 119 
Figure 114: Street Art: giraffes made out of tin cans. Artist Kenneth 
Taruvinga. 
120 
Figure 115: Plastic Chickens in ?Chicken Tangle?. Children?s Television 
Workshop 
120 
Figure 116: Still from ?Red Brushes his Hair?. Children?s Television 
Workshop 
121 
Figure 117:  African set design. Still from ?Chicken Recycle?. Children?s 
Television Workshop 
122 
Figure 118: Mixed materials in set design create 2D and 3D spaces. Still 
from ?Elements of Nature?. Children?s Television Workshop. 
123 
Figure 119: Rain cloud made with blue beads. Still from ?Elements of 
Nature?. Children?s Television Workshop. 
123 
Figure 120: Mixing materials. Wire flowers, rocks and sand used in set. 
Beetles in ?Entering Social Groups?. Children?s Television Workshop 
124 
Figure 121: Baby chicken. ?Chicken Soccer?. Children?s Television 
Workshop. 
125 
Figure 122:  Curio objects come to life. Still from Souvenir.  127 
Figure 122:  Curio objects come to life. Still from Souvenir.  127 
 x 
Figure 123: The Soldier by Willie Bester (Rankin 90) 128 
Figure 124: Chicken building houses from discarded materials in ?Chicken 
Recycle. Children?s Television Workshop 
130 
                                                                                                               Haycock 1 
1. Introduction 
 
1.1 Aim 
 
The aim of the following research is to document the history of three-dimensional 
stop-motion animation in South Africa from 1980 to 2005, by focusing on the 
development of three studios during this period and to critically assess the 
development of a unique South African stop-motion aesthetic. 
 
1.2 Scope 
 
The research report is primarily concerned with the historical documentation of South 
African animation history. It will only include South African stop-motion animation 
produced between the years 1980 and 2005. The research report will focus on the 
history of three South African animation studios that existed during these years. These 
studios are Klaybow Films, XYZoo Animation, and Triggerfish. 
 
This research report focuses on stop-motion animation techniques, which Maureen 
Furniss calls ?three-dimensional animation?, which include ?clay, puppets and 
pixilation? (155). These are known as stop-motion animation techniques, since they 
involve the animation of three-dimensional forms in front of the camera, unlike cel 
animation, which is first drawn and then photographed. Animated movement in stop-
 motion is created with small incremental movements of these forms in front of a 
camera, which captures each of these separately. Clay animation is created using 
forms constructed out of plasticine, although actual clay is sometimes also used. 
Puppet animation is created with pre-constructed articulated puppets, usually with the 
use of a metal armature, which are suited to the requirements of stop-motion 
animation and are able to support themselves. Pixilation is created using pre-existing 
forms, such as furniture and the human body.  
 
The research was restricted to the technical processes, history and aesthetics of stop-
 motion animation. Although Klaybow Films, XYZoo Animation and Triggerfish 
produced animation with all three of the relevant stop-motion techniques described 
above, they were primarily involved in the production of clay and puppet animation. 
                                                                                                               Haycock 2 
The research report will therefore discuss the technical aspects and characteristics of 
all three techniques. However, only clay and puppet animation will be included in the 
discussion on the history and aesthetics of stop-motion animation.  
 
1.3 Methodology 
 
The proposed study is a study of the history and aesthetics of traditional three-
 dimensional animation produced in South Africa and, therefore, I will use the 
?contextual approach? prescribed by Furniss, which states that when trying to 
understand the aesthetics of an animated production, it is important to understand the 
context in which that work was produced and the ?historical, economic, social, 
technological, political and industrial? factors that may have influenced its 
production, as this allows the researcher to study animated films as products of 
specific times and places (7). Therefore this research seeks to present the historical 
and cultural factors, together with the aesthetic and technical factors, that have 
influenced the development of three-dimensional stop-motion animation techniques in 
South Africa during the period in question.  
 
The research was conducted with a qualitative model, which consists of four stages: 
1) Observation; 2) Analysis of texts and documents; 3) Interviews; and 4) Recording 
and transcribing (Silverman 8-9). Research into the technique, history and aesthetics 
of stop-motion animation was conducted using pre-existing written sources. My 
discussion of the history of three-dimensional animation is drawn from Bruce 
Holman?s Puppet Animation in The Cinema, Michael Frierson?s Clay Animation, and 
Giannalberto Bendazzi?s Cartoons: One Hundred Years of Cinema Animation. 
 
 For the discussion of aesthetics, my research uses a combination of techniques, based 
on those outlined by Paul Wells and Maureen Furniss. Furniss discusses ?three-
 dimensional? animation aesthetics in terms of the treatment of three-dimensional 
forms and spaces, as well as the movement of these forms through these spaces (155-
 169). Wells shows that it is useful to discuss an animated film in terms of orthodox 
and experimental animation tendencies, as well in terms of ?narrative strategies? and 
animation genres that he has identified (35-126). 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 3 
When researching South African animation history, the researcher is faced with the 
problem of limited sources and documentation. In her research into the SABC 
Animation Unit, Shapurjee states that there is a very limited amount of pre-existing 
material on South African animation studiesi (4). Due to this paucity of published 
material, my research on South African stop-motion animation history has primarily 
been gathered from interviews. There were four subjects who participated in the 
research through interviews. The table below lists the participants and their relevance 
to the research. 
 
 
The interviews were conducted using Skype, as well as in in-person, face-to-face 
interviews. My interviews were semi structured and comprised of several themes 
based on the interviewee?s involvement with the South African animation industry 
between the years 1980 to 2005. The interviewees provided the historical 
documentation of the studios that they founded. The interviews revealed the training 
and qualifications of the subjects as well as the major artistic influences on the work 
they produced. This was useful, as it guided me towards the relevant animators and 
studios to research and include in the final research report. The subjects were 
questioned about their studio practices regarding technique and aesthetics, as well as 
the contextual factors that influenced and determined the work that they produced.  
 
The research also involved the viewing of stop-motion work produced by these three 
South African studios. During these viewings, I conducted an aesthetic analysis with 
the theoretical techniques mentioned previously. Using the previous research into 
technique and history, I was able to identify relevant styles and influences prevalent 
in the work. The aesthetics of the work produced by these studios was also regarded 
as being the product of contextual factors that may have influenced the studios during 
production. I was able to compare the style and aesthetics of these South African 
Subject Relevance to Research Job Description 
Ted Berenson Founded Klaybow Films in 1981.  Director and Animator. 
Lindsay Van Blerk Founded XYZoo in 1990. Director and Animator. 
Jacquie Trowell Founded Triggerfish in 1996. Director and Animator. 
Emma Kaye Founded Triggerfish in 1996. Producer. 
                                                                                                               Haycock 4 
works with other stop-motion animation produced in other parts of the world, and was 
thus able to ascertain not only what made the South African animations similar to 
these international works but also unique. Thus, I was able to identify a uniquely 
South African stop-motion aesthetic.  
 
I have also authored two DVDs, on which can be find some of the stop-motion 
animated films discussed in the research report.  
 
1.4 Rationale 
 
Furniss states that research into animation and its history is important because the 
development of animation has suffered as a result of the commonly held belief that 
?animation is not a real art form? which has resulted in the serious neglect of 
animation studies (3-4).  
 
Although the 1980?s saw a large increase in scholarly research into animation in 
Europe and America (Furniss 4), this neglect is still seriously prevalent in countries 
like South Africa. Shapurjee highlights the urgent need to document South African 
animation history, as it is in serious danger of disappearing due to scholarly neglect, 
both internationally and in South Africa itself, as a consequence of bad archiving and 
preservation systems as well as the fact that ?veterans? within the industry are passing 
away ?without their histories being properly documented? (4).  
 
This research aims to add to the small amount of research conducted by Shapurjee 
and others into the history of South African animation. However, Furniss points out 
that within the neglected area of the study of animation, the neglected study of three-
 dimensional stop-motion animation techniques exists, which has generally been 
?overshadowed? by two-dimensional cel animation, in terms of both academic study 
and commercial success (155).  
 
The small amount of research conducted into South African animation deals solely 
with two-dimensional animation and there has been no focused research into South 
African animators who have worked with three-dimensional stop-motion animation 
                                                                                                               Haycock 5 
techniques. Therefore, this research into the history and aesthetics of stop-motion 
animation in South Africa is relevant and urgently needed.  
 
I wish to highlight here that Darley has pointed out that the neglect of animation 
research has further hindered animation studies by creating an ?inferiority complex? 
within the field and as a result animation scholars compensate by conducting research 
into animation that is overly abstract and idealistic, in the sense that it treats animation 
as some sort of super medium. (63-67). This has resulted in a lack of more important 
research into animation such as research into the history, aesthetics and technique 
(Darley 63-67). Because of this, I decided to focus my research on the technical, 
historical and stylistic aspects of stop-motion animation and tried to avoid dealing 
with some of the more abstract and obtuse research conducted into this field.  
 
This research into three-dimensional stop-motion aesthetics is relevant today, since 
three-dimensional computer animation (which is obviously closely related to stop-
 motion 3D animation) increasingly becomes the dominant mode of animation 
production. Although, 3D stop-motion techniques will never enjoy the popularity that 
2D cel and 3D computer animation enjoys, it seems short-sighted to ignore the history 
and aesthetics of 3D stop-motion.  
 
Obviously 3D computer animation is a relatively new animation technique. However, 
important developments in 3D aesthetics and narrative strategies can be discovered by 
studying 3D stop-motion animation, and the development of 3D computer animation 
would benefit greatly from this. Thus, it is fairly obvious that those wanting to study 
and practice the three-dimensional computer animation technique would benefit 
greatly from the study and analysis of the technique and aesthetics of three-
 dimensional stop-motion animation.  
 
Initially, I began this research wanting to document the entire history of stop-motion 
animation techniques in South Africa. However, as my research progressed this 
seemed unrealistic for several reasons. Firstly, I realised that research of this scope 
would be too broad for the required length of my final research report. Secondly, 
researching animation in South Africa prior to 1990 is difficult as a result of the 
difficulty of gathering and viewing animations produced in South Africa before this 
                                                                                                               Haycock 6 
date. This is a result of the lack of archiving of material, as well as the difficulty in 
accessing the SABC?s archivesii. It was virtually impossible to assess exactly how 
much stop-motion animation was produced in South Africa before 1990. Thus I 
realised it would be necessary to structure the research over a much shorter time span, 
as well as limiting it to the South African stop-motion animation that I would be able 
to view.  
 
I eventually decided to focus the study on three studios: Klaybow Films, XYZoo and 
Triggerfish, as a result of significant information I gathered that linked the 
development and growth of these studios with one another. I had always been aware 
that Triggerfish had produced a relatively large amount of stop-motion animation 
during the late nineties, and one of my first steps was to contact Jacquie Trowell, one 
of the founders of the Triggerfish animation studio in 1996. She informed that she had 
learnt the techniques of stop-motion animation from Lindsay van Blerk, a master of 
clay animation, who had started XYZoo Animation in the early nineties, and she 
suggested that I should contact him.  
 
On making contact with Lindsay van Blerk, he informed me that he had learnt the 
technique of stop-motion animation during the eighties in Cape Town, when he 
worked as an animator and character designer for Klaybow Films, which had been 
formed by Ted Berenson, a Romanian by birth, who had immigrated to South Africa 
with his wife in 1980. Although I had found some indication that clay animation may 
have been used in South Africa as early as 1967iii, Klaybow Films seemed to be the 
first animation studio in South Africa concerned solely with producing three-
 dimensional animation.  
 
I realised that I had discovered a stop-motion genealogy that ended with Triggerfish, 
which is currently one of South Africa?s most successful and highly regarded 
animation studios. Thus, I decided to focus my research on these three studios and the 
work they produced between the years 1980 to 2005. This period also corresponds 
with a period of history during which South Africa saw important social, economic 
and political change. Furniss?s contextual approach is necessary to understand the 
history and work of these three studios, which existed and developed during an 
important period in South African history.  
                                                                                                               Haycock 7 
1.5 Structure 
 
Following this introduction the research report will be structured as follows:  
 
1. Technique and characteristics of 3D stop-motion  
 
The opening chapter will summarise the production process involved in the 
production of 3D stop-motion animated film, and the characteristics that arise out of 
this process. 
 
2. The history of 3D stop-motion techniques  
 
This chapter will give an overview of the history and development of 3D stop-motion 
animation techniques in both Europe and America, highlighting early pioneers and 
key practitioners. It will include a summary of important stop-motion figures such as 
Jiri Trnka and Will Vinton, both of whom clearly influenced South African stop-
 motion animation produced by Klaybow Films, XYZoo and Triggerfish.  
 
3. The aesthetics of 3D stop-motion techniques 
 
Following these technical and historical discussions, a discussion dealing with the 
aesthetic elements that are relevant when discussing 3D stop-motion animation will 
be presented. These elements will be used in the discussion of the aesthetics found in 
South African stop-motion animation. 
 
4. South Africa 1980-1989: Ted Berenson and Klaybow Films 
 
After this initial discussion of stop-motion technique, history and aesthetics, the 
historical research into South African stop-motion animation will be presented. This 
will be started with a chapter focusing on the history of and the work produced 
between the years 1980 and 1989 by the South African studio, Klaybow Films, which 
was founded by the Romanian Ted Berenson,. 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 8 
5. South Africa 1989-2005: Lindsay van Blerk and XYZoo  
 
A chapter that focuses on Lindsay van Blerk, who founded the animation studio 
XYZoo in 1990, will follow. This chapter will be a discussion of the history and work 
produced by XYZoo Animations between the years 1989 and 2005. 
 
6. South Africa 1996-2005: Jacquie Trowell, Emma Kaye and Triggerfish 
 
A chapter focusing on Jacquie Trowell and Emma Kaye, who founded the animation 
studio Triggerfish in 1996, will follow. This chapter will discuss the history and work 
produced by Triggerfish between the years 1996 and 2005 and will reveal how the 
studio developed a distinctive South African style in their stop-motion animated 
films.  
 
7. Case Study: Triggerfish stop-motion produced for Takalani Sesame 
 
Following this historical discussion of South African animation, a case study of the 
work produced by Triggerfish Animation will be presented. It will be argued that this 
work represents the first successful attempt to produce a uniquely South African stop-
 motion aesthetic.  
 
8. Conclusions and speculations 
 
Finally, the conclusions drawn from this research will be presented, and the possible 
future uses of 3D stop-motion in South Africa will be discussed.  
 
Appendix 
 
An appendix is attached that includes a filmography listing 3D stop-motion animated 
films produced in South Africa. This filmography represents the initial attempts to 
document the production of 3D stop-motion animation in South Africa, and should in 
no way be seen as complete, but should rather be seen as serving as a starting point 
for further research into the history of South African animation. The appendix will 
                                                                                                               Haycock 9 
also include relevant timelines, which summarise the South African animation history 
presented in this research. 
 
There is also an appendix outlining the contents of three DVD disks attached to back 
cover page of this research report. Selected films produced by Klaybow Films, 
XYZoo and Triggerfish are included on this DVDs. 
                                                
i These individuals are Sarienne Kersh, Silvia Bazzoli and Giannalberto Bendazzi, all 
of whom published work dealing with South African animation history (Shapurjee 4). 
My own research into South African animation history used two written sources: 
Shanaz Shapurjee?s A Historical Enquiry into the Animation Unit, Situated within the 
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) 1976-1988 and Theresa Collins? 
Beyond Cartoons: An Exploration of Independent forms of Animation.  
ii I was unable to gain access to the SABC?s archives. As a result I was unable to view 
episodes of the clay animation produced by Klaybow Films. In the end, the only 
example of work produced by this studio that I was able to get hold of was a VHS 
copy of their showreel, which Lindsay van Blerk had in his possession.  
iii During the early stages of this research, I met with Sarienne Kersh, who through her 
own research into South African animation history had reason to believe that James 
Reindorp produced a clay animation commercial for the Natal Building Society in 
1968. 
                                                                                                               Haycock 10 
 2.  The Technique of 3D Stop-Motion Production 
 
Before discussing the history or aesthetics of stop-motion, it is necessary to 
understand how one produces a three-dimensional stop-motion animated film. It is 
important to understand the differences between the three techniques that make up 
this category of animation, as well as the similarities that they share. This will help 
reveal the advantages and limitations inherent in these techniques.  
 
All forms of motion-picture production can be broken down into three stages: pre-
 production, production and post-production. However, within in this framework, the 
technique and process followed by stop-motion filmmaker creating 3D stop-motion 
animation has fundamental differences and distinctive characteristics when compared 
to the process followed in 2D cel animation production. The stop-motion filmmaker 
begins with an initial idea, which is developed into a written script. Working from 
this, the filmmaker begins to develop this script into a tangible film. 
 
?During pre-production, the designer-animator makes concrete decisions about the 
film?s aesthetic. The overriding concern is to mould every production element ? 
character, set, sound design ? to support the film?s thematic or aesthetic end? 
(Frierson 5). During the pre-production stage, the filmmaker designs and plans the 
final look of the film and thus ascertains the physical and logistical requirements that 
must be assembled before production can begin. The filmmaker then constructs and 
assembles these requirementsi. Generally, this is the most intensive phase of 
production for any animation technique, and generally the filmmaker plans the film 
down to the very last detail. 
 
After completing pre-production the filmmaker moves onto the production stage. 
Frierson explains that most creative decisions are completed in pre-production and 
that during the production phase can be considered as ?donkey work? aimed at 
bringing all those decisions to fruition (4). The filmmaker assembles all the characters 
and sets, assembled or constructed during pre-production. As with live-action, the 
filmmaker then lights the character and the set and frames up the shot with the 
camera. Once this is complete the animator then begins the time-consuming process 
of stop-motion animation. 
                                                                                                               Haycock 11 
This is followed by the post-production stage. In stop-motion animation this is the 
least intense stage of production, and is generally characterized by the straightforward 
assembling of shots, sound track and special effects into a completed film. 
 
2.1 Characteristics, advantages and limitations 
 
Frierson points out that all forms of animation have inherent advantages and 
limitations, and the filmmaker seeking to produce a stop-motion film must be aware 
of these before beginning production (2-3). The 3D stop-motion techniques using 
puppets, clay and pixilation, are all concerned with the animation of three-
 dimensional forms through three-dimensional spaces, and they generally follow the 
same process during production. The fundamental difference between these three 
techniques lies in the type of forms used, and it is the material and physical nature of 
these forms that defines the limitations, advantages and characteristics inherent in 
these techniques. 
 
2.1.1 Clay animation 
 
Clay animation is usually created using plasticine; however in some cases actual clay 
may be used. Frierson explains that while all three-dimensional animation can be 
created through the simple incremental movement and sequential photography of 
three-dimensional forms, the physical nature of plasticine gives it an advantage over 
other stop-motion techniques (2-3). 
 
The shape and surface of plasticine, which is very malleable, can be adjusted and 
manipulated easily with either hands or tools, and thus clay/plasticine ?is very 
adaptable to different forms of incremental manipulation? and therefore can be 
animated with relative ease (2-3). However, because of this malleability, fingerprints 
are also easily left on the surface of the plasticine, which can become a disadvantage 
if it is necessary to keep the surface clean and smooth, which can become very time-
 consuming.  
 
Plasticine, because of its weight, may also tend to sag over successive frames. This 
sagging can happen in such small movements that the filmmaker only becomes aware 
                                                                                                               Haycock 12 
of it once he/she is watching the final shot. Sagging can also occur because of the 
lights used during production. Plasticine tends to become soft and unmanageable 
when it heats up, and this poses problems for the filmmaker producing clay 
animation. Frierson also points out that plasticine has a low density and therefore can 
only absorb a limited amount of pigment (3). Therefore only a limited amount of 
saturated colours can be created with plasticine, as opposed to the huge range of 
saturated colours available to the 2D cel animator (Frierson 3).  
 
2.1.2 Puppet animation 
 
Puppet animation is created with articulated puppets that are constructed with 
armaturesii that allow incremental movement. This means that the puppet is able to 
hold a position without the aid of additional support. In comparison with clay 
animation, the type of movement available when using puppets is limited since the 
materials used to create puppets are generally fixed, and cannot be manipulated or 
reshaped like plasticine. Performance and movement may thus be limited to fixed 
expressions on the puppet?s face (Furniss 163). This problem can be overcome with 
more sophisticated armatures and replacement animation systemsiii. However, these 
will considerably raise the cost of production, and so may not be a viable option to the 
animator with limited production resources. It should be pointed out that puppets can 
be built from a wide variety of materials and are not always built using an armature.  
 
2.1.3 Pixilation 
 
Pixilation is created using ?ready-made? forms that the filmmaker can easily find in 
the world around him, such as toys, furniture or even the human body. Dave 
Borthwick and Richard Hutchinsoniv employed this technique to create various stop-
 motion animated films, such as The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (1993). They 
explain that they ?couldn?t afford models so we tended to work with ready-mades, 
anything we could find around the house; Action Men and things like that. And of 
course one of the best ready-mades you can get is the human body? (Furniss 159). 
Obviously the process involved in the production of pixilation is significantly cheaper 
than that used in clay or puppet animation, and is useful to the stop-motion animator 
faced with extremely limited production resources.  
                                                                                                               Haycock 13 
2.1.4 Inherent three-dimensionality 
 
The forms in 3D animation have actual body and have height, width, and depth 
(Furniss 155). All 3D stop-motion films involve the photography of existing physical 
three-dimensional forms and spaces. Citing Art Clokeyv, Frierson argues that this 
physical photography of actual three-dimensional ?spatial reality? makes 3D stop-
 motion animation superior to 2D animation techniques, which are merely flat 
abstractions of ?spatial reality? (25). A two-dimensional drawing is an ?extreme 
abstraction? of reality and three-dimensional space, while 3D stop-motion films, like 
live action, recreate the spatial conditions the audience member finds in his own 
reality. This gives 3D films a level of appeal and credibility that is not found in 2D 
animation (Frierson 23-25).  
 
While this idealistic argument is what Darley in his overview of animation studies 
would call ?essentialism? (78), it does highlight the most important characteristic of 
these techniques: their inherent three-dimensionality. Clearly 3D stop-motion 
animation in some ways has more in common with live-action than it does with two-
 dimensional animation techniques. Furniss suggests that there must be some 
difference between how an audience experiences a 3D stop-motion film compared to 
a 2D animation, arising from watching forms which one ?knows to be real? (169). 
Therefore, I would agree with Frierson, who states that this inherent three-
 dimensionality is ?the source of dimensional animation?s immediacy and presence? 
(25). However, one cannot say this makes 3D superior to 2D animation, though it is 
an important characteristic the filmmaker must be aware of.  
 
Firstly, this inherent three-dimensionality is the greatest advantage of working with 
these stop-motion techniques, as the forms being used ?move through three-
 dimensional space, create their own perspective, and cast their own shadows? 
(Frierson 2). The forms used in 3D stop-motion have an inherent level of texture, 
detail and shadow which doesn?t need to be created for each frame, as in 2D cel, 
where all this detail must be recreated in each drawing (Frierson25). Three-
 dimensional camera moves can also be created with relative ease in these stop-motion 
techniques, while in 2D cel animation, camera movements like this must be created 
by simulating depth cues, which can be time consuming and complex to animate. 3D 
                                                                                                               Haycock 14 
forms can also be photographed from any angle, as in live-action, with relative ease, 
while in contrast, during 2D animation production, the choice of camera angle is 
limited to what has been storyboarded and changing to an unplanned angle is virtually 
impossible.  
 
Clearly these techniques have many benefits deriving from their inherent three-
 dimensionality. However, this is also the source of the techniques? greatest limitation: 
the inherent weight of three-dimensional forms (Frierson 3). Traditional three-
 dimensional animations have in the past been restricted by gravity. Since the 
techniques deal with real three-dimensional forms with real weight, the animator is 
faced with the problem of walking, jumping and flying, since these forms cannot 
stand upright by themselves. In the past it was necessary to use thin wires to hold up 
characters, or position the camera at an angle that hides the device supporting the 
character (Priebe 89). However, there has been the recent development of computer 
effects programmes that enable the filmmaker to paint out ?rigs? used to hold the 
character up, using a ?clean plate? as reference (Priebe 89). Although the issue of 
gravity has been addressed, the use of rigs and special effects programmes to remove 
them, adds other logistical considerations to the production of a traditional three-
 dimensional animation, such as budget problems. Access to this technology may be 
unavailable to the low-budget stop-motion animator.  
 
The stop-motion technique used during production also creates a set of advantages 
and limitations. With stop-motion, animation is created in front of the camera, while 
in 2D cel, all the drawings, and thus the animation, are completed in pre-production 
and then photographed. The 2D cel animator is able to animate using the pose-to-pose 
methodvi, which allows a greater degree of control, as well as increasing the speed of 
production since many animators can work on a single scene. In contrast, the 3D stop-
 motion animator animates using the straight-ahead animation technique, since he is 
unable to refer to previous poses or drawings and works from the beginning position 
to the last position using only his/her intuition (Furniss 50). However, Holman states 
that this allows for a level of spontaneity not found in cel animation, which is rigidly 
planned and executed. The 3D animator may sometimes deviate from the storyboard 
following a sudden insight or inspirationvii (50-51).  
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 15 
However, from the late seventies onwards, stop-motion animators have been 
increasingly using ?video assist? which allows them to view frames captured 
previously, and ?better align his or her movements with those already recorded? 
(Furniss 168). Although some argue the increased control given by ?video assist? has 
taken away the spontaneity and the resulting feel normally found in stop-motion 
(Furniss 168), others argue that this technology has added a level of control which has 
opened up a medium that was seriously limited by the crudeness that resulted from 
working ?blind? in the straight-ahead method (Van Blerk Interview).  
 
Although technology has increased the possibilities of 3D stop-motion animation, the 
animator using them still animates straight ahead, and due to this, the crews of these 
types of animated productions are sometimes limited to as few as two animators, in 
order to maintain the continuity of the animation and performance (Furniss 166). 
However, Furniss states that Henry Selick was able to work with a large crew of 
animators by using ?replacement? pieces and other methods, which allowed him to 
rigidly control the performance of each animator on the set of The Nightmare Before 
Christmas (Furniss 166).  However, the nature of 2D cel animation production lends 
itself more easily to being produced by a large group of animators compared to 3D 
stop-motion. 
 
                                                
i The processes involved in pre-production are complex and too many to discuss in 
detail in this research report. The primary concern is the design and construction of 
?characters? and sets. A storyboard - a series of still images showing each shot of the 
film - is also an important part of pre-production. The reader interested in this subject 
should consult Michael Frierson?s Clay Animation, or Ken Priebe?s The Art of Stop-
 Motion Animation, both of which cover the production process involved in stop-
 motion in excellent detail.  
ii An armature is a metal ?skeleton? over which the materials used to create the clay or 
puppet figure are placed. The armature is essentially a ?joint system? and Holman 
explains that these joints must ?be flexible enough to permit movement between 
exposures, yet sufficiently rigid to prevent him from collapsing during a scene? (55). 
iii ?The ?replacement? method of animation is a means by which some standardisation 
of movement can be achieved in 3D animation. Rather than distort the original figure 
by reshaping it under the camera, with this method an animator will use a series of 
prefabricated parts in various positions that replace each other in consecutive frames? 
(Furniss 167).  
iv Borthwick and Hutchinson are the heads of the Bristol based English studio, The 
Bolex Brothers (Furniss 159).  
                                                                                                               Haycock 16 
                                                                                                                                      
v Art Clokey was an American who pioneered the first use of clay animation for 
television in the fifties.  
vi In 2D cel animation, the animator will draw two extreme positions first. Using these 
two extremes as a reference, the animator then adds in the in-between poses.  
vii This is not necessarily true and depends largely on technique and the context of the 
production. Furniss points out that in The Nightmare Before Christmas these 
?spontaneous? and ?arbitrarily? additions made by the animator to the animation were 
limited with the use of highly detailed storyboards with precise timing and posing 
(166).  
                                                                                                               Haycock 17 
3. The history of 3D stop-motion techniques 
 
Pixilation, puppet animation, and clay animation have never enjoyed the level and 
scale of production, commercial success and popularity that two-dimensional cel 
animation has, until relatively recent years. Furniss points out that the 3D animators 
developed and ?persevered? over the years, through isolated yet significant use, 
?developing prominence in certain moments and in different locations? (Furniss 154). 
Although these techniques share similar origins, which stretch back to the beginning 
of film production, the histories of these techniques diverge onto separate paths, 
developing in different places under distinctive and defining cultural, economic and 
political conditions. 
 
3.1 The origins of stop-motion animation 
 
?If any technical predecessor of animation need be identified, it would certainly be 
the stop-action substitution technique? (Crafton 9). With the discovery of motion 
picture filmmaking, there grew a demand for innovative films, which enthralled and 
delighted audiences with never before seen techniques. This led to development of 
?trick films? which used ?optical effects and cinematic sleight of hand? to create 
?magical illusions? (Holman 21). One of the special effect techniques employed in 
these films was the ?stop-frame substitution? technique, which involved stopping the 
camera during filming and then the placement of an object or actor into a new 
position in the frame after which filming would resume. When watching the final 
film, the object or actor would magically move from one position in frame to another.  
 
Bendazzi states that it was probably the 
American, Alfred Clark, who first 
discovered this technique, which he 
used in the film The Execution of Mary, 
Queen of Scots, 1895, to film a 
beheading scene with the use of a full 
size puppet, which was substituted for 
of the actor (7). However, it was 
Figure 1: Still from ?A Trip to the Moon? by 
George M?li?s 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 18 
Figure 2: Still from ?Dreams of Toyland? 
George M?li?s, ?the undisputed master of the trick film? (Crafton 9), who first used 
the technique to make objects move in an 1898 advertising film (Bendazzi 7).  
 
Early animation pioneers, whom Bendazzi calls ?paleoanimators? (7), would employ 
this stop-action technique to create films that show the first uses of animation in the 
film industry. During the first decade of the twentieth century, these ?paleoanimators? 
experimented with a variety of types of animation techniques, including the three-
 dimensional animation techniques of puppet, clay and pixilation. The pioneers include 
the filmmakers, James Stuart Blackton, Edwin Porter, Arthur Melbourne Cooper, 
Walter Booth, and Segundo de Chom?n.  
 
The earliest stop-motion animated films are early experiments with the technique that 
came to be known as pixilation. In England, Arthur Cooper animated matches to 
make the film Matches: An Appeal (1899), which is often considered to be the first 
animated film. In Spain, Segundo de Chom used the technique to make luggage and 
furniture move in El Hotel Electrico (1905). One of the most important American 
pioneers, James Stuart Blackton, also used the stop-frame technique in his film The 
Haunted Hotel (1907) to show objects and furniture ?magically? moving. In France, 
Emile Cohl, often referred to as the first true animator (Bendazzi 7), also used the 
pixilated movement of furniture and objects in his film The Automatic Moving 
Company (1910), which shows furniture come magically to life and then move out of 
one house and into another.  
 
These pioneers were also developing 
the first examples of puppet and clay 
animated films. Holman states that 
the earliest use of puppet animation 
was by the Englishman Arthur 
Cooper, who blended live action with 
animation in the film Dreams Of 
Toyland (1908), which featured the 
animation of jointed children?s toys 
(21). The French animator, Emile 
                                                                                                               Haycock 19 
Cohl, also experimented with puppet animation early on in his career. In Le Petit 
Faust (1910), a simplified version of the story of Faust, the puppets and sets were 
constructed with considerable skill, and the animation, although stiff, is ?good 
considering it was Cohl?s first attempt at puppet animation? (Holman 21).  
 
Early examples of clay animation were also created during this period in animation 
history. Frierson identifies the American Edwin Porter?s ?lighting sculpting? film Fun 
in a Bakery Shop (1902), as an early predecessor of the clay animation film (40). 
Made with the special effect technique of under cranking the camera to create the 
effect of very fast action, the film shows a baker sculpting a series of ?humorous 
faces? from ?very soft modelling material representing bread dough? (Frierson 40). 
The film is significant because ?like the filmed lightening sketches that foreshadowed 
the introduction of drawn animation - offering both narrative context and an 
iconography for its development - Bakery Shop provides the parallel antecedents for 
early clay animation? (Frierson 40).  
 
However, the first ?clay animation? films only appeared in 1908. A Sculptor?s Welsh 
Rarebit Dream (1908) produced by the Edison studio, and The Sculptor?s Nightmare 
(1908) produced by the Biograph Studio. Both showed the incremental movement and 
manipulation of clay using the stop-motion technique. Both films follow the same plot 
of a sculptor falling asleep and dreaming about clay that moulds itself into shape, and 
though these films differ slightly in terms of plot, both show clay moulding itself into 
the form of political leaders from this period (Frierson 43-44). 
 
 The American pioneer James Stuart Blackton, was also involved in clay animation 
production, and produced the film Chew Chew Land (1910). Clay animation is used 
as a special effect during a dream sequence in which a clay ball builds up into the 
form of a decapitated head. Frierson states that although the film lacks the level of 
quality and sophistication found in The Sculptors Nightmare, it is still significant as it 
shows that Blackton was open to experimenting with various stop-motion techniques 
(59-60). 
 
It is clear that these early days in the history of animation were characterised by 
pioneering individuals who were experimenting with a wide variety of different 
                                                                                                               Haycock 20 
techniques. However, by 1915, the American animation industry would become 
increasingly dominated by 2D cel animation (Furniss 16). This dominance arose as a 
result of the production process involved in drawn animation as well as some 
significant technological developments.  
 
As discussed in the previous chapter on technique, in stop-motion, animation is 
produced in front of the camera, while in cel animation all animation occurs during 
pre-productioni. As a result, 3D stop-motion animation can only be produced by a 
relatively small crew, while in comparison, the work involved in producing 2D cel 
animation can be divided and spread out amongst a large crew of people. Cel 
animation is therefore, specially suited to the principles of Taylorismii and the 
assembly line method of production since it allows for the division of labour (Furniss 
18-19). Technological developments such as the introduction of the peg bar and clear 
cel sheet helped to develop drawn animation into an efficient and cost effective 
technique, which was therefore more suited to the competitive American market than 
stop-motion animation techniques which could not be produced as efficiently or at the 
same speed that drawn animation could (Furniss 18-19).  
 
At the beginning of the 20th century, the American animation industry, like the 
broader film industry, was driven by the search for more efficient and profitable 
techniques. Success in this animation industry was determined by the filmmaker?s 
ability to use large production crews, as well as division of labour techniques, and 
thus 2D cel animation became the dominant mode of animation production in 
America (Furniss 21).  
 
However, at the same time in Europe, Bendazzi states that animation was 
predominantly produced by individuals or small groups of people, as a result of the 
European industry never being organised and developed, like its American 
counterpart, until the 1930s (25). This environment in Europe allowed for the 
emergence of talented amateurs, who experimented and mastered alternative 
animation techniques other than drawn animation. As a result, this had the effect of 
allowing the development of puppet animation, particularly in Eastern Europe, into a 
sophisticated and widely used technique.  
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 21 
3.2 The history of puppet animation 
 
Puppet animation is associated with Eastern Europe, which has produced many great 
puppet animators since the early 1900s (Furniss 156). Wells points out that this 
development of puppet animation in Eastern Europe was due to these countries 
having a long history and tradition in puppet theatre (63). Two of the most significant 
puppet animation pioneers are the two Russians, Ladislas Starewich, and Alexander 
Ptushko. They paved the way for future masters of puppet animation who would 
develop a distinctive Eastern European puppet animation style in post war Europe. 
 
3.2.1 Puppet animation pioneers 
 
Russian born Ladislas Starewichiii, sometimes called the father of puppet animation 
(Potamkin), was initially interested in studying entomology and began using film to 
document the lives of certain insects. In 1910, unable to film a fight between two stag 
beetles because the lights caused the nocturnal insects to become immobile, used 
stop-motion animation to recreate the fight using puppets created from embalmed stag 
beetle bodies in Lucanaus Cervus (1910). He created some of this first stop-motion 
armatures for these beetles, ?which he articulated by wiring the legs to the thorax with 
sealing wax? and this film is regarded as the first puppet animated film (Potamkin). 
Starewich then used the technique and puppets to produce a ?fable like? stop-motion 
film called The Beautiful Leukanida (1910) for which he received ?much praise? 
when it was screened in 1911 around Europe (Bendazzi 36). 
 
 Obviously technically gifted, Starewich developed a successful career making 
sophisticated and poetic puppet animation. He produced puppet-animated films 
initially in Russia until the revolution in 1917 after which he moved to France, where 
he continued working until his death in 1965. His early films include The 
Grasshopper and the Ant (1911) and his most famous film The Cameraman?s 
Revenge (1912). He is also well known for Les Grenouilles qui Demandent un Roi 
(1923), which was one of his first films made after moving to France. He also 
produced a feature length puppet animation called The Tale of the Fox (1930).  
                                                                                                               Haycock 22 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Another Russian, Alexander Ptushko, created puppet-animated films during the 
twenties and thirties. The first puppet animation that he directed was It Happened at 
the Stadium (1928). A puppet specialist, Ptushko developed a technical mastery of 
puppet animation with a collective of filmmakers he had been working with for 
several years (Holman 26). This technical mastery with the puppet animation 
technique is displayed in his feature length puppet animation, The New Gulliver 
(1935).  The film was a ?political satire of monarchy and a glorification of the 
workers who arise to over throw it? (Holman 26).  
 
3.2.2 Czechoslovakian puppet animation  
 
Although puppet animation was produced throughout Eastern Europe, the puppet 
animations produced in the communist controlled Czechoslovakia between 1946 and 
1989 are highly regarded and Jiri Trnka in particular is considered to be a ?master? of 
this technique (Furniss 156). At the end of the Second World War, Eastern Europe 
fell under communist rule. Lucie Joschko and Michael Morgan argue that these films 
are characterised by the political and economic situation in Czechoslovakia during 
this period (66-84). 
 
Much of the animation that came out of this period is characterized by a subtle and 
poetic use of metaphor and symbolism to create work that protested against the 
regimes but that was ?ambiguous enough so as not to incur the wrath and intervention 
of the authorities? (Wells 64). Ironically though, it was the state funded animation 
industry that existed in communist Czechoslovakia that gave animators the economic 
Figure 3: Still from 
?The Camera Man?s Revenge? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 23 
freedom to produce highly innovative and personal work. This freedom has 
disappeared in the capitalist orientated animation market that exists in the present-day 
democratic Czech Republic (Joschko and Morgan 66-84).  
 
In Czechoslovakia puppet animated films were produced as early as 1936 by 
animators such as Karel Dodal and his wife Hermina Tylova, who after seeing puppet 
animation produced by Alexander Ptushko, collaborated to produce the puppet 
animated film The Adventures of Mr. Pry (1936) (Holman 32).  However, it was only 
after the Second World War that Czechoslovakia saw the emergence of a distinctive 
puppet animation cinema at the hands of masters such as Jiri Trnka. Bendazzi divides 
Czechoslovakian puppet animation into three periods. Firstly, 1940 to 1970 during 
which time Jiri Trnka made huge contributions to the genre (163-170), 1970 to 1980, 
which saw the emergence of ?Trnka?s heirs?, Bretislav Pojar and Jan Svankmajer 
(360-364), and finally 1980 to 1985, during which time a new generation of animators 
emerged, the most important being Jiri Barta (366-377).  
 
Born in 1912, Trnka became involved in puppet theatre through the influence of his 
junior high art teacher, Josef Skupa, who hired Trnka as an assistant and taught him 
the art of carving wood puppets (Holman 34). Puppet theatre had been popular in 
Czechoslovakia for centuries and by the beginning of the 20th century puppet theatre 
shows of every genre could be found from traditional children?s fables through to 
more adult orientated political satiresiv (Bendazzi 167-168). 
 
Trnka started his own puppet theatre troupe after finishing his studies but closed it 
down after moving to Prague, where he was unable to attract sufficient audiences. In 
1945 Trnka began working at Atelier Filmovych Triku, a small studio in Prague, 
where he became involved in the production of 2D cartoon animation. However, 
wanting to pursue his first love of puppetry, he eventually left this studio and together 
with like-minded colleagues, formed a puppet film studio in Prague in 1946 which 
they named Bratri v triku.  
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 24 
 
 
 
Trnka produced fourteen puppet animated films at Bratri v triku from 1946 to 1965, 
the most outstanding of which are The Czech Year (1947), The Devil?s Mill (1951) 
Old Czech Legends (1953), A Midsummer Nights Dream, and his last film The Hand 
(1965) which Holman describes as the ?epitome of puppet films? (37). Wells states 
that The Hand shows ?Trnka?s preoccupation with the role of the artist, the 
importance of social and artistic freedom, and the need to resist the erosion of 
tradition and preserve the particular nature of Czechoslovakian national identify and 
its expression? (64). This is the most significant contribution Trnka made towards the 
development of puppet animation. He resisted creating popular 2D cartoons, and was 
rather concerned with the expression of Czechoslovakian tradition through the 
development of a puppet animation style influenced by traditional Czechoslovakian 
puppets.  
 
Trnka is also regarded as the father of the puppet animation genre. He developed a 
?poetics for animated puppets?, creating new performance and structuring techniques 
that would inspire future generations of puppet animators (Bendazzi 170). Holman 
states that he also encouraged using a ?production-team method of working? which 
helped develop the skills of other puppet animators who worked with him and thus he 
made significant contributions to the future development of the puppet technique in 
Czechoslovakia (37). Perhaps most significantly, he was the first puppet animator to 
use puppets as symbols to create subversive metaphors and allegory that challenged 
the Soviet domination of his country, and thus helped to reinforce the long running 
Czechoslovakian Puppet Theatre tradition.  
Figure 4: Still from 
 ?The Hand? 
                                                                                                               Haycock 25 
Thus, Trnka paved the way for a second generation of puppet animators who worked 
with him at the Prague studio. By ?raising the technical and aesthetic status of the 
puppet animated film? Trnka was able to develop a ?medium that could support 
significant social and political meaning? (Wells 64). Animator?s like Bretislav Pojar, 
Jan Svankmajer, and Jiri Barta would follow the puppet animation tradition started by 
Trnka and go on to ?extend the vocabulary of the puppet animated film by using 
puppets in different contexts and mixing puppets with other forms of animation? 
(Wells 64).  
 
Bretislav Pojar joined Jiri Trnka?s Prague studio in 1947. Pojar worked under Trnka?s 
direction as an animator and from Trnka he learnt ?cultural and ethical lessons? 
(Bendazzi 362). He began directing his own films in 1952, yet still collaborated with 
Trnka, who designed the sets and puppets in Pojar?s first significant film One Glass 
too Many (1954) which was awarded the Grand Prix at Cannes. Bendazzi states that 
Pojar?s best films were his lyrical and satirical pieces such as Billiard (1961), 
Opening Speech (1962), Romance (1963) and three films he produced for the 
Canadian Film Board, To See or Not to See (1969), Balablok (1972) and E (1981) 
(Bendazzi 363). Pojar was an innovator who developed a unique style of his own and 
experimented with many alternative techniques, including the animation of puppets in 
relief on several layers of glass (Holman 39).  
 
Jan Svankmajer experimented with various stop-motion techniques - puppet, 
pixilation, clay, and cutout as well as live-action - to create surrealist films. In his 
films he tends to use multiple techniques, such as combining pixilation with various 
puppet animation techniques. Jabberwocky (1971) is created using toys, dolls, 
furniture and other found objects and creates an ironic child-like environment with 
threatening overtones. The theme of childhood would be one he would continue to 
explore and is best seen in the feature length film Alice (1988), which blends live-
 action with pixilation and puppets created out of found objects, to create a dark 
surrealist version of the Lewis Carroll story. His animated work is concerned with the 
depiction of the hidden life of found objects and so he would work with ready-made 
puppets from various sources. Svankmajer?s work, like Trnka?s, also created 
allegorical messages directed against the oppressive communist regime in control of 
                                                                                                               Haycock 26 
Czechoslovakia at the time. While not concerned with traditional culture like Trnka, 
much of his work draws influences from Czech culture, history and politics.  
 
 
 
Although not as well known as either Pojar or Svankmajer, Jiri Barta created puppet-
 animated films that signalled a new era in Czech animation and experimentation with 
three-dimensional forms (Bendazzi 361). He joined Trnka?s studio in the late 
seventies and directed several innovative animated films including Riddles for Candy 
(1978), Disk-Jockey (1980), Projection (1981) and The Secret World of Gloves 
(1982). In The World of Gloves, like Svankmajer using ready-mades, Barta created 
puppets out of gloves, which are the protagonists of the film (Bendazzi 366). 
His most impressive work is the feature length The Pied Piper (1985), which 
combines puppet animation with other techniques to create a visually striking film 
(Bendazzi 366) in which, in contrast to Trnka and Svankmajer, he depicts the loss of 
cultural and moral values in a society concerned with materialism and wealth.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 5: Still from 
 ?Jabberwocky? 
 
Figure 6: Still from  
?The Pied Piper? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 27 
Trnka?s concern with preserving culture and tradition, as well as the importance of 
individual artistic expression and experimentation, are the most significant aspects of 
Czechoslovakian stop-motion animation and its influence worldwide. The animators 
that followed after Trnka continued to experiment and create puppet animation that 
was influenced by Czech culture, art, history and politics. Clearly, these puppet 
animated films display a puppet animation aesthetic that is distinctively Czech.  
 
3.2.3 Other important puppet animators  
 
Eastern European puppet animated films have been a major influence on puppet 
animation produced in other countries. Some foreign animators, who were interested 
in making puppet animation, travelled to Czechoslovakia to study the technique. One 
of these was Japanese animator Khachiro Kawamoto, who studied with Trnka for two 
years in 1963 and then returned Japan to create puppet animation influenced by 
traditional Japanese theatre, as seen in The House of Flames (1979) (Furniss 157). Co 
Hoedeman, originally from Holland, also trained with Trnka before moving to Canada 
to work with the National Film Board of Canada, where he made films inspired by 
Eskimo culture and stories like The Owl and the Lemming: An Eskimo Legend (1971).  
 
 
 
Figure 7: Still from  
?The House of Flames? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 28 
 
 
Furniss explains that puppet animation ?has been reinvigorated by a number of people 
working outside Eastern Europe? (157) and today the technique now enjoys far 
greater commercial success and popularity than it did previously. These animators 
include the Brothers Quayv, Henry Selick and Barry Purvesvi (157-158). Henry Selick 
has contributed to the development and commercial success of puppet animation and 
has directed several puppet animated feature films including The Nightmare Before 
Christmas (1993) and James and The Giant Peach (1996) (Furniss 158).  
 
3.3 History of Clay Animation 
 
While puppet animation saw significant development in Eastern Europe from the 
1940s onwards, clay animation only saw similar development in the United States of 
America in 1970s, where it began to become increasingly popular as a result of the 
work of Will Vinton (Furniss 156). This is largely the result of the dominance of 2D 
cel animation in the United States. The following chapter outlines the history of the 
development of clay animation, focusing primarily on North America, and the work 
produced by Art Clokey and Will Vinton, early clay animation pioneers who made 
significant contributions to the development of the modern technique. However, it is 
important to recognise the contributions made by Aardman Animation in England, 
especially the more recent clay animated films created by Nick Park, which will be 
discussed briefly at the end of the chapter.  
 
 
 
Figure 8: Still from  
?The Owl and the Lemming? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 29 
3.3.1 Art Clokey 
 
Two-dimensional cel animation came to be the dominant mode of animation in the 
American animation industry from the 1920s onwards, as result of the technique?s 
compatibility with cost saving division of labour techniques (Frierson 84). Frierson 
states that clay animation saw limited production in the United States of America, 
usually by individuals such as Willie Hopkins, Helena Smith Dayton and Virginia 
May, who produced animation using clay in America before 1950 (64-115).  In the 
late 1940s, the experimental filmmaker, Leonard Tregillus, made two experimental 
clay animated films, No Credit (1948) and Proem (1949), in which the filmmaker 
created episodic narratives using simple geometric shapes and stylised characters 
constructed of clay (Frierson 64-115). These films were the products of individuals 
and were not viewed by a mass audience. 
 
Frierson states that with the advent of television and the decline of the cinematic 
cartoon, clay animation found a place for mass audiences on the television screen at 
the hands of the filmmaker Art Clokey (116-131). Clokey had a highly spiritually 
centred upbringing and ?studied to be an Episcopal priest before attending film school 
at the University of Southern California? where he studied under Slavko Vorkapich, a 
Yugoslavian, who applied graphic art principles to filmmaking and developed a 
theory which Clokey explains stated that ?motion pictures dealt only with motion and 
the illusion of three-dimensional objects created by the director?s use of the shapes, 
shadows, colours and motion? if you organize those things through camera angles, 
camera movement, pace and so forth, you could make any film more interesting? 
(Frierson 123).  
 
This combination of spirituality, Christian values and a theory of film based on a 
prioritising of strong visual structure would be very influential in the clay animation 
Clokey would later produce. One of his earliest films, Gumbasia (1955), is an abstract 
film in which simple geometric plasticine shapes move and transform in 
synchronisation with a jazz soundtrack. This film clearly shows Vorkapich?s 
emphasis on visual structure and montage (Frierson 123). 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 30 
 
 
 
Clokey?s highly innovative use of clay animation attracted the attention of a television 
producer, who commissioned Clokey to produce the first Gumby pilot for television. 
The use of clay animation was relatively simple and Clokey was able to produce the 
episodes cheaply and relatively fast, which was ideally suited to the television market 
at the time (Frierson126). Clokey would go on to produce 127 episodes between 1955 
and 1971 (Frierson 125).  
 
Clokey?s Christian upbringing is evident in Gumby, who ?embodies a simplistic ethic 
of fair play and kindness toward his fellow animated creatures? (Frierson 120). 
Vorkapich?s visual style is also evident in the Gumby episodes, from the geometric 
character design, to the structured montage and shot design (Frierson 124). Clokey 
also developed an interest in Eastern philosophy, which is evident in his film Mandela 
(1975), ?a film with spiritual overtones in which the camera takes a seemingly endless 
journey through a long series of richly detailed, sculpted arch ways? (Frierson 122).  
 
Frierson states that it was the new technology of television that allowed Clokey to 
revive clay animation and bring it to a mass audience (130-131). Clokey was clearly a 
crucial contributor to the development of clay animation, as the Gumby series showed 
the potential of clay animation to entertain mass audiences and thus ?paved the way 
for the new generation of clay animators? who would come after him (Frierson 130-
 131).  
 
 
Figure 9: Still from  
?Gumbastic? (1988) 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 31 
3.3.2 Will Vinton 
 
The 1960s and 1970s saw the significant development of animation in America, with 
the emergence of a significant number of independent animators as well as a 
significant increase in the amount of student animated films being produced from 
1959 to 1961 (Bendazzi 231-232). Frierson highlights the fact that the continued 
decline of the Hollywood cartoon and the emergence of these independent animators 
eventually resulted in the changing of the name of the Academy Award for ?Best 
Short Subject - Cartoon? to ?Best Short Subject - Animated Film? (Frierson 132).  
The pioneering clay animator, Will Vinton, would win this award for his innovative 
clay animated film Closed Mondays (1974) and go on to develop the first animation 
studio in the United states dedicated to the production of clay animation.  Bendazzi 
states that Vinton?s clay animated films are significant because ?for the first time after 
many unsuccessful attempts and limited uses clay found its place in animation? 
(Bendazzi 257). While Clokey had success developing a successful clay animation 
television series, it was Will Vinton and his film Closed Mondays, who signalled the 
birth of clay animation as a popular and respected technique.  
 
Vinton?s interest in clay animation started while studying architecture at the 
University of California in Berkeley, where he developed an interest in ?the fluid clay 
sketches by Antonio Gaudivii? (Frierson 132). In an interview cited by Frierson, he 
states that although he was interested in filmmaking, there was no film programme at 
Berkeley, so he began teaching himself and incorporating filmmaking into his 
architecture course by making live-action documentaries on architectural history as 
well as films, where he used an animated camera to move through miniature models 
(Frierson 133).  
 
After leaving university he began experimenting with clay animation together with 
Bob Gardner, who he had met while studying at Berkley and together they produced 
Closed Monday (1974) in Vinton?s basement over a period of fourteen months. In the 
film a homeless drunk stumbles into an art gallery, where he responds to various 
pieces of art and sculpture, which, as the story progresses, come to life. The film ends 
with the homeless man becoming a piece of sculpture himself. Frierson explains that 
the film shows ?how art can unlock personal visions and personal responses in the 
                                                                                                               Haycock 32 
viewer?, while the film?s ending is ironic as it suggests ?the ability of art to become 
all-encompassing to capture all aspects of life? (Frierson 134).  
 
Closed Mondays also utilised previously unused techniques and technology in clay 
animation production. Vinton utilised life-size scale models for close up shots, which, 
together with live-action lip synch and performance with references of actors saying 
dialogue, were used to rotoscope and create very precise lip-synch. Frierson states 
that these techniques ?brought the full impact of this lip-synch technique to the screen 
for the first time? (Frierson 134). Vinton also utilised three-dimensional camera 
moves in this film, which had previously only been done in more expensive puppet 
films. However, Vinton implemented ?low tech, plywood camera rigs? to create very 
effective and dynamic camera movements in his film (Frierson 134-135).  
 
 
 
After Vinton?s success with Closed Mondays, he left his partnership with Gardiner 
and founded his own studio, Will Vinton Productions. He entered into a partnership 
with distributor and financer Frank Moynihan of Billy Budd Films. Moynihan was 
interested in adapting classical literature for children and provided Will Vinton 
Productions with the financial support to produce three twenty minute clay animated 
films in the late 70s: Martin the Cobbler (1976), Rip Van Winkle (1978) and The 
Little Prince (1979). Martin the Cobbler was a screen adaptation of Tolstoy?s Where 
Love Is, God Is (1885). Rip Van Winkle was an adaptation of Washington Irving?s Rip 
Van Winkle (1819); and The Little Prince was an adaptation of Antoine de Saint-
 Figure 10: Still from 
?Closed Mondays? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 33 
Exupery?s The Little Prince (1943). All three of these were adaptations of popular 
literary classics with moral and religiously centred themes.  
 
 
 
These films allowed Vinton to experiment and develop his distinctive style of ?full 
clay? animation. Vinton was also able to grow his studio by hiring artists to work with 
him, as well as developing the facilities and technology necessary to produce clay 
animated films. Bendazzi states, ?gradually, the studio took shape as a large 
craftsman?s shop with approximately twenty people including producers, animators 
and technicians? (259).  
 
 
 
This period of growth and development culminated with Vinton?s development and 
patent of the Claymation process, which is explained and shown in the documentary 
Figure 11: Still from 
 ?Rip Van Winkle? 
 
Figure 12: Still from 
?The Little Prince 
                                                                                                               Haycock 34 
Claymation (1978). By 1979, Will Vinton Productions was being restricted by the 
partnership with Billy Budd Films and Vinton ended the partnership with Frank 
Moynihan. This was due to several reasons, but mainly because the studio ?was 
growing in leaps and bounds? and in order to pursue more ambitious projects, Vinton 
?wanted to pay valuable staff much better wages than before, thus the productions 
became more expensive than Frank (Moynihan) could or would finance. Also Frank 
(Moynihan) preferred to do socially significant and religiously orientated films while 
Vinton was less keen on the more blatant religious projects? (Frances). The films 
were religious in the sense that they contain moral lessons regarding behaviour and 
relationships. These more ambitious projects included The Great Cognito (1982) and 
the first feature length clay animation film, The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985). 
Bendazzi states that this film is ?probably Will Vinton?s finest work. It displays a 
self-assured sense of performance, a flowing well orchestrated rhythm and high 
quality visual inventions? (259). Frierson states that the film met with ?lukewarm? 
response (148) and therefore the film was largely regarded as a financial failure. 
However he also states, ?the production of a medium?s first feature is a milestone 
marking the maturation of a technique? (148).  
 
Will Vinton Studios continued producing Claymation throughout the nineties, and 
their most significant production was a series of five television commercials created 
for the California Advisory Board between 1986 and 1989. These commercials 
featured musical performances, singing and dancing by the plasticine band ?The 
California Raisins?. The songs and performances were created with ?hip associations? 
using artists like Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles and Michael Jackson (Frierson 156-157). 
Frierson states that they ?are intriguing because they caricature the stars, conventions, 
and iconography of rock-and-roll video? and the ?audience engages in an informed 
reading of the imagery, a playful decoding of references to classic gesture and 
stereotypes that have been built up over the 40-year association of television and rock 
and roll? (157). The commercials developed into a national phenomenon and a craze 
for California Raisin merchandise developed (Frierson 158). Frierson states that for 
the first time since Gumby, television viewers recognised clay characters, and that the 
Raisin commercials demonstrated the ?power of clay animation to captivate the 
consciousness of the mass audience on the same scale as Mickey Mouse or Bugs 
Bunny? (158-159).  
                                                                                                               Haycock 35 
 
 
Will Vinton is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in the history of the 
development of clay animation. Frierson states that ?more than any other producer, 
Will Vinton has worked to make clay animation as big a phenomenon as cel 
animation, to make it as widely seen and accepted as the classic cartoon? (159). He 
developed a distinctive style of clay animation that had never been seen before, and 
?his use of clay cleared the trail followed by many others, dramatically reviving the 
field? (Bendazzi 259). Thus, Vinton, as with Trnka?s puppet animation, created a new 
genre of animation and developed techniques and conventions of clay animation, 
which animators around the world would emulate.  
 
3.3.3 Aardman Animation 
 
Clay animation experienced a large revival in the nineties as a result of the British 
based animation studio, Aardman Animations, which has raised the commercial 
success of the technique to a level never seen before (Lord and Sibley 51-61). While 
Vinton made significant contributions to the development of clay animation, it is 
important not to overlook the contributions made by Aardman, and particularly, the 
work created by director Nick Parkviii. David Sproxton and Peter Lord formed the 
studio in 1972. Over the years they produced some significant clay animations, such 
as Morph (1976), Conversation Pieces (1982), as well as the stop-motion music video 
for Peter Gabriel?s Sledgehammer (1986). The nineties saw the studio ?become the 
best most famous stop-motion animation studio in the world? (Hall 1). This is largely 
Figure 13: Still from 
?Michael Raisin? (1988). 
One of the commercials 
produced by Will Vinton for 
the California Raisin Board. 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 36 
due to the several films directed by Nick Park receiving Academy Awards and huge 
international success. These include Creature Comforts (1989), The Wrong Trousers 
(1993) and A Close Shave (1995), each of which received an Academy Award for 
Best Short Subject - Animated Film. 
                                                
i This is only true for cel animation and not other 2D techniques, such as cutout, 
which are created using stop-motion. Drawn animation can also be animated in front 
of the camera, such as in the stop-motion films produced by South African William 
Kentridge using charcoal.   
ii Fredrick W. Taylor developed a ?system of scientific management and assembly-
 line methods? that ?advocate the use of machines and standardised, mechanised 
processes to assure uniform, predictable output. The division of labour is a key 
element in this system; management is clearly separated from the general labourers, 
whose work can be regulated systematically? (Furniss 17). 
iii Starewich?s family was of polish descent (Bendazzi 35) 
iv  Bendazzi states that puppet theatre had been used in Czechoslovakia to stir up 
rebellion against the oppressive occupation of the region by the Austro-Hungarians 
and later the Germans (167) 
v The Brothers Quay are the American twin brothers Timothy and Stephen Quay, 
who, working out of London, create surreal and ?anti-narrative? puppet animated 
films that are largely influenced by stop-motion animation produced in Eastern 
Europe, particularly that of Jan Svankmajer 
vi ?Barry Purves is a British animator who has won acclaim for his sophisticated 
puppet animations including Screenplay (1991) and Rigoletto (1993)? (Furniss 158) 
 
viii Although the contributions made by Aardman are of huge significance, it was felt 
that the work produced by Will Vinton in the United States was more relevant to the 
section on South African stop-motion animation, and therefore, the history of 
Aardman is covered only briefly in this research report 
                                                                                                               Haycock 37 
4. The aesthetics of 3D stop-motion animation 
 
This chapter is a discussion of the formal elements that make up the mis-en-scene of 
the three-dimensional stop-motion techniques: puppet animation, clay animation and 
pixilation. Using specific examples of relevant animations, these formal elements will 
be discussed, while keeping in mind the production processes involved in the creation 
of these animation techniques. The aim of this chapter is to systematically present the 
aesthetic tendencies that should be considered when examining or analysing films 
made with 3D stop-motion animation techniques. This information will then be used 
in my textual analysis of the relevant South African animated films.  
 
When researching the formal properties that make up the characteristic mis-en-scene 
elements of an animation technique, one should look at these techniques in terms of 
image design, colour and line and movement and kinetics (Furniss 66-81). Furniss 
states that the aesthetics of three-dimensional animation should be analysed in terms 
of the treatment of three-dimensional forms and spaces, as well as the movement of 
these forms through these spaces (156-173). However, Wells points out that when 
attempting to study animation, it is useful to consider it in terms of ?orthodox and 
experimental animation? tendencies (35-67), as well as certain ?narrative strategies? 
(68-126). Therefore, in the following discussion, using methods from both authors, 
the aesthetics of 3D animation will be discussed in terms of narrative, 3D forms, 3D 
spaces and movement..  
 
Wells constructs a continuum on which he places the extreme tendencies that separate 
?orthodox animation? from ?experimental animation?, such as the treatment of 
structure, form, spaces and sound  (35-67). These categories are useful because, as 
Furniss points out, experimental and mainstream animation merely exist as 
alternatives to each other and they are in fact defined by their opposition to each other 
(30). These tendencies therefore show the range of choices available to the filmmaker 
producing an animated film and are thus useful in a discussion of aesthetics.  
 
 
 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 38 
4.1 Narrative and structural design 
 
Wells states that ?orthodox? animated films will generally use ?specific continuity?, 
meaning that films will be based on a logically progressing sequence of events that 
build on an establishing event until being resolved (36), while experimental animation 
will resist this and rather create ?specific non-continuities?, meaning that the films 
will be based on illogical, irrational and multiple continuities (43). However, Furniss 
states that animation ?can be employed for a variety of reasons? and that when 
conducting an analysis of a film?s ?structural design?, the researcher should first 
consider its ?primary function? and the audience it is intended for (97).  
 
The film may either be intended to entertain a large audience with a traditional 
narrative; or be an experimental animation intended for a small audience in which the 
filmmaker experiments with techniques or expresses a personal vision (Furniss 97). 
Furniss also stresses that the animation may be used to advertise products, as a form 
of documentary, or even as an educational tool, and that these structure types do not 
necessarily conform to traditional structural formats (97). 
 
Vinton Studio?s Martin The Cobbler is an adaptation the story written by Tolstoy. 
The film opens on Martin, an old lonely cobbler, who has lost his faith in God and 
love of life. After a series of events, Martin learns to love life and believe in God 
again. The narrative follows a traditional three-act structure with events that follow a 
logical progression. The film was financed by Billy Budd Films, and was primarily 
intended for a Christian audience. In contrast, Clokey?s Gumbasia has no characters 
or events and is merely a sequence of shots showing plasticine shapes in motion.  
Figure 14: Still from 
?Martin the Cobbler? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 39 
 
 
It is important to consider the cultural context in which a film was produced. Jiri 
Trnka produced puppet animations that were relevant to Czechoslovakia. Old Czech 
Legends is a series of traditional Czech stories, while The Hand is an allegorical tale 
that protested against the autocratic nature of the communist regime in charge of  
Czechoslovakia. This film uses symbols to create a metaphor that depicts the lack of 
freedom of speech in a totalitarian regime and its consequences. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In England, Aardman created the clay-animated documentary Creature Comforts, 
with audio from interviews with English citizens speaking about their homes and 
lives. This documentary style was used by Aardman to create Conversation Pieces, 
and various other films in which no dialogue was scripted. In America, Will Vinton 
created the commercial series The California Raisins in which famous musicians and 
American pop-music culture were parodied through the use of plasticine raisins 
performing live music in an effort to change the American public?s perception of 
raisins. Clearly, animation can be used for various functions, and animated films 
should never be looked at as either being abstract experiments or linear narratives.  
Figure 15: Still from 
?Gumbasia? 
 
Figure 16: Still from 
?Creature Comforts? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 40 
4.2 Treatment of three-dimensional forms 
 
Forms in animation can be ?configurations? or ?abstractions? (Wells 36). Wells states 
that ?orthodox? animated films tend to use figures and forms which, while perhaps 
being highly stylized, are recognisable (36), while experimental animation will tend to 
resist presenting recognizable forms or figures to the audience and will rather 
?redefine the body? or simply show forms and shapes rhythmically moving without 
the motivation of character (43). Citing Scott McCloud, Furniss discusses these 
extremes and explains that images can either be photorealistic, abstract or iconic (66). 
Photorealistic images are exact mechanical reproductions of reality; while iconic 
images are non-realistic representations of reality and abstract images are the ?total 
refiguring? of reality into a ?mere suggestion? (Furniss 66). The treatment of forms 
and spaces in three-dimensional stop-motion animation is complicated by the fact that 
these films are created, like live-action, via the mechanical reproduction, or 
photography, of actual spatial reality. Thus, all stop-motion animated films are 
essentially photorealistic reproductions of reality (albeit reality created through a 
fabricated set). However, these definitions provided by Wells and Furniss, are useful 
in the discussion of the treatment of forms in three-dimensional animation.  
 
Orthodox animated films are concerned with the ?evolution of content?, while 
experimental animation is concerned with the ?evolution of materiality? (Wells 36). In 
commercial animation, the filmmaker does not want to ?draw the audience?s attention 
to its (the animated film?s) construction? but rather to focus the attention on character 
and narrative while ?the experimental film concentrates on its very materiality? and 
the filmmaker may wish to make the audience aware and question the actual process 
involved in creating the film (Wells 37; 45). Thus the filmmaker must decide whether 
to make the audience aware of the forms as constructions or not.  
 
4.2.1 Treatment of forms in clay animation 
 
Frierson states that the forms used in clay animation range from simple geometric 
shapes to traditional human or animal representations (3). In experimental clay 
animation, the forms used will tend to be abstract geometric simplifications, while 
                                                                                                               Haycock 41 
more mainstream clay films will feature figurative characters that will be ?costumed? 
(Frierson 5).  
 
In Gumbasia, Clokey sculpts the plasticine into simple geometric shapes, which are 
pure abstract forms. Will Vinton?s The Adventures of Mark Twain, an excellent 
example of the traditional clay aesthetic developed by Vinton, uses figurative 
characters, which are sculpted with fairly realistic detail, as well as clothes also 
sculpted out of plasticine. The characters in this film are created using a caricature 
technique known as portraite-charge and are characterized by their large heads and 
exaggerated features placed on top of a small but intricately designed body (Frierson 
140). However, these puppets are also characterized by intricate detail sculpted into 
the forms, such as detail found on the character?s hair and face.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The figures in Mark Twain are fairly realistic, traditional configurations of the human 
form. In Aardman?s Wallace and Gromit and Creature Comforts, the forms are 
recognisable configurations of human and animal forms, although in comparison with 
Vinton?s style, they are very much more stylised and ?cartoony?. However, the clay 
figure of a prisoner used in Aardman?s ?quasi-documentary? clay animation, Going 
Equipped, is characterized by a ?naturalistic? style (Wells 109-110). 
 
Figure 17: Still from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 42 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This figure, while clearly not photorealistic, is not as stylized or exaggerated as the 
figures used in Wallace and Gromit or The Adventures of Mark Twain, and in fact has 
accurate body proportions and has clothes sewn from real fabric.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 18: Sill from 
?Wallace and Gromit: 
The Wrong Trousers? 
 
Figure 19: Still from 
?Going Equipped? 
 
Figure 20: Still from 
?Canhead? (1996). 
Directed by Timothy 
Hittle. 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 43 
In contrast to these recognisable forms is the figure of Jay from Timothy Hittle?si The 
Potato Hunters. Although Jay is a recognisable figure, it is impossible to identify him 
as belonging to any cultural or racial group since his form is simply sculpted and 
coloured in plain grey. While, Aardman and Vinton created clay characters with eyes 
created out of painted beads and mouths sculpted with a fair amount of detail, Jay 
simply has sculpted out holes where his eyes and 
mouth should be. Although Jay is a recognisable 
configuration of a human form, he tends towards 
being more of a simple abstract geometric shape 
than the figures used by Aardman and Vinton. 
Clokey?s character, Gumby, is even more abstract 
as he is a simple geometric shape, however, his 
facial features make him a recognisable form.  
 
 
 
Clay forms can thus be discussed in terms of their tendency towards configuration or 
abstraction. This is demonstrated in the diagram bellow. 
 
 
 
4.2.2 Treatment of forms in puppet animation 
 
By definition, the puppet is a figurative form, and this makes the discussion of 
abstraction versus traditional configuration complicated. However, puppets can be 
discussed in terms of the materials from which they are constructed as well as their 
cultural context. With regard to the aesthetics of puppets, Holman states that ?a 
puppet is a puppet. He is neither a live-actor nor a cartoon film character, he is unique 
and in a medium of his own? (Holman 76). Here Holman expresses the view that in a 
puppet animated film, the puppet should be seen as a puppet, and he criticises the 
Figure 21: Gumby and his horse Pokey 
Source: Derektanderson.com 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 44 
trend towards creating more naturalistic puppets as he feels that this detracts from the 
puppets ?puppetness?.  
 
While this is a purist viewpoint, which Darley would call ?essentialism?, since 
Holman is stating that a puppet is best at being a puppet, it highlights a fundamental 
point when considering the aesthetics and treatment of puppet forms. The filmmaker 
may either choose to reveal the construction of the form and show the puppet as a 
puppet, or in contrast, he may try to hide this construction since it may distract from 
the narrative function of the animated film.  
 
The are several different types of puppets, which can be constructed from a variety of 
materials and, as Furniss points out, the type of puppet and the materials used will 
determine the range of movement and emotional expression that can be achieved with 
the puppet. Holman identifies three basic types of puppets: the ?classical? puppet, the 
moulded puppet and the animated toy puppet (56).   
 
The classical puppet is generally associated with Czechoslovakia and specifically 
with the puppets designed and used by Jiri Trnka. Trnka, a traditionally trained 
puppeteer, based the designs of his puppets on traditional Czech puppets. These 
puppets are normally wooden, and generally had a fixed, rigid expression, such as the 
puppet used in his film The Hand.  
 
 
 
Figure 22: Still from 
?The Hand? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 45 
The moulded puppet is created from rubber or latex materials, which are applied over 
an articulated armature, usually with a casting and moulding process (Holman 56). 
Puppets made from foam rubber are flexible, more so than the wooden ?classical? 
puppets. The foam rubber can be painted so that it looks like clay/plasticine (Priebe 
159) but it has the disadvantage of not being as alterable as plasticine (Furniss 163), 
but is relatively flexible in comparison to puppets made of wood or plastic. Modern 
puppet filmmakers tend to use these types of puppets, such as the puppets used by 
Henry Selick in his films The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and The Giant 
Peach. The effect of using foam material is that it can be used to create puppets with a 
more stylized design.  
 
Trnka designed his puppets to appear in his films as puppets. As a viewer, you are 
aware that you are watching a puppet and as Wells points out, while the puppet is like 
a human, its ?specific function is that of an automata? since it is actually lifeless and 
this therefore enables the puppet to function as a symbol, while embodying multiple 
?metaphorical positions? (61). The puppet is suited to the creation of films with 
allegorical and sub-textual meaning.  
 
 
 
The animated toy puppet has a solid body, which is carved out of wood or plastic, to 
which jointed arms, legs and head were added, and the costume painted on (Holman 
56). Sometimes animators may use pre-existing toys such as dolls, which already 
have joints. Holman points out that a wide variety of materials can be used to create 
puppets, such as sticks, cans, rags or just about anything that can be found (59). Czech 
Figure 23: Still from 
?James and the Giant 
Peach? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 46 
animators experimented with a wide array of materials. Starewich created puppets 
from ?tin cans, egg shells, pieces of straw and scraps of rag? in his film The Mascot.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This idea of using ready-made discarded material as well as toys is used by The 
Brothers Quay in their film The Street of Crocodiles in which ?incomplete puppet 
figures, screws and bits of metal? are used as forms. Wells places this type of form 
under the ?narrative strategy? of ?fabrication?, with which lifeless, dead, or decayed 
material is redefined ? as if it still possessed an intrinsically organic life? (90-91). 
Wells states that these types of forms have an inherent history and associated meaning 
from contextual use, and that the Brothers Quay created the conditions of the uncanny 
by placing these familiar forms in an unfamiliar context.  
 
 
 
Figure 24: Still from 
?Street of Crocodiles? 
 
Figure 25: Still from 
?Street of Crocodiles?  
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 47 
More abstract types of puppets can also be created. Wells states that ?orthodox? 
animated films tend to use figures and forms which, while perhaps being highly 
stylized, emulate material reality (36), while experimental animation will tend to 
resist presenting recognizable forms or figures to the audience and will rather 
?redefine the body? or simply show forms and shapes rhythmically moving without 
the motivation of character (43). This is seen in the experimental puppet animated 
film, The Coiling Prankster, directed by Garri Bardin, in which the filmmaker creates 
the character from galvanized steel wire, abstracting the human figure into a basic and 
simple shape and at the same time simplifying and stripping the puppet down to its 
most basic form and material.  
 
 
 
4.3 Treatment of three-dimensional spaces  
 
In puppet-animated films, the puppets are animated in a three-dimensional space and, 
therefore, the construction of these spaces should be discussed here with regard to the 
issue of configuration and abstraction in the animated film. Furniss states that in a 
three-dimensional animation, the filmmaker can either create sets that are ?realistic? 
in the sense that they emulate reality, or they can create sets that are simplifications of 
reality and thus create ?fantastic? environments (Furniss 161-162). In the same way 
that puppets and clay figures could be described in terms of their design tending 
towards photorealism, iconic, or abstract, so too can the sets constructed and used in 
puppet and clay animation.  
 
Figure 26: Still from ?The 
Coiling Prankster? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 48 
Wells states that in an ?orthodox? animated film, the ?formal properties and style? of 
the film will remain constant and will not mix or blend different styles or techniques 
(37-38), while in an experimental animation, the filmmaker may blend different 
animation techniques and aesthetic styles in order to challenge orthodox ways of 
creating animations and also to create new effects (45). This concept of ?unity of 
style? is important when considering the treatment of three-dimensional spaces in 
stop-motion animation. 
 
The use of camera and lighting is also relevant with regard to this discussion of space 
in stop-motion animation, and these topics will be discussed here. 
 
4.3.1 Treatment of spaces in clay animation 
 
The Adventures of Mark Twain utilises Vinton?s ?full clay style?. Vinton?s style is 
characterized by the construction of a ?complete clay world? which Barry Bruce, 
character designer, believes makes the ?actions of the characters appear more 
convincing? and this results in a cohesive style with a ?consistency and aesthetic 
wholeness? (Frierson 136). The elements that make up the set are all constructed, like 
the characters, from clay and the result is visually striking. Furniss draws comparisons 
between this total use of clay to the use of painted backgrounds with painted cels in 
cel animated films and ?the aesthetics of most 2D techniques? that result in the 
creation of a ?total fantasy world? (Furniss 162).  
 
 
Figure 32: Full clay 
worlds. Still from  
?The Adventures of 
Mark Twain? 
                                                                                                               Haycock 49 
 
 
Although the audience recognises the environments in Mark Twain as miniature 
constructions, the audience accepts these more easily as being part of a complete 
fantasy world (Furniss 161). Vinton?s ?full clay? aesthetic is clearly an example of 
?unity of style?.  
 
In contrast, Gumby lives in a ?surrealistic Toyland? that is a stylized simplification of 
the real world (Furniss 161). Clokey included real objects in his set, and placed pre-
 existing miniatures and toys throughout, which result in a childlike make-believe 
world, which has obvious appeal for young children (Frierson 126). Furniss states 
that the spaces in Gumby are ?a much simplified version? of space ?of what the 
average viewer would read as a real world environment? and this results in a fantastic 
effect (161). However, Frierson argues that these non-realistic spaces that include a 
mixture of real non-clay objects will be recognised by older audiences who then begin 
to decode the animated world?s construction, and thus be distracted (126).    
 
 
Figure 33: Full clay 
worlds. Still from 
?The Adventures of 
Mark Twain? 
 
Figure 29: Still from 
?Gumbastic? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 50 
Figure 30: Still from 
?The Potato Hunters? 
 
Mixing arbitrary ready-made objects into the set of a 3D stop-motion animation can in 
itself become a formal component of the mis-en-scene. In Hittle?s The Potato Hunter, 
a flat landscape is made up of wooden panelling, creating a surface that resembles a 
tabletop. Hittle filled this environment with various unrelated and arbitrary objects 
such as skulls, poker chips, and doll?s heads. The environment is inhabited by Jay 
Clay, his dog, and a herd of potatoes. Jay is hungry and the film follows his attempts 
to catch a potato. Frierson states that the assembly of these unrelated and arbitrary 
elements creates a ?surreal post-modern landscape that comments on the central 
character?s hunt for food? (14).  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 31: Still from 
?The Potato Hunters? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 51 
4.3.2 Treatment of spaces in puppet animation 
 
In puppet animation it is possible to create realistic environments that are comparable 
to ?locations? used in live-action. Furniss points out that in The Street of Crocodiles 
?the central puppet figure of the film walks through a setting that is realistic for its 
time and place - also very much like a location? (161). This arises out of the Brothers 
Quay?s use of real objects and materials to construct this film world. They are thus 
able to ?create a very realistic diegetic space? (Furniss 161).  
 
 
 
4.3.3 Treatment of camera and lighting 
 
Holman points out that Trnka used the camera and lighting of his sets to create 
enhanced dramatic effects to support the performance of his puppets (66-69). The use 
of the camera and lighting in three-dimensional stop-motion animation can be treated 
the same way as they are in live-action, although obviously there are differences, 
since puppet and clay animation involve the use of miniatures. In puppet and clay 
animation, the treatment of camera and lighting can be either simple or complex. The 
Brothers Quay and Will Vinton both use camera and lighting in a dynamic way in 
order to enhance the intended dramatic effects of their films and draw the audience 
into their film worlds.  
 
 
 
Figure 32: Still from 
?Street of Crocodile? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 52 
Figure 33: Still from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 34: Still from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 
 
Figure 35: Still from 
?Street of Crocodiles?  
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 53 
Figure 36: Still from 
?Pib and Pog? 
 
Their use of camera and lighting is similar to live-action. However, in three-
 dimensional stop-motion, camera and lighting can be used in a very simple manner. In 
Aardman?s Pib and Pog (1994) only one camera set-up is used and the lighting is flat, 
creating a highly stylised cartoon effect.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.4 Treatment of movement in three-dimensional animation 
 
The movement of puppets is generally characterized by being far more stylized than 
the performance of clay figures. Classical puppets, like the puppet used by Trnka in 
The Hand, are made out of solid materials like wood, and therefore have a fixed facial 
expression. The performances of puppets rely on the use of gesture and pantomime to 
express emotion.  
 
 
Figure 37: Still from 
?The Hand? 
                                                                                                               Haycock 54 
In contrast, clay is categorized by its flexibility and ability to be sculpted after each 
exposure of the camera. Concerning the treatment of forms in clay animation, 
Frierson has this to say: ?Abstract work may admit some of the natural qualities of 
clay - its sculptability, its plasticiness, its natural affinity for metamorphosis - and be 
unconcerned with refined surfaces, with avoiding fingerprints or stray scorings in the 
clay, with the need for armatures, or even with the need for figures at all? (5). 
Movement in clay animation is defined by the flexibility and malleability of the 
medium, which allows for relatively easy use of exaggeration and distortion. 
 
 Figure 38: Still sequence from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 
Treatment of frog jumping demonstrates fluidity of clay. 
 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 55 
However, more mainstream work is generally concerned with ?creating and 
costuming characters? that are designed and constructed to support a commercial 
narrative intended for a mainstream audience (Frierson 5). Clay figures have a far 
wider range of possible movements as their form can be altered and allows for the use 
of the ?squash and stretch? technique. This highlights clay animation?s similarity to 
cel animation. Clay?s ability to be reshaped and sculpted also highlights its ability to 
utilize metamorphosis techniques. Plasticine forms can be animated, transforming into 
other forms. Much of Will Vinton?s work is characterised by this fluidity of clay.  
 
The replacement mouth technique used to create facial expression and lip synch, is a 
technique exploited by clay animation and puppet animation. This means that the lip 
synch can be animated during pre-production, since these shapes are constructed then. 
This technique frees the animator up to concentrate specifically on the movement of 
the arms, legs, head and body of the clay figures or puppets and the creation of a 
performance.  
 
Will Vinton?s style is characterized by the sculpting process (Shaw 4). The animator 
will sculpt the mouth and lip synch of the figure, frame for frame, in a way similar to 
cell animation techniques. However, he also employs replacement animation for 
certain characters in The Adventures of Mark Twain.  
 
 
 Figure 39: Still sequence from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 
Use of replacement ?moustaches? for lip Synch. 
                                                                                                               Haycock 56 
Figure 40: Still from ?The Adventures of Mark Twain? 
Use of sculpting for lip synch 
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes the first part of the research report and the overview of the history and 
aesthetics of puppet and clay animation. In summary, it can be seen that although 2D 
cel animation has largely dominated animation production around the world, puppet 
and clay animation were still able to develop into distinctive genres of their own. Jiri 
Trnka is one of the most important figures in the early history of puppet animation as 
he developed many of the codes and conventions of the puppet-animated film genre, 
while Will Vinton did the same for the clay-animated film. Both Trnka and Vinton 
developed their own distinctive visual styles and these have been influential in the 
development of puppet and clay animation in other parts of the world, including 
South Africa. The rest of the research report will focus on the history of puppet and 
clay animation in South Africa between 1980 and 2005.
                                                 
i Tim Hittle is an American independent filmmaker who created a series with his 
character Jay Clay (Frierson 160).  
                                                                                                               Haycock 57 
 5. South Africa 1980-1989: Ted Berenson and Klaybow Films 
 
The stop-motion animation produced by masters such as Vinton, Trnka and others 
influenced the development of animation in South Africa and this influence is evident 
in the aesthetics of stop-motion animation produced between the years 1980 and 
2005. There is no evidence to suggest that any significant stop-motion animation was 
produced in South Africa before 1981. Even though animation has been produced in 
this country since 1915i, the industry in South Africa has largely been influenced by 
American animation practices and thus 2D cel animation was generally the dominant 
medium of animation production. 
 
However, in 1981, a Romanian called Ted Berenson formed a stop-motion studio in 
Cape Town called Klaybow Films. Berenson began hiring and training young South 
African artists, who were exposed for the first time to stop-motion animation 
produced by masters such as Will Vinton and Jiri Trnka. As a result of Klaybow 
Films, stop-motion animation would play a vital role in the development of the South 
African animation industry between the years 1980 and 2005. The following chapter 
documents the history of Klaybow Films between the years 1980 and 1989. During 
this period Klaybow Films grew into a relatively large studio capable of producing 
clay animation of a high standard. However, due to economic factors arising out of 
the political and social landscape of Apartheid South Africa, the studio was forced to 
moved to London in order to pursue more economically viable projects. However 
shortly after this, facing increasing financial pressure, Klaybow Films closed down in 
1989. The studios history will be discussed in terms of these and other contextual 
factors. 
 
5.1  The South African animation industry: 1976-1989   
 
Before 1976, South African animation production was relatively small and primarily 
based in Johannesburg; where advertisements for cinema display, live-action special 
effects and titles for live-action films were produced. With the formation of the South 
African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) in 1976, another avenue for animation 
production emerged. However, due to the simplistic view and understanding of 
                                                                                                               Haycock 58 
animation held by the national broadcaster, animation was restricted to children?s 
entertainment productions.  
 
It is important to take into account the political and social context prevalent in South 
Africa at this time in order to understand the South African animation industry in the 
1980sii. During apartheid, South Africa was characterised by oppressive laws that 
restricted the freedom and rights of non-white South Africans. Botha points out that 
these non-white communities were not only marginalised economically and 
politically, but also lacked any representation in South African film (34-36). The 
1980s also saw an increase in international opposition towards the oppressive 
apartheid regime, resulting in the development and intensification of sanctions and 
boycotts against South Africa.  
 
The SABC was a key institution used by the government to spread propaganda during 
the eighties and was used as an ideological tool to spread this propaganda mainly 
through the news and documentary departments. Even children?s programming was 
often characterized by ideological themes (Shapurjee 60). Children?s animation 
commissioned by the SABC during the seventies and eighties was characterized by 
the broadcaster?s strict control, which resulted in content with a ?wholesome, didactic 
identity? (Shapurjee 57).  
 
5.2 Ted Berenson and the formation of Klaybow Films: 1973-1981 
 
Ted Berenson was born in Romania during the fifties and, when he was eighteen, 
immigrated with his family to Israel in 1973. He initially disliked Israel, and went to 
Milan in Italy to study medicine. However, he shortly changed his studies to drama 
and theatre, and during this time developed an interest in puppetry and masks. He 
returned to Israel in 1977 and produced three alternative puppet theatre productions, 
which were shown at the Israeli Museum using puppets that were man-size or larger. 
Following this he studied film at the Beit Zvi School of Artiii, although the focus was 
on live-action filmmaking, he was also exposed to puppet animation production. He 
then began working as an editor for Israeli Television. It was during this period that 
he met his wife Marcel, who was originally from South Africa. In 1980 they came to 
South Africa on holiday to visit Marcel?s family. During this visit, Marcel?s father 
                                                                                                               Haycock 59 
unexpectedly passed away, and they decided to remain in South Africa for at least two 
years while Marcel?s brother completed his university studies. Berenson began 
looking into filmmaking in South Africa and for the SABC. He was in particular 
interested in getting involved in documentary production. However, he quickly 
realized that his options were limited. ?You couldn?t do any decent film making with 
the SABC, it was very distorted as you know. So I was very happy to do some 
animation film. In some ways the situation was very similar to Romania. Communism 
and apartheid had a lot of things in common, such as the distortion of reality and the 
control of the media. So it was pretty clear to me that it would be pointless to pursue 
anything in documentary filmmaking? (Berenson). In this restricted and censored 
environment, Berenson saw animation as the part of the television industry he would 
like to get involved with, and together with his wife Marcel, formed Klaybow Films 
in 1981.  
 
Their first official clay animation production, Madam and Steve (1981) is described as 
a ?10 min rock musical. A satirical look at Adam and Eve?s story? (Klaybow Filmsiv). 
The film, which was more of an initial experiment with an unfamiliar technique, was 
a collaboration between Berenson and South African rock musician Tully McCully, 
who composed music and ?tongue in cheek? lyrics, to create an ?erotic film in clay?, 
which besides McCully?s contribution was ?not remarkable in anyway? (Berenson).  
 
 
Figure 41: Front page of Klaybow Films? promotional booklet 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 60 
Figure 42: Page two of Klaybow 
booklet with a list of their 
productions 
 
 
 
5.3 Dr Kleiman and the growth of the studio: 1981-1982 
 
That same year Berenson made a loose partnership with the South African filmmaker 
and producer Dirk de Villiersv who helped fund and produce a one-minute pilot for a 
children?s clay animated television series. After viewing the pilot, the SABC 
commissioned Berenson to produce the series, entitled The Adventures of Dr Kleiman 
(1981). This was Klaybow?s first major production and the series was made up of 
thirteen, five-minute episodes in which ?Dr Kleiman uses his magic powers to 
animate everyday objects in his surroundings. Together they move, swing and rock to 
Spike Jonze type music? (Klaybow Films). The following year, Berenson was 
commissioned to produce another thirteen episodes for a second series, The 
Wonderful World of Dr Kleiman (1982) in which ?Dr Kleiman sends his self-made 
goofie assistant on different adventures around the globe. The two buffoons always 
find themselves in a dilemma and the Doctor is called in to rescue them? (Klaybow 
Films). Talking about the two Dr Kleiman series Berenson says ?. What was great 
                                                                                                               Haycock 61 
about it was that even though I was in South Africa I didn?t feel any compromise in 
terms of having to say what a beautiful place it is, when it wasn?t that beautiful. I was 
comfortable with that. And the studio grew from that? (Berenson). Over the next three 
years Klaybow Films went through a period of research and growth.  
 
During the production of the two Dr Kleiman series Berenson realised he needed a 
larger team and began to expand the studio. However, at this time in South Africa 
there were no institutions with specialized animation training courses. Berenson 
began looking for artists he could train and work with. In a newspaper article from 
this time, Berenson praises the skill and talent of South African artists, but explains 
that, ?they have nowhere to go once they leave art school, other than an ad agency? 
(Coetzer). Klaybow Films provided an opportunity for some South African artists to 
learn about animation when there were no opportunities to receive such training. 
These artists included Philip Marcus, Gary Kachelhoffer, Brett Shuman, and Lindsay 
van Blerk. Several of these would be involved in the South African animation 
industry in the nineties.  
 
Berenson organised film screenings for Klaybow?s new trainees, using 16mm prints 
borrowed from the Cape Provincial library, which had a large archive of live-action 
and animated films. These included a large selection of stop-motion provided by the 
National Film Board of Canada despite the boycotts against South Africa at this time. 
The purpose of these screenings was firstly to expose the trainees to a large variety of 
animated films from around the world, such as work produced by Co Hoederman, Jiri 
Trnka, Norman McLaren and Will Vinton. Secondly, Berenson was teaching his 
trainees about movement. Not only animated movement, but the concept and theory 
of movement in motion pictures. These screenings not only enabled the trainees to 
study and understand the basic principles of creating animated movement, but also to 
understand the use of film as a language to communicate visually. This reveals the 
importance of animators such as Will Vinton and Jiri Trnka, as their work clearly 
influenced the work produced by Klaybow Films, as well as of the artists that were 
being trained there.   
 
Berenson was also concerned with developing the studio?s infrastructure during this 
period. Although he had a background in puppet theatre and live-action filmmaking, 
                                                                                                               Haycock 62 
he had a limited knowledge about the production of 3D stop-motion. Together with 
his trainees, he began studying anatomy and skeleton structure in order to improve 
their sculpting capabilities with plasticine. They were also attempting to improve the 
technology they were using to create their films. They had to learn for themselves 
how to make armatures and puppets, experimenting with different types in the search 
to find which type worked best. They eventually found an engineering firm in Cape 
Town that was able to produce a ball and socket armature kit from which they could 
construct puppets of various sizes. 
 
Berenson explains that his primary concern during this period was experimenting with 
and developing ways to move the camera in stop-motion filmmaking (Berenson). This 
technical experimentation and development stop-motion craft skills were the main 
factors that drove the work they were creating. Berenson developed and constructed 
his own manually operated mechanical rigs to use during production. In practice, 
these were very time consuming devices, requiring a great deal of planning, 
concentration and note taking. In 1987 they were able to buy a state of the art motion 
control device that had been custom built by an animation studio in Johannesburg 
(Berenson). The motion control device opened up possibilities for the studio that were 
previously unattainable, as the control the computer provided, provided support in 
moving both the characters and the camera, allowing them to create more fluid 
movements. One of the studio?s trainees, Lindsay van Blerk, states that another 
significant technological development, which gave them greater creative control and 
flexibility, was the introduction of video assist technology, which allowed them to 
view the previously captured frame and compare it to the frame they were currently 
working on.  
 
5.4 Limitations of working with the SABC 
 
Although the studio clearly faced significant technological limitations, the most 
significant issue involving animation and television production in South Africa at this 
time was that studios had to work with the SABC. The broadcaster allocated small 
budgets and at times would also dictate content. Berenson states that although he was 
interested in producing animated content for the channels servicing South Africa?s 
black population, this wasn?t possible. ?If you watched the television shows coming 
                                                                                                               Haycock 63 
out of Johannesburg in the 80s you?d think black people were living in Dallas. They 
were all driving fancy cars and eating in fancy restaurants. It was a total distortion of 
reality? (Berenson). 
  
Despite these limitations, the studio attempted to produce two shows for an African 
audience after the Dr Kleiman series. They produced thirteen ten-minute episodes of a 
series called Monna we Letsopha (1983) for the Xhosa channel, in which a ?clay 
magician always helps strange creatures and persons who either phone or visit him 
out of their predicament? (Klaybow Films). After this came another series made up of 
twenty-six five-minute episodes, produced for Channel 3vi, entitled Tempodieks 
(1984-1985) in which ?three black musicians travel and jam around the world 
discovering new musical instruments in each country? (Klaybow Films).  
 
The SABC was very strict in terms of the content that they commissioned for 
broadcast and Berenson found dealing with them to be a very frustrating experience, 
particularly with Tempodieks. ?The people running the channels were extremely 
rightwing people. It was a very bizarre situation, but I sensed that the guy 
commissioning us didn?t like black people and I found it amazing that he was in 
charge of commissioning programs for black South Africans at the time? (Berenson). 
Berenson was told that because he was Romanian, he didn?t understand black people 
who didn?t like any other type of music besides their own.  
 
This event seems to have revealed to Berenson the reality of political and social life in 
South Africa during the eighties. He states that at the time he wanted to quit what he 
was doing and leave South Africa. ?But I couldn?t quit. I had a studio and was 
committed to too many people. It was a situation where you wished you didn?t have a 
studio and could just walk away? (Berenson).  
 
5.5 Bimbo?s Books: 1985-1987 
 
Despite these frustrations, Klaybow Films had grown into a fairly large studio, and by 
1985 employed a total of ten full-time people as well as hiring freelance artists during 
pre-production. By 1985, the studio was made up of a diverse and highly talented 
crew working in specific roles such as character design, set design, and construction. 
                                                                                                               Haycock 64 
Figure 43: Cel animation in 
?Bimbo?s Books - Little Red 
Riding Hood?  
 
The studio also had a core group of animators. With the technological advantages of 
video assist and the only motion control rig in the country, the studio now had a 
reliable and dedicated infrastructure in place, which allowed them to produce their 
most successful and important work, Bimbo?s Books (1985-1987). The series was 
made up of thirteen fifteen minute episodes for the SABC?s English channel, in which 
?a robot, a clown and a speaking Bookend get together in a humorous interpretation 
of famous fairytales? (Klaybow Films). The series was a multimedia mix of three-
 dimensional clay animation and two-dimensional cel and cutout animation, created by 
the recent addition to the studio, Min Cha Lin, an animator from Taiwan.  
 
The show had three main recurring characters: Bimbo, a mute music box clown; 
Robert the Robot; and Professor Sigmund, a bookend. In each episode, Professor 
Sigmund begins telling Bimbo and Robert a classic and well-known fairytale. The 
beginning of the show was done completely with 3D animation, however when the 
Professor began telling the story, a clay book with two-dimensional pictures would 
open and come to life, through 2D drawn animation. The professor would eventually 
fall asleep while he was telling the story, at which point the drawn characters would 
burst out of the book into three-dimensional clay versions of themselves and act out a 
?a distorted version of the fairytale? (Berenson).  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 43: Cel animation in 
?Bimbo?s Books - Little Red 
Riding Hood?  
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 65 
Figure 45: Still Sequence from ?Bimbo?s Books? - The wolf breaks out of the book 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The show was a musical and these alternative clay versions of the classic fairytale 
characters would usually sing and dance. The show also caricatured well-known 
international celebrities, such as Woody Allen as Ali Baba. The series featured a lot 
of South African talent and celebrities. Jonathan Shapirovii designed Robert the Robot, 
while artists such as Tully McCullyviii, David Kramerix and Lesley Rae Dowlingx 
contributed music, songs and voice talents.  
Figure 44: Still from 
?Bimbo?s Books? - 
Sigmund falls asleep 
                                                                                                               Haycock 66 
 
The show appears to have been very well received and successful in South Africa. 
Berenson states that although Bimbo?s Books provided the studio with a lot of 
exposure, it was not a financial success. The money they earned from the show was 
just enough to keep the studio running (Berenson). Unlike other broadcasters, the 
SABC controlled all the ownership rights of the work they commissioned, which has 
been a major hindrance for independent producers like Berenson, who had invested a 
lot of his own money in the production of Bimbo?s Books. Berenson realized that to 
continue to work with the SABC was pointless, firstly because as an animation studio 
working with the SABC, Klaybow Films was limited in terms of the content of the 
work they were producing, as they had seen during the production of Tempodieks and, 
secondly, the budgets that were allocated to the animations they commissioned were 
relatively small and would not allow the studio to grow any further (Berenson).  
 
 
 
5.6 The intensification of economic sanctions  
 
Berenson began looking to develop other projects and began looking to the 
international market for potential clients and investors, as this was the only possible 
way he could continue to both support and grow the studio. He travelled overseas 
with a showreel of the work Klaybow had produced, and received considerable 
interest from overseas animation producers. The studio was commissioned by the 
Figure 46: Ted 
Berenson standing 
in front of sets for 
?Bimbo?s Books? 
Source:  Article in 
Die Kat 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 67 
American production company HBO to produce Hello and Goodbye (1985), a clay 
animated music video. Overseas animation studios and producers were impressed by 
the high quality work Klaybow Films was able to produce with budgets that were 
significantly lower than those in America and Europe.  
 
Berenson states that because of the attractive production costs in South Africa, local 
film studios were supported by a lot of work commissioned by American clients 
during the 80s (Berenson). This effectively came to an end when the American 
Congress passed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act (1986) and the Budget 
Reconciliation Act (1987), which stopped Americans doing business with South 
African companies by imposing fines on companies that did business with South 
Africans. Berenson explains that this was a very hard time for filmmakers in South 
Africa, since they were limited by the restrictive SABC and suffered from a lack of 
support from overseas clients (Berenson).  
 
5.7 Billybudd Films and The Star Child: 1987-1989 
 
Despite the sanctions and boycotts against South Africa, Berenson continued to 
search for potential overseas clients and travelled to New York to meet Frank 
Moynihan of Billy Budd films, who had previously been making short clay animation 
films with Will Vinton. Moynihan was looking for another studio to produce clay 
adaptations of classical literature. Berenson showed Klaybow?s showreel to 
Moynihan who expressed interest in producing a short film with the studio. However, 
because of the sanctions and boycotts, Moynihan would not do business with the 
studio if it remained in South Africa (Berenson).  
 
Berenson moved the studio to England in 1987, including the five recruits he had 
trained and their families. They were commissioned by Billy Budd films to produce a 
short clay animation adaptation of The Star Child, written by Oscar Wilde. Production 
on the film began in 1988 and was completed in 1989. Berenson explains that the he 
had invested a lot of his own personal money in the project but Moynihan was unable 
to refund him until the film started to sell. 
Berenson claims that this became a problem, since the voices were recorded in South 
Africa and festival organizers in England, recognized the South African accents in the 
                                                                                                               Haycock 68 
film and refused to play it. Klaybow Films was forced to close down as a result of this 
financial trouble. Although Berenson formed another studio called Animated 
Productions, he was unable to support the staff that had previously worked at 
Klaybow, which by this time had risen to approximately eighteen people.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 47: Crew standing in front of new Klaybow Films studio in London.  
Left to Right: Peter Kossew, Gary Kachelhoffer, Brett Schuman, Rupert (?), 
Marcel Berenson, Philip Marcus, and Ted Berenson 
Photo courtesy of Lindsay van Blerk 
Figure 48: Still from 
?The Star Child? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 69 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 49 - 51: Talking 
Bookends in ?Bimbo?s 
Books?  
                                                                                                               Haycock 70 
5.8 Aesthetic analysis of Bimbo?s Books 
 
Although it is difficult to discuss the aesthetics of the clay animation produced by 
Klaybow Films due to the difficultiesxi in acquiring examples of their work, it is 
possible to arrive at some conclusions from their showreel  (See DVD - Disk 01). The 
most striking characteristic in Bimbo?s Books is the use of elements found in Vinton?s 
Clay Animation style, particularly in the use of the clay on clay aesthetic in the clay 
animation scenes. All of the 3D spaces and characters were constructed from 
plasticine. The quality of sculpture is generally very good, and in some instances 
excellent, especially that of the actual bookcase. The show also features bust 
sculptures coming to life (figures 49- 51) and clearly refers to some of the very first 
clay-animated films, which employed the same technique. The style of the sculpture 
is very similar to Vinton?s earlier work such as Rip Van Winkle, in which the forms 
have exaggerated heads and the general treatment of plasticine has a slight crudeness 
to it.  
 
Berenson states that Klaybow Films was very much influenced by the clay animation 
work produced by Will Vinton. However, he states that Vinton?s work was merely 
used as a reference point, and says that the work produced by Klaybow was far less 
regimentally structured than Vinton?s. In particular, what distinguishes Klaybow?s 
work is the use of mixed media and clay special effects. This points to one of the 
fundamental aspects of the work produced by Klaybow. While the forms are 
somewhat unrefined and the animation tends to be very crude, the films display an 
impressive use of clay metamorphosis, special effects, and 2D clay animation. This 
shows that Berenson was perhaps more interested in the use of technology and special 
effects in three-dimensional animation than in the development of character 
animation. 
 
This sounds plausible when one considers that after Klaybow closed down, Berenson 
started a new studio, which specialised in 3D animation effects using motion control 
cameras. The narrative and style of Bimbo?s Books are also significant and in some 
ways unique. The basic principle of each episode was to set up a well-known 
traditional fairy tale, which would then be subverted and twisted, presenting the 
audience with an alternative version of the story, using stylistic elements from the 
                                                                                                               Haycock 71 
Figure 52: Still from ?Bimbo?s 
Books? - The Big Bad Wolf sings 
 
musical genre with the characters singing and dancing. This is evident in a segment 
from an episode which parodied Little Red Riding Hood, where the wolf, wearing 
jeans and a leather jacket, rides a motorcycle and sings,  ?Now chimpanzees like 
bananas, and elephants feed they on hay, squirrels go for nuts, and goats will eat what 
comes they way, but for me the best thing is when I?m digesting a tasty granny, hey, 
hey, hey?. This demonstrates the subversion of traditional moralistic fairy tales 
through a modern interpretation of the story.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shapurjee states that South African animation from this period was generally 
characterized as being ?wholesome? and ?didactic? (57), and clearly Bimbo?s Books, 
with its fairly ?tongue in cheek? approach inherent in the fairy tale adaptations, goes 
against the predominant form of animation being created in South Africa at this time. 
However, while very innovative, and in some ways unique compared to other clay 
animation being produced at this time, Klaybow Films produced work which was 
intended to appeal to a general audience and has no cultural specificity. This is 
evident in the Western narrative and design choices evident in their work. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 53: Still from ?Bimbo?s 
Books? - Cinderella 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 72 
5.9 Concluding thoughts on Klaybow Films 
 
Cleary Klaybow Film?s history reveals some significant aspects of the South African 
animation industry at this time. It reveals the distorted nature of broadcasting under 
the SABC and the apartheid government, which clearly hindered the development of 
the animation industry in South Africa by not only dictating and restricting the 
content of what was produced, but also through the boycotts and economic sanctions 
that were imposed internationally. Berenson?s involvement in the South Africa 
animation industry also reveals the lack of animation courses and training institutions 
in South Africa during this time. Clearly, Berenson, although not trained as an 
animator, brought his knowledge of puppetry and film from Eastern Europe to South 
Africa. Through his training of young South African artists such as Lindsay van 
Blerk, he had a direct and significant involvement in the development of the 
animation industry in South Africa, which will be discussed in the following chapters.
                                                 
i The earliest South African animated film was the Artist?s Dream/The Artist?s 
Inspiration produced by African Film Productions in 1915. 
ii The eighties were a turbulent period in South Africa and were the final years of 
apartheid and oppressive white minority rule in South. This period was characterized 
by increased social unrest and political violence, and several states of emergency were 
declared by South Africa?s president at this time, P.W. Botha. 
iii This school is now part of the Bazalel Academy of Art and Design  
iv Because of the difficulty in acquiring copies of the work produced by Klaybow 
Films the description of these works is taken from a promotional document produced 
by the studio in 1987. 
v Dirk de Villiers is regarded as South Africa?s most prolific filmmaker, having made 
a total of 25 feature length films and 12 documentaries. 
vi TV3 was a channel specifically broadcasted for Zulu and Xhosa speaking South 
Africans. During Apartheid black South African?s were restricted to living in various 
areas based on language groups. Following this policy of ethnic segregation, the 
SABC broadcasted separate signals and channels to these areas.  
vii Jonathan Shapiro is one of South Africa?s leading cartoon satirists. He draws under 
the name Zapiro.  
viii Tully McCully is a famous South African rock musician and together with his 
brother was formed the band McCully?s Workshop. 
ix David Kramer is a famous South African musician who began his career in 1970 
and has primarily written Afrikaans songs. 
x Lesley Ray Dowling was a South African pop artist who produced the well-known 
song The Spaniard.  
xi My sole source was a VHS copy of Klaybow Film?s showreel. 
                                                                                                               Haycock 73 
 6. South Africa 1989-2005: Lindsay van Blerk and XYZoo  
 
This chapter focuses on the South African animator and director, Lindsay van Blerk, 
and documents the history of his studio, XYZoo Animations between the years 1990 
and 2005. Van Blerk was one of the artists who was hired and trained by Ted 
Berenson at Klaybow Films. Van Blerk went with the studio to London in 1987. 
However, he was forced to return to South Africa in 1989 after the studio closed 
down. He initially intended to return to London but events in South Africa in 1990 
convinced him that democratic change was inevitable and he decided to stay and set 
up his own animation studio, XYZoo Animation.  
 
The studio mainly focused on the production of clay animation. Over the years the 
studio has produced a large body of television commercials for South African 
television. However, the studio?s most significant work are the short clay animated 
films they produced for Billy Budd Films. This large body of work shows that Van 
Blerk is not only a talented stop-motion animator, but also reveals him to be one of 
South Africa?s top animation directors and displays his masterful understanding of 
performance, storytelling and his use of cinematic language for narrative purposes.  
 
6.1 The South African animation industry: 1990-1996 
 
The early nineties were a dramatic and pivotal period in South African history, during 
which the country went through significant political, social and economic change. In 
1990, the newly elected president, FW de Klerk, made a famous speech during his 
opening address to parliament during which he announced the lifting of the ban on 
political parties such as the African National Congress, the release of Nelson Mandela 
from jail, and his intention to lift the state of emergency declared ten years earlier by 
PW Botha. This was followed by a period of political reform and negotiations 
between the ruling National Party and the African National Congress that eventually 
led to South Africa?s first democratic elections in 1994.  
 
These political and social changes had an impact on the South African television and 
animation industry. Shapurjee states that this period ushered in a ?new era in South 
African broadcast history? and saw the restructuring of the SABC, which developed a 
                                                                                                               Haycock 74 
new policy regarding ?the viability of the public broadcaster, local content, and cross-
 media ownership and control? (81). Shapurjee states that the political change in South 
Africa saw the emergence of ?animation training initiatives? across Africa ?in an 
attempt to empower Africans with new media skills? (82). The end of apartheid was 
significant, because it was responsible for the emergence of a new animation industry 
in South Africa during the early nineties. There was a decrease in the number of local 
stop-motion animations commissioned by the broadcaster, and Collins explains that 
the broadcaster began buying American television animation, which was cheaper than 
commissioning local animation productions (31). This saw a shift in the South 
African animation industry from being primarily focused on the production of 
television content for children, to the production of television advertising. This period 
also saw the lifting of international sanctions and boycotts, allowing South African 
studios to once again do business with international clients, which provided new 
business opportunities for local studios. Collins states that small animation studios 
?appearing and disappearing? characterized the South African animation industry in 
the 90s as a result of a relatively small competitive industry and market (32). XYZoo 
was one of these small studios. However, they were able to survive in this climate as a 
result of a niche they had created for themselves in the market.  
 
6.2 Lindsay van Blerk and Klaybow Films: 1983-1989  
 
Lindsay van Blerk grew up in the Eastern Cape in East London, where, after high 
school, he began a fine art diploma. He moved to Cape Town at the age of nineteen 
and completed his studies at the Cape Tech. He practised painting, drawing, sculpture, 
photography, and printmaking during this period. He found his first job at Klaybow 
Films, where he started working as a character designer, puppet builder and 
storyboard artist. He says that it was not long before he started doing little bits of 
animation and a latent desire to be a performer was revealed. He felt naturally drawn 
to performance animation and quickly grasped the concepts of timing and staging.  
 
However, South Africa had a compulsory two-year military service at this time, and 
his career in animation was interrupted when he was conscripted in June 1983. He 
joined the navy and was based at the naval base at Simon?s Town, where he worked 
in the media department because of his art and film background. The media 
                                                                                                               Haycock 75 
department in the naval base was responsible for making training videos for new 
sailors and Lindsay recalls that they had access to military vehicles, soldiers who 
could be used as extras and quite a lot of film equipment. He says that they had a lot 
of fun making these videos and recalls making one training film called Urban 
Counter-Insurgency Observation Posts, which, he jokes, they tried to make in 
imitation of ?Apocalypse Now? (Van Blerk Interview). He explains that, after his 
basic training, he was still able to do freelance work during his conscription, since 
Simon?s Town is relatively close to Cape Town. During this time he did a lot of 
character designs and animation for Klaybow Films. He also participated in 
Berenson?s training and screening sessions, which would have an important impact on 
the young filmmaker. Van Blerk explains, ?For the first time I saw Jiri Trnka, Co 
Hoederman, Starewicz and early work by Will Vinton. I was hooked? (Van Blerk 
Forum). This reveals the significance of both Klaybow Films and important stop-
 motion animators from North America and Europe to Van Blerk?s work.  
 
When his period of conscription was over, he began working full-time at Klaybow 
Films in June 1985. At this time the studio began production of the series Bimbo?s 
Books, during which Van Blerk evolved to the position of lead animator. Van Blerk 
explains that everyone at Klaybow Films was fairly inexperienced and the animation 
they were producing was very rough. ?It was moving, but they weren?t being 
animated in my opinion? (Van Blerk Interview). Van Blerk attributes this crudeness of 
animation to the limitations of the technology that they were using at the time.  
 
The technology to remove character support rigs fairly cheaply was not yet available, 
so they had to use hidden frame rigs. In addition, the studio didn?t have any video 
assist technology and animators were working blind. Van Blerk states that creating 
stop-motion without these two technological supports results in a ?lottery? and a lack 
of control that leads to work that is mostly fairly crude (Van Blerk Interview). 
Towards the end of the production of Bimbo?s Books, the studio began using more 
sophisticated technology, such as the MX 10 Panasonic frame-storing device, which 
allowed the studio to compare the previous frames with the current one. Van Blerk 
stresses the importance of technological advances in allowing stop-motion techniques 
to rise to the level of commercial popularity they enjoy today. He had begun to feel 
that he had reached a dead end with clay animation, but with the introduction of video 
                                                                                                               Haycock 76 
assist technology, the animator ?could do with a puppet what anyone could do with a 
drawing? (Van Blerk Interview).  
 
Despite these limitations, Van Blerk stresses that his time at Klaybow Films was 
invaluable as it provided him with an environment where he was able to learn and 
develop as a young animator (Van Blerk Interview). Van Blerk was one of the 
animators who moved to London with the studio in 1987 to work on the short film 
The Star Child. His responsibility as lead animator increased and he animated a large 
part of the film. He continued to grow in skill and confidence as an animator. After 
the failure of The Star Child, Van Blerk decided that he no longer wanted to remain at 
Klaybow Films. Because his work permit restricted him to working with Klaybow 
Films while he was in London, he had no choice but to return to South Africa in 1989. 
 
6.3 Miros productions: 1990-1991 
 
Van Blerk returned to South Africa with the intention of going back overseas 
eventually and pursuing a career in animation. He explains that he felt uncomfortable 
in South Africa, where although he had finished his compulsory military service, he 
was still expected to attend compulsory weekend military camps (Van Blerk). 
However, an important event in South African history would ensure that he remained 
in South Africa. He explains that in 1990, FW de Klerk, then the president of South 
Africa, made his famous speech in which he announced that all previously banned 
political parties, including the ANC, would be legalised and that Nelson Mandela was 
to be released from jail (Van Blerk).  
 
Van Blerk decided to remain in South Africa and continue producing clay animation 
but he lacked the necessary film equipment. Miros Productions had the equipment he 
needed and he began working for the studio in 1990 as their animation director. 
During this period he produced several clay animation commercials, which include 
Simba Chipniks (1990), Alcolin Glue (1990), and I&J Stir Fry (1990). The Simba 
Chipniks (Figures 55 - 58) commercial was clearly inspired by Will Vinton?s 
California Raisins and followed the same idea, though instead of using raisins, the 
band members were Chipniks chips made out of plasticine. He used pixilation in the 
I&J Stir Fry commercial, in which he animated food (Figures 59 - 60).  
                                                                                                               Haycock 77 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 54: The Directors - Miros Productions 
Left to Right: Jorge Rubia, Volker Miros, Lindsay van Blerk, and Paul Miros. 
Photo courtesy of Lindsay van Blerk 
 
Figure 55: Production still from ?Simba Chipniks? - van Blerk animating 
Photos courtesy of Lindsay van Blerk 
                                                                                                               Haycock 78 
 
 
 
 
Figure 56 - 58: 
Production stills from 
?Simba Chipniks? 
Photo courtesy of 
Lindsay van Blerk 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 79 
 
 
 
During the production of this commercial Van Blerk met Jacquie Trowell, who 
worked for the art department at Miros Productions. Trowell became interested in the 
animation process, and continued to work with Van Blerk on several other 
commercials as a set designer and builder.  
 
6.4 The formation of XYZoo Animation 
 
It was around this time that he was contacted by Frank Moynihan from Billy Budd 
films. Moynihan had noticed Van Blerk?s strong contribution as lead animator during 
the production of The Star Child where the two had met for the first time (Van Blerk). 
Moynihan was interested in producing an eight-minute clay animated short called The 
Prodigal Son with Van Blerk in South Africa. Moynihan wanted to take advantage of 
the lower productions costs Van Blerk was able to offer him from South Africa, 
especially now that South Africa was on its way to becoming a democracy, and he 
therefore would not be restricted by economic sanctions and boycotts. However, he 
had lost money on The Star Child and told Van Blerk that he would get in touch with 
him when he had raised the capital to produce the film. 
 
While Moynihan raised the capital, Van Blerk left Miros productions to begin 
producing commercials independently. He set up a studio in Paarden Island. His first 
independent job was a series of commercials produced for National Air Conditioners 
(1991). He began recruiting crewmembers to help him deal with the workload. During 
the production of the National Air Conditioner commercials, Van Blerk got in touch 
Figure 12: Still from ?The Little Prince 
Figure 59 - 60: Productions stills from ?InJ? - van Blerk animating 
Photo courtesy of Lindsay van Blerk 
                                                                                                               Haycock 80 
with Trowell and asked her to come and help him construct sets. Brett Schuman, who 
Van Blerk had worked with at Klaybow Films, had returned to South Africa that year 
and began working with Van Blerk and Trowell.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Van Blerk, like Berenson, needed to develop the studio so that he could undertake 
larger productions. During 1990 and 1991 the studio produced at least ten 
commercials. Van Blerk used this money to develop the studio?s shooting capabilities. 
When Trowell wasn?t busy building sets, Van Blerk trained her to animate, and 
assigned her small roles in some of the studio?s productions. He also showed her the 
same stop-motion films he had seen from the Cape Provincial Library. In 1992 
Trowell animated her first commercial entirely by herself, Pipers Sweet Milk Cheese 
(See DVD - Disk 02).  
 
Figure 62: Photo - Lindsay van Blerk and Jacquie Trowell. 
Photo courtesy of Lindsay van Blerk 
 
Figure 61: Still from ?National 
Air Conditioners? 
Courtesy of Lindsay van Blerk 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 81 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 64-65 
Stills from ?Pipers Sweet Milk 
Cheese?. 
 
Figure 63: Trowell building clay puppet for ?Pipers Sweet Milk Cheese? 
Photo courtesy of Lindsay van Blerk 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 82 
Van Blerk then bought two Mitchell cameras and was now able to shoot two 
productions simultaneously. Between 1992 and 1993 the studio produced The 
Prodigal Son for Billy Budd Films. He was still able to support the studio with the 
money they earned from their commercial work. This was possible because of the two 
cameras he had bought. While Van Blerk was animating The Prodigal Son (See DVD 
- Disk 02), Trowell would handle the commercial work coming into the studio. The 
film was well received, and over the next ten years, XYZoo Animations would 
produce four twenty-four minute long films for Billy Budd (Van Blerk).  
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 67: Still from 
?The Prodigal Son? 
 
Figure 66: Mitchell Camera 
used by XYZoo 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 83 
In the years following The Prodigal Son, XYZoo would continue to produce clay 
animated commercials, as well as four short clay animated films for Billy Budd Films. 
During this period, Van Blerk was able to slowly build up and improve the character 
animation skills of the studio. He hired a small crew of five people including Brett 
Schuman, Gary Kachelhoffer, Philip Marcus with whom he had worked at Klaybow, 
and Ian Bold. Also at this time, Jacquie Trowell broke away from XYZoo Animation 
to form her own stop-motion animation studio, Triggerfish.  
 
6.5 Stop-motion television commercials: 1995-2004 
 
XYZoo?s predominant source of income was from commercial productions, and 
between 1995 and 2004 the studio produced twenty-two stop-motion commercials. 
These include commercials produced for SABC Radio (1995), VW Citi Golf (1997), 
Wellington VO Brandy (2001-2002), and Sanlam (2004) (See DVD - Disk 01). The 
commercial for SABC Radio, while displaying an innovative use of clay animation, 
shows the use of the imagery of the African veld and wildlife. This imagery is also 
apparent in the two commercials produced for Sanlam, in which animals are 
interviewed in their natural environment, which was obviously inspired by Aardman?s 
Creature Comforts.  
 
The VW Citi Golf commercial shows innovative use of pixilation. The use of a black 
actor is significant because it shows the social and economic changes that South 
Africa was experiencing and the emergence of a black middle class. The series of clay 
animation commercials produced for Wellington VO Brandy show the innovative use 
of clay animation techniques to create ?cartoony? effects that are usually found in 2D 
animation. These commercials are unusual, as they show the use of animation in a 
way usually associated with children?s productions, to advertise alcohol. Van Blerk 
explains that, with the exception of the Wellington VO Brandy commercials, he 
generally doesn?t enjoy working on commercials but explains that they allowed 
XYZoo to survive financially, which enabled him to produce the short clay animation 
films for Billy Budd Films. Van Blerk states that ?he will do anything to tell a story?, 
which shows that the filmmaker is primarily interested in character animation. 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 84 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 71: Still from Wellington 
VO Brandy - Dragon? (2002) 
commercial 
 
Figure 70: Still from 
?VW Citi Golf? 
commercial 
 
Figure 69: Still from 
?Sanlam? commercial 
 
Figure 68: Still from 
?SABC Radio? 
commercial 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 85 
6.6 Billybudd Films and the Clay Classics 
 
Following The Prodigal Son, XYZoo produced four twenty-minute clay animated 
films for Billy Budd. These were Michael The Visitor (1995), The First Christmas 
(1998), The Chimes (2000) and The Velveteen Rabbit (2003). Van Blerk explains that 
these films were made ?intensively and continuously for a long period of time? and 
that because of this, he was able to develop the level of character animation the studio 
was able to produce with clay animation (Van Blerk). He further explains that because 
of the limited budget he faced in comparison with overseas companies, he knew he 
could not compete with them in terms of the scale of production and technology and 
so he chose to focus on performance (Van Blerk). Although this was not profitable, he 
was able to set a high standard, which allowed the quality of the work to be noticed 
(Van Blerk Email) and he was still able to produce a large number of commercials 
both locally and internationally. These films show the development of Van Blerk?s 
skill as a character animator and director of animation. 
 
Michael the Visitor (see DVD 02) is a short twenty-four minute film based on the 
short story Truths We Live By written by Tolstoy. Van Blerk feels that the film marks 
an important point of growth in his development and that the animation had a degree 
of sophistication in the performances. He further says that some aspects of character 
animation ?blossomed? during the production of the film (Van Blerk Interview).  
 
 
Figure 72: Still from 
?Michael the Visitor? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 86 
The First Christmas (see DVD 03) is an adaptation of the nativity story from the 
Christian Bible. Van Blerk explains it was a ?tough? experience for the studio 
because they had to complete the film in twelve months. Furthermore, because the 
story was religious in nature, it was more difficult than adapting a novel as the story 
could not be changed due to the risk of offending Christian sensitivities (Van Blerk 
Forum). However, there are some additions to the story in order to add some comedic 
elements, such as the addition of a scene in which a Roman Centurion supervises two 
workers putting up a notice announcing that a census is taking place. In the original 
story in the Bible, the census is merely used as an exposition to explain why Mary and 
Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem.  
 
 
 
Figure 74: Still from 
?The The first 
Christmas? - Wise 
men 
 
Figure 73: Armatures 
from ?The Prodigal 
Son? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 87 
 
 
The Chimes (See DVD - Disk 03) is an adaptation of the short story of the same name 
written by Charles Dickens. By this time the studio had grown to a contingent of five 
people. Van Blerk says it was a difficult production, because it required sophisticated 
character performance. He explains: ?The main character, Toby Veck, had to carry 
the entire story and needed to show a great variety of emotions and subtlety to tell the 
story effectively? (Van Blerk Forum).  
 
 
The Velveteen Rabbit (See DVD - Disk 03) is an adaptation of the classic children?s 
story of the same name by Margaret Williams. This story was suited to the medium of 
clay animation and Van Blerk explains that the clay allowed the warmth of the story 
to come through (Van Blerk). In some ways this could be considered to be the best of 
the short films XYZoo produced, as it features flawless clay sculpture and animation. 
Figure 76: Still from 
?The Chimes? 
 
Figure 75: Still from 
?The First 
Christmas? - Roman 
Centurion 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 88 
 
 
These short clay-animated films have been highly acclaimed and won numerous 
international awardsi. They are now part of the Billy Budd ?Clay Classic? series of 
DVDs, which include works that were produced by Will Vinton in partnership with 
Frank Moynihan. Vinton and Aardman have been key influences on Van Blerk and 
this is evident in the short clay animated films produced by XYZoo.  
 
6.7 Aesthetic analysis of The Chimes 
 
However, the clay animation produced by Van Blerk has its own distinctive style that 
is different from the work produced by either Vinton or Aardman. The films feature 
the dynamic use of lighting, camera and multiple shots to support and express these 
narratives and their themes. The films mostly use the ?full clay? aesthetic developed 
by Vinton, and all buildings, clothes and props were constructed with plasticine.  
 
Van Blerk?s treatment of characters is more similar to the character in Aardman?s 
Going Equipped. The characters are sculpted with normal body proportions and are 
very naturalistic, unlike the figures sculpted by Will Vinton Productions, which are 
characterised by large heads. Vinton?s work, such as Rip Van Winkle and The Star 
Child, is characterised by fantasy and non-realism achieved through the dynamic use 
of clay metamorphosis, while the narratives of XYZoo?s clay films are adaptations of 
classical stories, which focus mainly on moralistic and social problems. What is 
unusual about XYZoo?s Films is that they are animated dramas. This is not commonly 
seen in clay animated films, which generally use the comedy genre. The narratives in 
Figure 77: Still from 
?The Velveteen 
Rabbit? 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 89 
XYZoo?s clay films therefore use a far more subtle and naturalistic performance. In 
some ways this can be very difficult, as animation lends itself to highly stylised 
movements, such as those seen in Aardman?s Wallace and Gromit films.  
The performances of Van Blerk?s characters are similar to the naturalistic 
performances found in Aardman?s earlier work. However, the range of emotions and 
expressions explored by Van Blerk is far larger and more impressive. The films 
clearly demonstrate Van Blerk?s skill and confidence in sculpting with plasticine, 
which enables him to sculpt and re-shape his figures while he animates. He generally 
does not use replacement clay parts in his films. Clearly Van Blerk has developed a 
clay animation style.  
 
The Chimes (See DVD - Disk 03) is by far the most impressive of the clay animated 
films produced by XYZoo and is also the one of which Van Blerk is the most proud. 
The story is set in London in the 1890s and comments on the inequality that existed 
between the rich and the poor in London at this time. The film features a large range 
of high quality sets constructed by XYZoo in order to create the environmental setting 
of nineteenth century London. The story has a relatively large cast of characters in 
comparison to other films produced by XYZoo, which proved to be the biggest 
challenge in this production. 
 
The story mainly follows the poor, eccentric old man, Toby Veck, who through the 
course of film loses his optimistic outlook on life as a result of the dismissive 
statements and actions of several of the films wealthy characters. He becomes 
despondent at the hopelessness and poverty he sees around him. Van Blerk 
successfully characterises Toby Veck and captures this emotional journey through his 
animated performance. What is so impressive about the performances in this film is 
that Van Blerk successfully creates distinctive performances for each character. There 
is no sense of the ?sameness? that Frierson (151) states is characteristic of the 
characters and performances in Vinton?s early clay animated films. This is best seen 
at the beginning of the film when two wealthy, upper class characters come out of a 
church and confront Toby Veck and his daughter. Each character is distinctively 
characterised by performance and gestures that create individual personalities. The 
wealthy characters are characterised by flamboyant gestures and body language that 
shows their assumed superiority and contempt for Toby Veck and his daughter, who 
                                                                                                               Haycock 90 
in contrast, are characterised by submissive performances that also show the dismay 
and hurt that they feel as a result of the confrontation. The story is told with masterful 
use of lighting and camera, which clearly shows Van Blerk?s skill as a director. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 78 - 79: 
Production stills from 
?The Chimes? - Set 
Building. 
 
Figure 80: Production stills from ?The Chimes? - Set Building 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 91 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 81: Production stills from ?The Chimes? - Characters 
 
Figure 82: Production stills from ?The Chimes? - van Blerk with Characters 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 92 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 83 - 84: Still from 
?The Chimes?. 
Wealthy characters show 
contempt for Toby and his 
daughter. 
Figure 85: Still from ?The 
Chimes?. 
Toby reacts to insult 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 93 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6.8 Concluding thoughts on XYZoo Animation  
 
In the context of this research, which seeks to identify a unique South African stop-
 motion aesthetic, the biggest criticism of the short films produced by XYZoo for 
Billybudd Films is that they were films produced by a South African studio for a 
Christian American audience. The films lack any distinctive South African elements 
in the narratives or visual designs. Clearly Van Blerk was restricted from developing 
a South African style in his work as a result of this.  
Figure 86: Production stills from ?The Chimes? - Brett 
Schuman animating a scene. 
 
Figure 87: Production stills from ?The Chimes? -Cinematographer 
Dave Aenmey lighting a scene. 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 94 
However, this should rather be seen as the fault of local broadcasters in South Africa, 
which were not commissioning any animation in the short film format. From 1990 to 
2000 most South African animation studios were producing television commercials, 
and the films produced by Van Blerk during this time are impressive compared to 
these unimaginative commercials. The production of four twenty-minute clay 
animated films between 1995 and 2003 is an exceptional and unique achievement in 
the history of South African animation.  
 
Clearly Van Blerk and XYZoo have played an important role in the development of 
South Africa?s animation industry. Trowell, who had not only learnt animation from 
Van Blerk but had also been exposed to alternative stop-motion animated films from 
the Cape Provincial Library, went on to form her own studio in 1996. In particular, 
the culturally specific work from Czechoslovakia would have a great influence on her 
and the development of a distinctive South African stop-motion aesthetic.  
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 95 
 
 Figure 88: Preproduction 
on ?The Chimes? - Rough 
Thumbnail Sketches 
Courtesy of Lindsay van 
Blerk 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 96 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 89: Preproduction on ?The Chimes? - Storyboards. 
Courtesy Lindsay van Blerk. 
                                                                                                               Haycock 97 
 
 
 
                                                
i The First Christmas was awarded The Andrew Carnegie Medal. Michael The Visitor 
was awarded the CINE Golden Eagle. The Chimes was awarded the CINE Special 
Jury Award. The Velveteen Rabbitreceived an award from the American Library 
Association as a Notable Children?s Video. 
Figure 90: Preproduction on ?The Chimes? - Storyboards. 
Courtesy Lindsay van Blerk 
                                                                                                               Haycock 98 
7. South Africa 1996-2005: Jaqcuie Trowell, Emma Kaye and Triggerfish 
 
After the first democratic elections in 1994, the South African film industry saw the 
emergence of a cinema characterised by the ?emergence of new voices and a 
diversification of themes? and audiences were exposed to previously unseen and 
neglected communities and cultures (Botha 19-47). One of the most important and 
recurring themes in South African film from this period was the search for identity 
(Verster 112). In some ways the stop-motion animation produced by Triggerfish 
between the years 1996 and 2005 reflects these trends in South African motion picture 
production and can be regarded as part of this search for a South African identity, 
aesthetic, and the representation of the suppressed cultural and artistic practices in 
South Africa.  
 
This chapter documents the history of the South African animation studio Triggerfish, 
between the years 1996 and 2005. Jacquie Trowell and Emma Kaye formed the studio 
in 1996 and developed it into one of South Africa?s most successful and well-known 
animation studios. The studio was responsible for creating the first local animation 
content for South African television audiences as well as many innovative 
commercials. Their most important work was the stop-motion film they produced for 
Sesame Street and Takalani Sesame, as this allowed them to develop a distinctive 
South African puppet animation style inspired by local street art. Trowell and Kaye 
would also play an important role in developing the South African animation industry. 
 
7.1 Jacquie Trowell and XYZoo Animation: 1990-1996 
 
Jacquie Trowell briefly attended the Michealis Art School in Cape Town, but did not 
complete her studies there, deciding rather to travel abroad. Upon her return to South 
Africa she began working in the live-action film industry (Trowell). She eventually 
found a job working in the art department for Miros productions, where she met 
Lindsay van Blerk on the set of the commercial shoot for I&J Stir Fry. She became 
interested in the stop-motion animation process, and continued working with Van 
Blerk on various commercial productions. When Van Blerk left Miros productions 
and asked Trowell to come and help him build sets, she eagerly went to work with 
him not only because of her growing interest in stop-motion, but also because of a 
                                                                                                               Haycock 99 
growing frustration she was feeling as a result of working in the live-action industry, 
which she describes as being dominated by ?egos? and status (Trowell). 
 
During this period, Van Blerk began to teach her the technique of stop-motion 
animation, allowing her to animate small sequences and background characters in 
certain animations. In 1992, she animated her first commercial entirely by herself, 
Pipers Sweet Milk Cheese. While Van Blerk was animating the The Prodigal Son and 
Michael the Visitor for Billy Budd Films, Trowell would handle any commercial 
work that came in to XYZoo Animation. However, by 1996, she had begun to feel 
frustrated and limited by the work she was producing at XYZoo. Van Blerk had 
taught her the technique of stop-motion animation and had also exposed her to 
alternative animation she had not previously seen, such as animation produced by Jiri 
Trnka, Jan Svankmajer, the Brothers Quay and Norman McLaren. She was impressed 
by the work produced by these filmmakers and she explains that while working at 
XYZoo, she began experimenting with other materials and techniques such as cutout 
and pixilation (Trowell Interview).  
 
Van Blerk was very focused on producing clay animation and was developing XYZoo 
as a studio specialising in storytelling animation through the work he was producing 
for Billy Budd Films. Trowell states that she found the religiously driven narratives 
prescribed by Billy Budd to be limiting and in 1996 she decided to leave XYZoo to 
start her own studio in order to continue to work with the alternative stop-motion 
techniques she was discovering. She approached a friend of hers working in the live-
 action industry, Emma Kaye, and asked her if she would be interested in forming an 
animation studio.   
 
7.2 Emma Kaye and the formation of Triggerfish 
 
Kaye, born in Zimbabwe, moved to England where she studied programming and 
business at Oxford University. She developed a good background in business from 
managing work she took in to earn extra income. She returned to Zimbabwe after her 
studies and eventually moved to South Africa, where she changed track completely 
and began working in the live-action film industry. When Trowell asked her to form 
an animation company with her, she had been working for a long time in live-action 
                                                                                                               Haycock 100 
and had begun to feel frustrated with the egos in the industry. She saw animation as a 
potential alternative. ?So when Jacquie approached me to set up Triggerfish with her 
it kind of made perfect sense because I love the process of filmmaking. Animation 
production was different to live-action production, which was the part of filmmaking 
that was frustrating me, and it employed all my skills around business and being able 
to put structures together. So we were a great fit, she was the creative component to it 
and I had the business background to add to it.? (Kaye).  
 
7.3 The South African animation industry: 1996-2001 
 
By 1996, a very small and limited industry had developed in South Africa. Theresa 
Collins collected data on the South African animation industry by means of a survey 
of the South African animation studios in 2001i. This data is useful as it reveals 
significant aspects of the industry in post-apartheid South Africa. She identifies four 
obstacles that have restricted the development of the animation industry in South 
Africa: the lack of funding; the lack of animation training courses at institutions; the 
influence of American animation; and politics within the South African industry 
(Collins 30-34).  
 
Broadcasters preferred to buy American animation for television, as this was cheaper 
than commissioning local animation. This resulted in the development of a small 
industry, relying on the advertising agencies, which generally dictated content and 
style that was characteristically unimaginative, to survive. This limited market 
resulted in an unstable market which was characterised by a lack of cooperation 
between studios, which were fighting for survival in this climate. Animation produced 
in South Africa was strongly influenced by American animation, and studios tended 
to use American animation techniques and styles and had no interest in developing 
alternative methods (31-32). Although there had been an increase in the amount of 
animation training courses, these primarily focused on software training, and had no 
theory or history components (Collins 32-33).  
 
Kaye describes South African animation in the nineties as a ?nascent? industry that 
was fractured, with companies that were unwilling to take risks, and states, ?that there 
was an enormous scope to start a new company and to look at how we could break 
                                                                                                               Haycock 101 
new ground in the market? (Kaye). Trowell had shown Kaye the stop-motion 
animation techniques she was interested in producing, and Kaye was particularly 
impressed by the culturally specific work from Eastern Europe such as the work 
produce by Jiri Trnka. Combining their skills, they began to draw up a business plan 
and strategy in order to develop an animation studio. Kaye explains this lack of 
imaginative or culturally specific content that characterised the South African 
industry as being largely due to the market?s ignorance and lack of understanding of 
animation as a creative technique. The market?s knowledge of animation was also 
limited to American animation and was unaware of the long history of stop-motion 
animation and the innovative work created by animators such as Norman McLaren, 
Jiri Trnka, Jan Svankmajer, Co Hoederman and the Brothers Quay.  
 
7.4 Early work and studio growth: 1996-1999 
 
Kaye explains that one of the fundamental parts of their business plan was to educate 
the market about stop-motion animation in order to create work for their studio 
(Kaye). They developed an Animation Showreel with examples of Trowell?s work, 
and began making appointments for animation screenings with advertising agencies 
and potential financiers. They put together a reel of their work as well as examples of 
alternative stop-motion animation. This included work by Trnka, Svankmajer and 
other important stop-motion animators from Canada and England. In this way they 
were able to educate the market about the potential of stop-motion animation 
techniques and to demonstrate their ability to create animation with similar techniques 
(Kaye).  
 
They set up their first studio in a three-metre space in Trowell?s house in the Cape 
Town suburb of Observatory. Trowell explains that along with the intense heat 
generated by the lights in such a small space, it was difficult to work in because it also 
had wooden floorboards (Trowell). Their first project was The Paraffin Safety 
Campaign (1997) for which they created two twenty-five second long educational 
clay animations for the Paraffin Safety Association of Southern Africa (See DVD - 
Disk 01). 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 102 
 
 
Paraffin is used in over half of all South African homes and accidents involving 
paraffin occur regularlyii (Paraffin Safety Association). The two educational shorts 
were created to inform people of the dangers of paraffin and represent a significant 
point in South African animation history, as they featured the first animated black 
South African family. Both Trowell and Kaye felt strongly about localizing content 
and creating animation that could communicate with South Africans using characters 
and relevant contexts with which South African audiences could relate (Kaye).  
 
During this period they produced animations with various stop-motion techniques and 
styles that had never been used before in South Africa. They created several popular 
and well-known commercials (See DVD - Disk 01) such as: Soviet Clothing (1997), 
Plascon Woodcare (1998), Royco Potato Bake (1999), I-Net Bridge (1999), Slo-Jo 
(1999), as well as a second clay animation for the Paraffin Safety Association of 
South Africa, Paraffin Safety Campaign (1999). They also created a short ninety 
second insert, Huapango De Los Volcanos (1997), for a short film from Mexico as 
well as a pilot for a feature length stop-motion film, One Hot Day in Africa (1998). 
Triggerfish was using techniques and styles rarely seen in South Africa, such as 
pixilation in the Soviet Clothing commercial, and solid wooden puppetsiii in the 
Plascon Woodcare commercial (See DVD - Disk 01). They also began using clay 
animation in innovative ways in the Slo-Jo commercial as well as in Huapango De 
Los Volcanos (See DVD - Disk 01). Clay animation had been mostly used in South 
Africa to depict recognisable characters, such as those used by Van Blerk in his short 
clay films. Triggerfish began using far more stylised clay characters. In this way 
Figure 91: Still from 
?Paraffin Safety Campaign?. 
Paraffin Safety Association 
of Southern Africa. 
                                                                                                               Haycock 103 
Figure 93: Still from ?Royco Potato Bake?.  
 
Figure 92: Still from ?Plascon Woodcare?. 
 
Triggerfish developed a reputation as an innovative and distinctive South African 
animation studio. The use of stop-motion techniques contrasted with the majority of 
other animation studios, who were primarily producing 3D and 2D computer 
animation, and in this way they were able to stand out. During this period the studio 
expanded in size, hiring several people to help build sets, and moved to an office 
space in the suburb of Woodstock, that had concrete floors and a blacked out shooting 
space sectioned off. Kaye feels that what made the work they produced so special was 
the crew itself. She states that at Triggerfish they saw animation as an art form, and 
hired people with fine art degrees, such as Jane Applebee, who contributed 
significantly to the development of the studio?s distinctive style.  
 
 
 
 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 104 
Figure 94: Still from ?Slo-jo?. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7.5 The Children?s Television Workshop and Takalani Sesame 
 
By 1999, Triggerfish?s reputation attracted the attention of The Children?s Television 
Workshop, which was looking to outsource cheaper animation from countries like 
South Africa for the American edutainment show Sesame Street. Triggerfish was 
commissioned to produce twenty stop-motion animations between twenty and thirty 
seconds in length. Trowell explains that they used this as an opportunity to 
Figure 95: Still from ?Huapango De Los Volcanos?. 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 105 
experiment and produce stop-motion with a distinctly South African feel and began 
designing puppets influenced by South African culture. (See figure 96) 
 
The following year the Children?s Television Workshop released a South African 
version of the edutainment show Sesame Street called Takalani Sesame. Impressed 
with the distinctive style of the shorts, the Children?s Television Workshop once 
again commissioned Triggerfish to produce another set of stop-motion shorts in 
collaboration with The Video Lab, Cape Town. Trowell explains that they were 
beginning to create puppets that were based on the craft art that was sold on South 
African streets and craft markets, developing a style of puppet that was distinctly 
South African (Trowell). Trowell explains that the design of these puppets grew in 
sophistication and scope over the years. ?To begin with we looked at traditional 
sculpture and animated traditional Zulu dolls and stuff. Then we looked at the 
amazing street art around us ? it was more modern, accessible and recognizable to the 
younger generation. Wire constructed objects were just starting to flood the streets 
and plastic chickens ? those were the two we used the most. In an effort to support 
street artist we often bought or commissioned them to make characters for us, 
especially the chickens. We?d have to make adjustments to armatures and additional 
bits and pieces for animation? (Trowell).  
 
 
 
They developed characters that were popular and used in all of the subsequent 
animation they produced for future series of Takalani Sesame. These included a group 
of plastic chickens, a wire farmer, sculpted wooden birds, and a wire chameleon (See 
Figure 96: Still from ?Dung 
Beetle? - Children?s 
Television Workshop, (1999-
 2004). 
Stories and Design drawn 
from South African 
environment. 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 106 
Figures 97 - 100). The most popular characters were the plastic chickens, which were 
used to create a total of ten shorts, as well as a clay animated character called Red See 
Figure 101), which was also Trowell?s favourite character. By this stage, Trowell had 
stepped back from animating to play the role of director. However, Red was a 
character she had designed and she continued to animate him herself.  
 
 
 
 
Figure 97: Plastic chickens 
in ?Chickens in a Tangle?  
Children?s Television 
Workshop 
(1999-2004) 
Figure 98: Wire Farmer and 
Cow in ?Season Surprises?   
Children?s Television 
Workshop 
(1999-2004) 
Figure 99 - Chameleon in 
?Dancing Chameleon? - 
Children?s Television 
Workshop 
(1999-2004) 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 107 
 
 
 
7.6 Takalani Sesame season two: 2001 
 
By 2001, Triggerfish was producing a steady amount of commercials as well as the 
animation for Takalani Sesame. The studio had grown to a size that eventually made 
it necessary to move to a larger space. The new studio was situated in Woodstock in 
an old beer brewery. It had two huge offices. One was used for pre-production and 
had a sectioned off area for set building. When the studio was at its busiest, they 
worked with a crew of fifteen people that consisted of a permanent production 
manager, set and puppet builders, three animators, as well as freelancers to 
supplement the core crew.  
 
Triggerfish?s success climaxed in 2001, when the studio was commissioned to 
produce forty minutes of animation for the second season of Takalani Sesame. This 
was the largest single international animation commission ever received by a studio in 
South Africa. It was impossible for Triggerfish to complete all of the forty minutes of 
animation and they sub-contracted other South African studios to produce animation 
Figure 100: Wooden bird 
puppets in ?Bird Doctor? - 
Children?s Television 
Workshop 
(1999-2004). 
 
Figure 101: Red in ?Red 
Sneezes? - Children?s Television 
Workshop, (1999-2004) 
 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 108 
for the series. This project was the largest collaboration of animation studios in South 
Africa and is a significant moment in the development of the South African animation 
industry.  
 
7.7 The South African animation industry: 2001-2005  
 
Kaye explains that before the collaborative project on Takalani in 2001, the South 
African industry was stagnant. Following this project, the industry started to grow 
exponentially (Kaye). Before the Takalani Sesame project, it was believed that it was 
impossible to produce forty minutes of animation on the scale and in the time frame 
allowed for the collaborative project (Kaye).  
 
Out of the success of this collaboration, there grew a new animation industry and the 
formation of new studios. Kaye says this helped develop competition in the market, 
which she says was healthy for the industry (Kaye). The growth in studios was 
accompanied by an increase in the number of schools and courses training animators. 
More importantly, it showed that the animation industry in South Africa was capable 
of producing high quality animated work in a large quantity (Kaye). Apparently the 
collaboration was so successful that the Children?s Television Workshop asked Kaye 
to put together a blueprint from a business perspective of how Triggerfish was able to 
achieve it. She was flown out to present the blueprint to the team, which was 
producing a new branch of the show in Bangladesh. (See DVD - Disk 01 for Takalani 
Sesame animations).  
 
7.8 The decline of stop-motion in South Africa: 2001-2005 
 
Over the next few years Triggerfish continued producing commercials as well as 
several more series of stop-motion animation for Sesame Street. During this time 
Kaye and Trowell were also involved in the formation of groups such as Animation 
SA and Animation Exchange. However, in 2005, Trowell and Kaye decided to step 
back from Triggerfish and pursue new opportunities, and they sold the Triggerfish 
brand to Stuart Forrest, one of the animators working at the studio. Kaye explains that 
they had developed Triggerfish from very little into a very significant business and 
had also helped to develop animation in South Africa by educating and changing 
                                                                                                               Haycock 109 
perspectives in the industry. However, by 2005, from a business perspective, she felt 
that the studio had ?hit a glass ceiling? (Kaye). As a result of obstacles involving 
financial, broadcasting, and distribution perspectives, she explains that she felt that 
she was unable to contribute to the development of the animation industry any more 
by working at Triggerfish, and decided to pursue other opportunities in the digital 
field (Kaye).  
 
Trowell explains, ?Stop-frame was enjoying much less attention and advertising 
budgets were dropping. Even the most recent season of Takalani couldn?t afford us? 
(Trowell Email). Stuart Forrest had worked at the studio as an animator. Together 
with a partner he bought into the studio in an effort to keep it running. However, 
without Kaye providing direction as producer it was difficult to maintain the studio, 
and Trowell left the studio shortly after this. They sold their stakes in the studio to 
Forrest, who began to gradually change the primary focus of the studio from stop-
 motion to 3D CGI (Trowell Email).  
 
The stop-motion animation produced by Triggerfish is significant, as it represents a 
milestone in the history of stop-motion in South Africa. Inspired by local street art, 
this was the first stop-motion produced in South Africa with a distinctly South 
African feel in terms of its content and style. In the following chapter the aesthetics of 
these animations will be examined in more detail. 
                                                
i This was part of Collins? research for her Masters research report, Beyond Cartoons: 
An Exploration of Alternative forms of Animation. 
ii The majority of domestic paraffin accidents involve children, as they are more likely 
to mistake it for water or cooldrink. This is a major problem in South Africa, and in 
particular in the South African townships, where poorer South African families rely 
on paraffin as an affordable fuel source. It is estimated that 80 000 children ingest 
paraffin every year in South Africa. This figure is based on national surveys and 
hospital records between 1996 and 2001 (Paraffin Safety Association). 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 110 
8. Case Study: Triggerfish stop-motion produced for Takalani Sesame 
 
This chapter is a discussion of the aesthetics of the stop-motion shorts created by 
Triggerfish for Takalani Sesame between the years 2000 and 2005. These animations 
were very short, ranging from twenty to sixty seconds in length, and because of this, 
the discussion will not focus on one particular animation, but rather discuss several of 
the episodes and the recurring characters produced for the series during these years. 
Using the parameters outlined in the previous section on stop-motion aesthetics, these 
films will be discussed in terms of production context, narrative and structure, three-
 dimensional forms, three-dimensional spaces, sound design and animation. This will 
then be followed by a concluding discussion on whether a case can be made that these 
films display a uniquely South African stop-motion aesthetic. The films discussed in 
this chapter can be found on the attached DVD - Disk 01. It is suggested that the 
reader should watch these films while reading this chapter.  
 
8.1 Production context 
 
Takalani Sesame is the South African version of the American Sesame Street 
television show. The show was launched in 2000, and is broadcast in multiple 
languages on weekday mornings on SABC 1 and 2 (Mbogo 12). The Children?s 
Television Workshop based in New York sets up franchises of the show in various 
countries in the world. Although the international versions of the show still remain 
under strict guidelines put in place by the American creators, they work 
collaboratively with local writers, filmmakers, artists and animators in an effort to 
ensure that the show is culturally relevant to the country in which it is created and 
broadcast (Mbogo 12).  
 
The show was a co-production between the South African Department of Education, 
the SABC, local South African production companies, and the New York based 
Children?s Television Workshop (Mbogo 12). The show is made up of scenarios 
ranging from five to ten minutes in length that feature Muppeti characters and human 
actors. The target market of the show are children between the ages of two and seven 
years old, whom easily lose concentration. In order to address this, short animated 
                                                                                                               Haycock 111 
segments are inserted between these scenes with the purpose of re-engaging the 
audience members before moving on to the next Muppet scene.  
 
Triggerfish produced the stop-motion with a budget of fifty thousand rand per minute. 
The series was produced at the Triggerfish Animation studio, situated at the Old 
Castle Brewery in Woodstock, which was made up of two spaces, one of which was 
used for pre-production and the other for shooting (Trowell). At its busiest, the studio 
employed fifteen people. The core team was made up of three animators, a production 
manager and a group of character/set designers and builders (Trowell).  
 
The animated shorts were shot with a 35mm Mitchell camera, as well as a digital 
camera, and the studio had its own lights and edit suit (Trowell). Working with a 
document that outlined the learning curriculum in each episode, Trowell would create 
written concepts of animated shorts that matched the learning objectives in each 
episode and then send these to the storyboard artist, Jane Appleby, who would create 
the storyboards, which were then sent with the concepts to the head Sesame Street 
office in New York (Trowell). Once approved, character and set would be designed 
visually, and then constructed. The set building team was made up of three people and 
the animators were expected to build their own puppets. The animator, understanding 
the expectations of the scene would be able to design and construct a puppet based on 
these expectations. Trowell explains that this kept the process efficient by minimising 
the amount of problems occurring during production (Trowell). Generally, the studio 
would shoot two shorts simultaneously with one or two animators working on each 
(Trowell). 
 
The stop-motion animation was created to support the show and, therefore, should be 
seen in the South African context in which the show was produced. ?Takalani Sesame 
has been crafted in a way that not only represents the diversity in race and culture of 
the various social groups in South Africa but also seeks to create an understanding 
that is crucial for a spirit of co-existence? (Mbogo 24). Takalani Sesame was thus 
?shaped? to address South Africa?s past and the effects that the apartheid policy, that 
enforced segregation and inequality had on children growing up during and after that 
time (Mbogo 14-15). Thus the show was crafted in such a way as to embrace the New 
South African ideology, where all races and languages in South Africa are represented 
                                                                                                               Haycock 112 
and respected. However, as Mbogo points out, this is a daunting task considering that 
South Africa is made up of many different cultures and has eleven official languages. 
In order to deal with this problem, the show uses a multilingual and cultural approach, 
with characters who are from various cultural backgrounds and speak different South 
African languages (21-23). The same episode is also broadcast in different languages 
throughout the week in order to address this problem. It is clear from this that the 
issue of language, culture and representation are problematic when creating content 
for South African children. Animation provides significant strategies for dealing with 
these issues, which will be discussed in the following discussion on aesthetics.  
 
8.2 Narrative and structure 
 
The genre of the show is edutainment, and its aim is to use entertainment to educate 
South African children between the ages of two and seven in a culturally relevant 
manner. The content of the show is controlled by the Children?s Television Workshop 
in New York, who provide all involved in the Takalalani Sesame project with an 
extensive documents that states and motivates their educational objectives and 
provides strict guidelines for creating content (Trowell Email). Thus scripts and 
concepts for the show and animations must support the teaching curriculum and 
education goals prescribed by the Children?s Television Workshop.  
 
Based on a ?Piagetiantii perspective of child development? Sesame Street describes 
their target audience of two to seven year olds thus: ?While their ability to infer or 
abstract is limited, they can be quite analytical. Given the former, however, it means 
that for the most part they need to see, touch or experience things in order to learn. 
The use of concrete examples, real things, or pictures, therefore becomes vital? 
(Baxen 54). However, the curriculum also takes into account the context of South 
Africa, in which children are ?found in both rural and urban settings that are 
linguistically, socially, culturally and economically diverse? (Baxen 54). The content 
of the show incorporates the economic, cultural and social diversity of South African 
children and in particular places emphasis on disadvantaged South African children 
by incorporating the ?contextual realities of children in a South African environment? 
who are faced with factors that hinder their access to education such as disease, 
malnutrition and social barriers (Baxen 13). Thus, the narratives and structure of the 
                                                                                                               Haycock 113 
stop-motion animation being discussed must be understood with these parameters in 
mind.   
 
The animations are structured linearly and are made up of events that follow 
sequences of cause and effect. An episode of Takalani Sesame focuses on specific 
competencies and educational goals, which are divided into three categories: 
?literacy, numeracy and life skills? (Baxen 17). The animations were scripted so as to 
support specific episodes with specific themes, as well as incorporate cultural 
specificity. Generally, the stop-motion animations feature recurring characters such as 
Red, the wire farmer, the beetles, and the chickens. Sometimes, an animation may just 
demonstrate a basic concept. This is demonstrated in Red Brushes his Hair, Red 
brushing his teeth, and Red Goes Swimming. They show the character Red performing 
everyday actions, and are aimed at encouraging life skills such as looking after one?s 
body by practising healthy living and taking necessary safety precautions.  
 
 
 
The wire farmer is a recurring character that is general shown in animations that deal 
with rural, and environmental themes. Elements of Nature and Season Surprises 
demonstrate the ability of animation to communicate biological concepts and cycles 
in a manner that is easily understood. Elements of Nature also teaches the cycle of 
plant growth and where food comes from. The farmer digs a hole and plants a seed. 
Later it rains and a plant grows. Season Surprises shows the cycle of the seasons and 
the physical attributes associated with each season. These animations teach the 
importance of nature and encourage the audience to look after the environment and 
animals.  
Figure 102: Red in ?Red 
Brushes Teeth?, lifeskills 
narrative - Children?s Television 
Workshop 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 114 
The beetles are often used to demonstrate learning themes that deal with friendship. 
Entering Social Groups aims to encourage friendship and cooperation. The animation 
opens on six green beetles gathered in a circle. They communicate to each other by 
singing with sounds created by flapping their wings and twitching their antennae. A 
different and larger red beetle enters the frame and communicates to the green beetles 
in the same way but with a different set of sounds. The green beetles pull away and 
huddle closer together, startled by the different beetle at whom they stare silently. 
Feeling rejected, the red beetle sags sadly and turns away to leave. The green beetles 
suddenly move towards him and bring him into their group. In a circle they sing 
together and their different sounds provide point and counter point, creating a new 
song. The episode encourages making new friends, cooperation, and tolerance and 
respect for diversity.  
 
 
 
Figure 103: Beetles in 
?Entering Social Groups?, - 
Friendship and Diversity - 
Symbol of dancing in circle 
used to create metaphor for 
friendship and diversity in 
South Africa - Children?s 
Television Workshop 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 115 
The chickens are also used to deal with themes of friendship. Chicken Recycle 
encourages caring for the environment by means of recycling waste material. Three 
chickens inspect a garbage pile made up of cardboard boxes and paper. They work 
together to pull the boxes and other materials way from the pile and build a stack of 
boxes as homes for themselves, and use the streamers of paper to make nests. The 
episode encourages the recycling of paper-based materials, as well as showing the 
importance of working together to achieve goals.  
 
 
 
8.3 Three-dimensional forms 
 
The films  feature both clay and puppet animation. The designs and constructions of 
these forms are to a large extent influenced by African themes, culture and tourist 
craft art.  
 
The puppet forms that are used in these animations are created from a variety of 
materials. Those under discussion include the wire farmer, beetles, chickens and 
another character, a chameleon. They are all inspired by South African street art and 
curio sculptures made with wire, beads, plastic bags and tins cans. This type of 
sculpture was first made in the townships and rural areas of South Africa, where 
?small African boys? made toys from galvanized wire, which could be found in 
abundance (Rankin 71). As South Africans became urbanized, toys were created from 
Figure 105: Chicken 
recycling discarded 
material in ?Chicken 
Recycle? - Caring for 
the Environment and 
Playing - Children?s 
Television Workshop 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 116 
Figure 106: Street Art - Masimba Dombo,a bead and wire artists 
works and displays his crafts on the street. Johannesburg. 
 
a new range of materials that could now be found in abundance in the new 
environment, like wire and discarded soft drink cans. Rankin explains that these 
innovative items attracted the attention of tourists, who bought them and the craft 
eventually spread to the city streets and urban craft markets in South Africa, where 
adults now produce these items as novelties and souvenirs for tourists (Rankin 71).  
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 107.1: Street Art - Bead and wire curios. Masimba Dombo. 
Johannesburg. 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 117 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 108: Street Art - Bead and wire curios made by Masimba Dombo. 
Johannesburg. 
 
Figure 109: Chameleon made with telephone wire in ?Chameleon 
Dancing?. Children?s Television Workshop 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 118 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 110: Wire and Bead Chameleons. Artist - Munyaradzi Alfred. 
Johannesburg. 
 
Figure 111: Wire Farmer and Cow in ?Season Surprises?. Children?s Television 
Workshop 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 119 
All of the puppets are constructed using a basic wire frame and armature, which 
remains part of the overall aesthetic design. Using this basic frame, other materials are 
then added to create various puppets. The Wire Farmer is a simple two dimensional 
wire outline, and fabric is stitched onto his wire frame to create clothes. The beetles in 
Entering Social Groups and Finding a Button, are constructed with a similar basic 
wire frame, which is covered with strands of colourful wire. The wings are created 
from cuttings from discarded tin cans. The Chameleon in Dancing Chameleon is 
constructed in a similar manner, using a basic wire frame, which is covered in 
colourful telephone wire. The 
chickens are created using 
discarded plastic bags. The bags 
are cut into strips and then built 
up around the basic wire frame 
to create the shape and body of 
the chickens. Red plasticine is 
used to create other elements 
such as the beak, while simple 
cardboard of different colours is 
used for the eyes.  
 
 
 
Figure 112: Beetles made with tin 
cans and wire in ?Beetles find a 
Button?. Children?s Television 
Workshop. 
 
Figure 113: Street 
Art: guitars made out 
of tin cans. Artist - 
Munyaradzi Alfred 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 120 
 
 
 
 
 
All these puppets are constructed out of easily found material, and usually consist of 
discarded urban debris. In this way the puppets clearly are similar to those constructed 
by the Brothers Quay, who also used discarded elements to create the forms of their 
animations. The puppets are photorealistic examples of semi-abstract South African 
curio art, which is commonly found in both urban and rural areas of the country. They 
are, therefore, well suited to the purpose of edutainment, as they are objects that a 
South African child would easily identify and recognise, since they originate from 
Figure 114: Street Art: giraffes made out of tin cans. Artist Kenneth Taruvinga. 
 
Figure 115: Plastic Chickens 
in ?Chicken Tangle?. 
Children?s Television 
Workshop 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 121 
their ?contextual realities?. These objects are like toys, which have magically come to 
life However, they are not used to create any uncanny effectsiii but rather to create an 
object, which any South African child will be able to identify from his or her 
environment.  
 
The clay form of Red is in some way also more similar to African sculpture than it is 
to the Western sculptural tradition. Like Jay Clay, Red is more abstract in his design, 
especially in comparison to the very naturalistic clay forms sculpted by Van Blerk. 
Red is made up of a single colour, and sculpted into a very basic, almost geometric 
shape. For facial details, Trowell has sculpted simple holes for the eyes and mouth. 
Although not the artist?s intention, this design clearly bears some resemblance to 
traditional African mask sculpture.  
 
 
 
However, in some ways Red is a very general character and this highlights another 
significant aspect of the puppets. Red was ?a genderless, one clay character that could 
represent any cultural group. Although he was not particularly African, he embraced 
the idea that we are a multi-cultural (society) and he had an enormous appeal? 
(Trowell). Although the curio art objects are products of black informal South African 
artists, they also do not represent any specific race or gender. They are colourful 
collages of found materials, and the diversity of their materials is symbolic of the 
cultural diversity of South Africa and, therefore, all of these forms encourage the 
ideals of the New South Africa and act against the inequality and segregation, which 
were characteristic of apartheid South Africa.  
Figure 116: Still from ?Red 
Brushes his Hair?. Children?s 
Television Workshop 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 122 
8.4 Three-dimensional spaces 
 
The environments clearly incorporate South African craft and design elements into 
the aesthetic of the spaces. In Chicken Recycle, a flat wall serves as a background on 
which a traditional Ndebele two-dimensional design has been placed. The sets 
constructed to create the environments are clearly not realistic spaces at all and tend 
to be highly stylised environments that can be recognised as constructed sets. A 
common aesthetic aspect in most of these stop-motion shorts is the combination of 
two-dimensional and three-dimensional spatial elements.  
 
In Beetles Find a Button, as well as all the wire farmer animations, simple flat sheets 
of coloured cardboard have been cut out to represent background elements such as 
grass, or mountains. The environments, like the puppets, are commonly constructed 
out of refuse material, as well as South African curio art objects. The sets in Elements 
of Nature are constructed from a wide variety of materials and different styles. The 
ground is created out of plasticine, while the blades of grass are created from tin cans. 
Cardboard is cut out and painted to create the form of hills and the sun. The cloud is 
created from bent wire, and filled with blue beads that represent rain. These two-
 dimensional elements are stuck against a flat surface that has been painted blue to act 
as the background and even cast shadows. Strands of different colours of string are 
used to create a rainbow.  
 
 
 
Figure 117:  African set 
design. Still from ?Chicken 
Recycle?. Children?s 
Television Workshop 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 123 
 
 
 
 
Figure 118: Mixed materials in set design create 2D and 3D spaces. Still from 
?Elements of Nature?. Children?s Television Workshop. 
 
Figure 119: Rain cloud made with blue beads. Still from ?Elements of 
Nature?. Children?s Television Workshop. 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 124 
In Entering Social Groups, wire flowers, a very common South African curio art 
object, are placed in the environment. This mixture of curio art objects, refuse 
material and two-dimensional elements to construct sets creates a similar effect as 
found in Gumby or Jay Clay. An environment is created that appeals to the 
imagination and fantasy worlds of three to seven year old children. Children may also 
recognise the elements used to construct the set and therefore they may be encouraged 
to decode the film?s construction. The learning process is more effective by using 
these types of cultural forms 
 
 
 
 
 
8.5 Sound and animation 
 
It is important to discuss the use of sound and animation in the stop-motion animated 
shorts together. As mentioned previously, South Africa is a country with eleven 
official languages, and this becomes problematic when creating film or animated 
content for South African audiences. Takalani Sesame was created for all South 
Figure 120: Mixing materials. Wire flowers, rocks and sand used in set. 
Beetles in ?Entering Social Groups?. Children?s Television Workshop 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 125 
African cultural groups and the use of sound in the stop-motion animations created by 
Triggerfish demonstrates how animation is suited to overcome this obstacle. There is 
no dialogue used in the animations and the animations rely on what Wells calls ?the 
dynamic of musicality? (Wells 46). The animations all use music, which has an Afro-
 centric sound and feel and no dialogue is ever used. This is demonstrated in Entering 
Social Groups, which relies on the use of the narrative strategy identified by Wells 
and called ?choreography?. The animation is timed and planned to music to create 
dance like sequences. By using this strategy, the symbol of the dancing group of 
beetles and contrasting musical themes becomes a metaphor for cooperation and 
tolerance between the diverse cultural groups of South Africa.  
 
The puppets in all three of the animated sequences are also made from solid materials 
and therefore, like the puppets made in the Czech style, are limited in terms of their 
ability to create facial expressions. As a result, the animation relies more on the use of 
posture, posing, and timing to communicate personality, thought process and 
emotions. However, these puppet performances generally lack any depth in terms of 
character, and the movements are characterised by sameness, especially when 
compared to the sophisticated use of performance displayed by Van Blerk in The 
Chimes. This is evident in the animated sequences, which feature the Chickens. There 
is no variation between the performances of the chickens, with the exception of the 
baby chicken, which is animated with quicker and more relaxed movements in 
contrast to the older chickens.  
 
 
Figure 121: Baby chicken. 
?Chicken Soccer?. Children?s 
Television Workshop. 
                                                                                                               Haycock 126 
However, this is not so in the clay animation sequences with Red and Bugley. Timing, 
posing and performance are used in these sequences to create distinctive characters 
with their own personalities and reactions. However, the performance and movements 
are highly stylised and relatively simple in comparison with the sophisticated 
performances created by Van Blerk in his short films. In a sense this stylisation of 
performance is imposed by the structural requirements of the animated sequences, 
which are required to be short and simple in order to communicate effectively with 
the target audience of three to seven year olds. 
 
8.6 A unique South African stop-motion aesthetic?  
 
The content and aesthetic elements of these animations are largely culturally specific 
to South Africa and this is especially apparent in the puppet design and construction 
that was used in these animations. However, it is necessary to examine these forms 
more closely and discuss what exactly it is that makes them uniquely South African.  
 
Like Jiri Trnka, Trowell and Kaye placed value on traditional culture and art in order 
to create a specifically relevant type of animation. However, Jiri Trnka created a 
puppet aesthetic that was based on Czechoslovakia?s long history and tradition of 
puppet theatre, while the South African tourist craft art that Triggerfish drew 
inspiration from is a relatively new artistic development in South Africa.  
 
Traditional ?authentic? African art was originally ?intended to function in a 
traditional social or religious way? but as a result of European colonialism, this 
original function has been distorted by the European view of the function of art as 
primarily being economic and decorative (Collet 15-16). This has resulted in the 
mutation of African art into tourist art, the creation of which is defined by how the 
tourist views Africa, and it therefore lacks integrity, since the art is constructed for the 
preconceived notions of tourists (Collet 28-29).  Curio art can be seen as an extension 
of how the foreigner sees South Africa, rather than as an accurate expression of how 
these craft artists see themselves.  
 
Trowell herself explained that she found the use of these craft objects interesting as it 
dealt with the question of how the tourist views South Africa or rather how South 
                                                                                                               Haycock 127 
Africa is depicted through a lens (Trowell Interview), and which she expresses in the 
film Souvenir (2005). The film follows a tourist through a South African craft market. 
He is filming everything around him, and through the camera he sees a table full of 
these curio type objects come to life.   
 
 
 
 
 
Therefore, the animation of these curio objects could be seen as the fulfilment of the 
foreigner?s na?ve and idyllic view of African culture and life. However, this view and 
argument was taken from Collet?s Master?s Research report, ?Re-imagining African 
Tourist Art: a case study of the Rosebank Craft Market?, and is problematic in some 
ways since it focuses primarily on paintings and wooden sculptures, which can be 
seen as having originated from traditional African art before the arrival of European 
colonialists.  
Figure 122:  Curio objects 
come to life. Still from 
Souvenir.  
 
Figure 122:  Curio objects 
come to life. Still from 
Souvenir.  
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 128 
The development of crafts created out of wire and urban materials, however, is a 
much more recent development, which as explained above, was a consequence of the 
urbanisation of the black South African population during the twentieth century. 
Manaka explains that artists are shaped by their surroundings and ?in the past, African 
artists have demonstrated their exploitation of the natural habitat with the marriage of 
technical skill and artistic expression? (9). This is evident in the use of organic 
materials such rock and wood.  
 
The establishment of the mining industry by 
white settlers in South Africa, who passed laws 
that dispossessed the land belonging to black 
South African?s ?saw the dawn of an industrial 
epoch? and this urbanisation of the black 
population destroyed their culture and sense of 
community (Manaka 9). In some ways, works 
created by South African sculptors in the nineties 
share similarities with this craft art. Willie Bester 
used found ?urban debris?, such as barbed wire, 
cans and other scrap metals to create The Soldier 
in 1990, a heavily armed and dehumanized 
robot-like automaton, to comment on the police 
force at the time in South Africa (Rankin 90). 
Walter Oltmann created An African Group in 
1985, a series of intricate and organic wire 
sculptures that are ?iconic? and suggest the 
spiritual (Rankin 161-162).  
 
 
 
 
This use of urban materials in some way arose out of economic limitations. South 
African sculptor, Vincent Baloyi, originally began working with wooden materials. 
However, when he moved to Johannesburg, he began creating sculpture with sheets of 
scrap metal, which he would weld together. Rankin explains that this arose from the 
Figure 123: The Soldier by Willie Bester 
(Rankin 90) 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 129 
difficulty of obtaining wood in ?Johannesburg, where scrap metal is more readily 
available? (85). Urbanisation imposed economic limitations on black South Africans 
by forcing them into low paying jobs and informal settlements created out of scrap 
metal and urban debris. Thus, readily available urban materials like wire and tin were 
used to construct toys, and later this evolved into the construction of craft objects, 
which craftsmen with limited access to materials would build in order to make a 
living. These curio art objects are popular because they demonstrate a highly 
innovative use of scrap materials to create intricate works of three-dimensional 
sculpture.  
 
Thus, while not ?traditional African art?, these curio sculptures made from garbage 
are products of South Africa?s history, and allow the representation and expression of 
a previously marginalised and oppressed South African cultural group. The use of 
refuse to construct puppets and sets is a distinctively South African aesthetic. 
 
Thus, the stop-motion animations created by Triggerfish display a unique South 
African stop-motion aesthetic. Not only do they utilise puppet, set and sound design 
elements that are distinctly South African, but they are also defined by the use of 
narratives and scenarios that were written specifically for South Africa. Chicken 
Recycle shows chickens made out of recycled plastic bags, working together to use 
boxes and garbage to build houses for themselves, and is clearly drawn in reference to 
the large number of South Africans who live in informal settlements which consist of 
shacks built out of recycled urban debris. These animations are very much influenced 
by a style and aesthetic that is South African, as well as dealing with the 
contemporary South African issues of reconciliation, multiculturalism and tolerance. 
In contrast to the stop-motion created by Klaybow Films and XYZoo, these 
animations were created for South African audiences and use a distinctive South 
African style. Therefore, the stop-motion animated films created by Triggerfish 
clearly represent the development of a uniquely South African stop-motion aesthetic. 
                                                                                                               Haycock 130 
Figure 124: Chicken building houses from discarded materials in ?Chicken 
Recycle. Children?s Television Workshop 
 
 
 
 
                                                
i Muppets are puppet characters used in Sesame Street. They controlled by a human 
puppeteer in real time and filmed live. 
ii Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist. He proposed that humans go through four 
stages of cognitive development (Bexen 7). 
iii Freud states that ?the uncanny? can arise when we become uncertain whether an 
object is lifeless because it becomes animate (Freud 135). The Brothers Quay create 
moments of the uncanny by taking old toys and animating them in unfamiliar and 
threatening context.  
                                                                                                               Haycock 131 
9. Conclusions and speculations 
 
Furniss states that three-dimensional stop-motion animation has never been as 
commercially successful or as widely practiced as 2D cel animation and tends to rise 
to the top in certain places and at certain times (Furniss 155). When I first began this 
research, I identified that South Africa, between 1990 and 2005, was one such place 
and time and I assumed that the work produced by XYZoo and Triggerfish, 
represented an apex in stop-motion animation production in South Africa.  
 
Examining the filmographies of stop-motion animation produced in South Africa 
between 1980 and 2005 reveals that this assumption is somewhat flawed. Between 
1981 and 1987, Klaybow Films produced approximately 595 minutes of clay 
animation, most of which was commissioned by the SABC, while between 1990 and 
2005, XYZoo produced approximately 121 minutes of stop-motion animation and 
between 1996 and 2005, Triggerfish produced approximately 60 minutes of stop-
 motion animation. However, all three of these studios made significant contributions 
to the development of stop-motion as well as to the South African animation industry. 
The history of these studios and the work they produced must be understood in terms 
of the contextual factors that may have influenced them.  
 
9.1 The Evolution of South African animation 
 
Through this research, I have been able to identify different phases in the South 
African animation industry. Before television was introduced in South Africa in 1976, 
the animation industry was centred in Johannesburg and was primarily concerned 
with the production of 2D advertising, as well special effects and titles in live-action 
films for cinema display. Following the introduction of television broadcasting and 
the SABC, new opportunities arose and there was a significant shift towards the 
production of television animation for children. The end of the apartheid era resulted 
in the restructuring of the SABC, and during the 90s the broadcaster commissioned 
very few local animation productions. The result of this was that between 1990 and 
2000, animation in South Africa was focused primarily on the production of television 
commercials. During this period, Cape Town developed as the main centre for the 
industry. Between 2000 and 2005, the animation industry began to grow substantially 
                                                                                                               Haycock 132 
and South African studios became increasingly involved in the production of 
animation for international clients. South African animation has generally followed 
American trends, and has been dominated by 2D cel, and later 2D and 3D CGI in the 
90s. This can be attributed to the lack of animation training, as well as a general 
ignorance of alternative animation production techniques apart from those dominant 
in America. 
 
9.2 The development of stop-motion animation techniques 
 
3D stop-motion techniques do not lend themselves to the division of labour 
techniques or the principles of Taylorism. For this reason, 2D studio animation 
became the dominant mode of animation production in the first half of the twentieth 
century, while puppet and clay animation only saw significant development after the 
Second World War at the hands of talented individuals and small studios.  
 
Puppet animation developed in countries with a history of puppet theatre, such as 
Eastern Europe. In the 1950s, Czech animator Jiri Trnka drew on his country?s puppet 
theatre tradition to create his distinctive puppet animation, which inspired future 
generations of puppet animators throughout the world, such as Co Hoedeman in 
Canada and Khachiro Kawamoto in Japan. They were inspired by Trnka?s emphasis 
on cultural traditions and developed puppet animated films which were specifically 
relevant to Canadian and Japanese traditional puppet and storytelling traditions. The 
puppets are characterised by fixed facial expressions, and rely on gesture and posing 
to communicate story and emotion, rather than on dialogue or changing facial 
expressions. This is clearly why puppet animation techniques largely remained an 
alternative animation technique, as they were not able to follow the conventions of 
commercial animation. However, with advances in technology, animators like Henry 
Selick have been able to create puppet-animated films with popular appeal that have 
enjoyed widespread commercial success.  
 
Clay animation developed significantly in America, and Will Vinton can be regarded 
as the most important figure in the history of this technique. In the 1970s he 
originated modern clay animation techniques and developed a distinctive style that 
                                                                                                               Haycock 133 
showed that clay animation was able equal the appeal of 2D cel animation. He 
showed that clay animation could be sculpted and reshaped to create sophisticated 
character animation that had mass appeal. The rise in popularity of clay animation in 
the 80s and 90s is a result of his efforts, though today this contribution seems to have 
been forgotten. However, it was really Aardman Animation in Britain, which 
developed clay animation with a global appeal with the Wallace and Gromit films. 
Like puppet animation, the development of clay animation as a popular and 
commercially successful technique is largely due to technological advances. 
 
9.3 The evolution of South African stop-motion 
 
Berenson started the first South African animation studio dedicated to the production 
of clay animation, Klaybow Films, in 1981 and began to hire and train local artists. 
Berenson was part of a trend in South African animation during this period, which 
was characterised by the lack of any animation schools or courses. Shapurjee states 
that in the 1940s and the following decades, American and Western European 
professionals worked in South African studios, where they trained South African 
animators and, as a result, ?American and (western) European modes of animation 
production? greatly influenced South African animation (37). These include 
animators such as, Dennis Purchase from Britain, and Glen Coppens from Belgium.  
 
However, Berenson was from Romania and obviously influenced by Eastern 
European puppet theatre and animation traditions. Vinton was also clearly an 
influence on Berenson, who started Klaybow seven years after Vinton had won the 
Oscar for his film Closed Mondays. Berenson?s decision to open a clay animation 
studio was influenced by his Eastern European background, as well as Vinton and the 
emergence of the new medium of clay animation.  
 
The Cape Provincial Library is also very significant as it had an impressive archive of 
stop-motion that included animation by Starevich, Trnka, Svankmajer, Vinton, 
McLaren and Hoedeman. Although Klaybow Films eventually had to close down, its 
contribution to South African stop-motion is significant. The South Africans who 
worked at Klaybow were obviously influenced by Berenson and these animation 
screenings, and several of them are currently working in the South African animation 
                                                                                                               Haycock 134 
industry. The most important of these was Van Blerk. He carried on the Vinton 
tradition, and it is significant that he worked with Billy Budd Films to carry on 
producing the Clay Classics. However, what was significant about XYZoo and Van 
Blerk, was that he continued the tradition of training animators started by Berenson. 
Not only did he pass on the stop-motion skills he had learned while working at 
Klaybow, but also exposed Trowell to the stop-motion films at the Cape Provincial 
library. This was significant as it inspired Trowell to experiment with alternative stop-
 motion techniques and start Triggerfish with Emma Kaye. They continued the 
tradition of exposing others to alternative stop-motion animation, by showing this 
work to advertising agencies and potential financiers in order to educate the market 
and create new opportunities within the South African industry. These films would 
also be very influential in the work they produced for Takalani Sesame.  
 
It is clear that the production of stop-motion animation in South Africa developed as a 
result of the work of individuals who were inspired by the stop-motion produced by 
the likes of Vinton and Trnka. The role of the Cape Provincial Library is also 
significant and during this research I was unable to ascertain how the library came to 
assemble such an extensive and impressive collection of stop-motion animation. The 
history of the archive as well as the influence it may have had on other South African 
artists and animators would be valuable future research.  
 
9.4 South African Stop-Motion Aesthetics 
 
The work produced by Klaybow and XYZoo lacked any relevance to South Africa, 
and for this reason it could be easy to view this work as less valuable than the work 
produced by Triggerfish. However, it is important to understand that the content and 
aesthetics of these films must be discussed in terms of the contextual factors 
influencing the South African animation and live-action industry.  
 
During the 80s, animation in South Africa was predominantly created for the SABC. 
However, as the history of Klaybow reveals, it was impossible to create any content 
that had credibility or was representative of South Africa, as the SABC was involved 
in the distortion of the truth. The SABC also allocated low budgets and kept the 
ownership rights of the content they commissioned. This made it impossible to 
                                                                                                               Haycock 135 
develop a sustainable animation studio. Klaybow produced Bimbo?s Books during this 
period. This series clearly lacked any South African significance, was inspired by 
Western story telling traditions and popular American culture. Klaybow produced this 
series primarily as a showreel piece in order to market themselves to international 
clients, as this was the only way the studio could survive financially. Bimbo?s Books 
was impressive in terms of the quality and context of its production. It is also unusual 
in comparison to other animation content produced in South Africa during this period. 
Animation produced during the 80s was generally wholesome content for young 
children. Bimbo?s Books was a parody of wholesome fairytale animation for children, 
and combined clay animation with popular music to create a show that was clearly 
innovative for its place and time. 
 
In the nineties, the SABC rarely commissioned any animation and if they did, they 
offered only low budgets. During this time, animation studios primarily produced 
television commercials to survive, and the Billy Budd Films were a unique 
opportunity for a South African studio. Van Blerk?s strategy to survive in this limited 
market was to develop a small studio that produced commercials as well as the short 
films for Billy Budd Films. In this context, although produced for an American 
audience, the short films produced by XYZoo for Billy Budd Films are an impressive 
achievement. His strategy enabled him to develop his own skills as a character 
animator and director. This is evident in the films, which show his ability to create 
distinctive performances, as well as use camera and lighting in a sophisticated way. 
These films are now part of Billy Budd Film?s Clay Classics series, which could be 
considered as a separate genre of clay animation, and are a valuable addition to the 
history of clay animation production worldwide.  
 
Triggerfish was characterised by the producer/director relationship between Trowell 
and Kaye. Kaye?s understanding of business and Trowell?s knowledge of animation 
techniques was the core of Triggerfish?s success. Their strategy was characterised by 
educating the market and developing the industry in order to create work for their 
studio. The stop-motion they produced is highly innovative and was an important 
factor in their success, as it allowed them to develop a reputation. But it was the 
development of Takalani Sesame in South Africa, which allowed them to develop 
their distinctive South African style of stop-motion. They created stop-motion puppets 
                                                                                                               Haycock 136 
that were based on street art, made from wire, plastic, beads and tin cans. The sets 
were also characterised by this mix of materials and styles. The sets, puppets, music 
and content of these stop-motion films were created specifically for a South African 
audience, and largely dealt with themes relevant to the context of South Africa. 
Triggerfish?s ?trash? aesthetic characterised by a mixture of urban debris, styles and 
curio puppets, is representative of the diversity and multiculturalism of the New South 
Africa.  
 
9,5 Final thoughts 
 
The use of stop-motion animation in South Africa saw a serious decline in use from 
2005 onwards. Kaye explains that this is largely the result of the emergence of 3D 
CGI as the dominant form of animation production in South Africa. She explains that 
stop-motion is generally regarded as being out of date in comparison with the slick 
aesthetic created by 3D CGI, as well as being slower and more expensive to produce 
(Kaye). Despite this decrease in the production of stop-motion in South Africa, since 
2001, the animation industry in South Africa has developed significantly and ?service 
work continues to account for the bulk of work?. Local broadcasters still do not 
provide enough financial support for animation production. This research has shown 
that the SABC has continually restricted the development of animation in South 
Africa through a lack of financial support. Their practice of retaining the ownership 
rights of the content they commission also severely restricts animation production. In 
this environment it is impossible to develop stop-motion animation that is relevant to 
South Africa 
 
There are some similarities between Triggerfish?s ?trash? aesthetic and the 
Zimbabwean stop-motion film The Legend of The Sky Kingdom (2004). In this film, 
puppets were made out of junk collected from a rubbish dump. The film is regarded 
as the first ?junkmation? film (Vickers). By using junk, the budget of the film was 
lowered considerably and in some ways this is suited to animation production in 
Africa, where broadcasters allocate insufficient budgets for animation production. The 
?trash? aesthetic and ?junkmation? technique are very similar to pixilation techniques 
in the sense that they incorporate ready-mades to produce animation.   
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 137 
This research has revealed the significant role of Triggerfish in creating a uniquely 
South African stop-motion aesthetic as well as in helping to develop South Africa?s 
animation industry. The development of this South African ?trash? aesthetic by 
Triggerfish, represents the culmination of almost twenty years of stop-motion 
animation development in South Africa, which can be traced back through Lindsay 
Van Blerk to Ted Berenson and thus Eastern Europe. Klaybow Films, XYZoo and 
Triggerfish are unusual because they were involved in the production of 3D stop-
 motion, however they are clearly three of the most important studios in South African 
animation history. Triggerfish made significant contributions to the development of 
the South African industry through its involvement in the 2001 Takalani collaborative 
project, as well as its involvement in the formation of groups such as Animation SA 
and Animation Exchange. This research has thus revealed that 3D stop-motion 
animation, although a marginal and neglected form in most parts of the world, has 
played a vital role in the evolution of South African animation.  
 
Trowell and Kaye were like Trnka in the sense that they embraced traditional culture 
and placed importance on creating specifically relevant content. The unique stop-
 motion aesthetic developed by Triggerfish is a landmark in stop-motion history in 
South Africa. However, one feels that they have only scratched the surface of 
possibilities in terms of South African stop-motion. Like Trnka?s work, Triggerfish?s 
?trash? aesthetic can be regarded as the start of a stop-motion tradition on which to 
build future work. Considering that South African traditional art is predominantly 
three-dimensional, stop-motion animation would be specially suited to creating other 
uniquely South African animation aesthetics. There is still a wide range of three-
 dimensional African sculpture in wood and metal that can serve as future references 
for stop-motion material that would be unique to South Africa and highly innovative 
in terms of stop-motion created in other parts of the world. Future research into 
African sculpture, craft and storytelling traditions and how these could be 
incorporated into 3D stop-motion would be valuable future research. 
 
 
 
 
  
                                                                                                               Haycock 138 
Appendix A: South African Stop-Motion Timeline: 1980-2005 
 
1980 Ted and Marcel Berrenson move to South Africa. 
1981 Ted and Marcel Berrenson form Klaybow Films in Cape Town. 
Klaybow Films produces Madam and Steve. 
Klayow Films produces The Adventures of Dr. Kleiman for SABC. 
1982 Klaybow Films produces The Wonderful World of Dr. Kleiman for SABC. 
Lindsay Van Blerk begins working at Klaybow, however he is conscripted and can 
only work part-time at the studio.  
1983 Klaybow Films produces Monna We Letsopha for SABC, Xhosa Channel. 
1984 Klaybow Films produces Tempodieks for SABC, Xhosa Channel. 
1985 Lindsay Van Blerk begins working full time at Klaybow Films. 
Studio moves to larger premises in Napier Street and begins production on 
Bimbo!s Books.     
President P.W. Botha declares State of Emergency. 
1986 Comprehensive Anti Apartheid Act Passed in the United States of America. 
1987 Klaybow Films finishes Bimbo!s Books for SABC after three years of production. 
Budgett Reconcilliation Act Passed in the United States of America. 
Frank Moynihan of Billybudd Films commissions Klaybow Films to produce a 
twenty minute clay animation on condition that the studio is moved out of South 
Africa.  
Klaybow Films Moves to London. 
1989 Klaybow Films finishes The Star Child for Billybudd films. The film finishes behind 
schedule and over budget. Film is a economic failure.  
Klaybow Films is forced to close. 
Lindsay Van Blerk moves back to South Africa.  
FW de Klerk becomes president of South Africa. 
1990 FW De Klerk unbanns ANC and releases Nelson Mandela from prison.  
Van Blerk finds job at Miros Productions directing animation commercials. 
Lindsay Van Blerk meets Jacquie Trowell at Miros productions. They begin working 
together.  
Van Blerk leaves Miros and begins producing commercials independently under 
the name of XYZoo Animations. He hires Jacquie Trowell as a set builder, and 
simultaneously trains her to animate.   
1991 Van Blerk continues producing animation commercials independently. 
1992 XYZoo Animations is officially formed by Lindsay Van Blerk, Jacquie Trowell, and 
Brett Schuman. 
XYZoo begins production on The Prodigal Son. 
1993 XYZoo finishing producing The Prodigal Son for Billybudd Films.  
1994 First Democratic Elections in South Africa.  
1995 XYZoo produces Michael The Visitor for Billybudd Films.  
1996 Jacquie Trowell leaves XYZoo and forms Triggerfish with Emma Kaye.  
1997 Triggerfish produces Parrafin Saftey Campaign.  
1998 XYZoo produces The First Christmas for Billybudd Films. 
1999 Triggerfish produces Second Parrafin Saftey Campaign. 
Triggerfish produces 12 twenty second short animation for Sesane Street.  
2000 Triggerfish produces stop-motion animation for Takalani Sesame season 1 
XYZoo produces The Chimes for Billybudd Films. 
2001 XYZoo begins producing Wellington VO Brandy Commercials for next two years. 
2002 Triggerfish produces stop-motion animation for Takalani Sesame season 2 
2003 Triggerfish produces stop-motion animation for Takalani Sesame season 3. 
XYZoo produces The Velveteen Rabbit for Billybudd films. 
2004 Triggerfish produces stop-motion animation for Takalani Sesame season 4. 
2005 Jacquie Trowell and Emma Kaye sell Triggerfish to Stuart Forrester.  
                                                                                                               Haycock 139 
Appendix B: South African Stop-Motion Filmography 1981-2005 
 
Klaybow Films 
 
Madam and Steve (1981)   
Director: Ted Berenson 
Klaybow Films 
10 Minutes Clay Animation Music Video 
 
The Adventures of Dr Kleiman (1981) 
Director: Ted Berenson 
Klaybow Films 
13 Five Minute Episodes 
for SABC 
Clay Animation 
 
The Wonderful World of Dr Kleiman (1982) 
Director: Ted Berenson 
Klaybow Films 
13 Five Minute Episodes 
for SABC 
Clay Animation 
 
Monna We Letsopha (1983) 
Director: Ted Berenson 
Klaybow Films 
13 Ten Minute Episodes 
for SABC 
Clay Animation 
 
Tempodieks (1984-1985) 
Director: Ted Berenson 
Klaybow Films 
26 Five Minute Episodes 
for SABC 
Clay Animation 
 
Bimbo?s Books (1985-1987) 
Director: Ted Berenson 
Klaybow Films 
13 Fifteen Minute Episodes 
for SABC 
Clay Animation and Mixed Media 
 
Hello and Goodbye  (1985-1987) 
Director: Ted Berenson 
Klaybow Films 
Five Minute Clay Animation Music Video 
 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 140 
Rainbow Chicken (1986) 
Director: Ted Berenson 
Klaybow Films 
30 second Commercial 
for Young and Rubicam 
Clay Animation 
 
Koo Jam (1987) 
Director: Ted Berenson 
Klaybow Films 
40 second Commercial 
for Berry Bush 
Clay Animation 
 
Mayo Mayonnaise (1987) 
Director: Ted Berenson 
Klaybow Films 
30 second Commercial 
for Berry Bush 
Clay Animation 
 
The Star Child (1988-1989) 
Director: Ted Berenson 
Klaybow Films 
24 Minute Film 
for Billy Budd Films 
 
Miros Productions 
 
Simba Chipnicks (1990) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
Miros Productions 
40 second commercial 
for Wilsenach 
Clay Animation and Live-actions 
 
Alcolin Glue (1990) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
Miros Productions 
30 second commercial 
for Young and Rubican 
Pixilation 
 
I&J Stir Fry (1990) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
Miros Productions 
40 second commercial 
for Bates Wells 
Pixilation 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 141 
XYZoo Animation 
 
National Air Conditioners ?Seaside? (1990) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Lawrence Flack 
Clay Animation 
 
National Air Conditioners ?Blues? (1990) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Lawrence Flack 
Clay Animation 
 
National Air Conditioners ?Opera? (1991) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Lawrence Flack 
Clay Animation 
 
Everfresh Milk (1991) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Lintas 
Clay Animation 
 
Magic Diaper Babies (1991) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Young and Rubicam 
Clay Animation 
 
Tutti Frutti Trolls (1991) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Young and Rubicam 
Clay Animation 
 
Magic Diaper Pets (1991) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
15 second commercial 
for Young and Rubicam 
Clay Animation 
                                                                                                               Haycock 142 
PPAC (Professional Pharmacy Association) ?Skin Care? (1992) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for SBBW 
Clay Animation 
 
PPAC (Professional Pharmacy Association) ?Heart? (1992) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for SBBW 
Clay Animation 
 
Piper?s Sweetmilk Cheese (1992) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk and Jacquie Trowell 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for SBBW 
Clay Animation 
 
The Prodigal Son (1992-1993) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
8 minute Film 
for Billy Budd Films 
Clay Animation 
 
MNET/KTV (1993) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second ident. 
for Caplan Wilkie 
Mixed Media 
 
Ivory Cream (1993) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Cream Advertising 
Cutout  
 
Michael The Visitor (1994-1995) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
24 Minute commercial 
for Billy Budd Films 
Clay Animation 
 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 143 
SABC Radio (1995) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk and Jacquie Trowell 
XYZoo Animation 
60 second commercial 
for TBWA 
Clay Animation 
 
Clover Cheese ?Mice? (1995) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk and Jacquie Trowell 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for TBWA 
Clay Animation 
 
Clover Cheese ?Ants? (1995) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk and Jacquie Trowell 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for TBWA 
Clay Animation 
 
MNET Summer Festival (1996) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 Second Ident. 
for MNET TV 
Clay Animation 
 
Beacon Easter Eggs # 1 (1996) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for TBWA 
Clay Animation 
 
Beacon Easter Eggs # 2 (1996) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for TBWA 
Clay Animation 
 
Visa Electron ?Elephant? (1997) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
50 second commercial 
for Young and Rubicam 
Clay Animation 
 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 144 
Pork Board ?Chicken For Pork? (1997) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Leo Burnett 
Clay Animation 
 
Pork Board ?Fish for Pork? (1997) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Leo Burnett 
Clay Animation 
 
Natal Building Society Parrot (1997) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Berry Bush BBDO 
Clay Animation 
 
VW Citi Golf (1997) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
60 second commercial 
for Leo Burnett 
Pixilation 
 
The First Christmas (1997-1998) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
23 minute film 
for Billy Budd Films 
Clay Animation 
 
The Chimes (1999-2000) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
23 minute film 
for Billy Budd Films 
Clay Animation 
 
Wellington VO Brandy ?French Rooster? (2001) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Silverhammer 
Clay Animation 
 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 145 
Wellington VO Brandy ?Kiwi? (2001) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Silverhammer 
Clay Animation 
 
Wellington VO Brandy ?Wallaby? (2001) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Silverhammer 
Clay Animation 
 
Wellington VO Brandy ?Bulldog? (2001) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Silverhammer 
Clay Animation 
 
Wellington VO Brandy ?Dragon? (2002) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Silverhammer 
Clay Animation 
 
Wellington VO Brandy ?Burning Bird? (2002) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Silverhammer 
Clay Animation 
 
Wellington VO Brandy ?Party Animals? (2002) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Silverhammer 
Clay Animation 
 
The Velveteen Rabbit (2002-2003) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
23 minute film 
for Billy Budd Films 
Clay Animation 
 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 146 
Sanlam Plover ENGLISH (2004) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
60 second commercial 
for BBDO 
Puppet Animation 
 
Sanlam ?Guinea Fowl? ENGLISH (2004) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
60 second commercial 
for BBDO 
Puppet Animation 
 
La Vache ?Puzzle? (2005) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
15 second commercial 
for Saatchi and Saatchi 
Clay Animation 
 
La Vache ?Weightlifter? (2005) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
15 second commercial 
for Saatchi and Saatchi 
Clay Animation 
 
La Vache ?Eyesight? (2005) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
15 second commercial 
for Saatchi and Saatchi 
Clay Animation 
 
La Vache ?Report Card? (2005) 
Director: Lindsay van Blerk 
XYZoo Animation 
15 second commercial 
for Saatchi and Saatchi 
Clay Animation 
 
Triggerfish Animation 
 
Paraffin Safety Campaign (1997) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
2 x 25 second Television Spot 
for Paraffin Safety Association of Southern Africa 
Clay Animation 
                                                                                                               Haycock 147 
Soviet Clothing (1997) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
20 second Cinema Advertising 
for Dinergy 
Pixilation 
 
Huapango De Los Volcanos (1997) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
90 second insert 
for Mexican Short Film (dir. Felipe Fernandez) 
Clay Animation 
 
Plascon Woodcare (1998) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Sonnenburg Murphy Leo Burnett 
Puppet Animation 
 
One Day in Africa (1998) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
60 pilot for 27 minute feature 
for Chilile Productions 
Clay Animation 
 
Royco Potato Bake (1999) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
2 x 30 second commercial 
for Ogilvy Mather 
Clay Animation 
 
Paraffin Saftey Campaign (1999) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
35 Television Spot 
for Paraffin Safety Association of Southern Africa   
Clay Animation 
 
I-Net Bridge (1999) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Sonnenburg Murphy Leo Burnett 
Puppet Animation 
 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 148 
Slo Jo (1999) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Young and Y&R Gitam 
Puppet Animation 
 
Sesame Street (1999) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
12 x 20-60 second Edutainment 
for CTW New York 
Mixed Media 
 
MNET Africa (2000) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
3 x 30 second commercial 
for Ogilvy Mather 
Pixilation 
 
Camlait (2000) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
30 second commercial 
for McCann Erikson Cameroun 
Pixilation 
 
Royco Potato Wedges (2000) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Ogilvy Mather 
Clay Animation 
 
Takalani Sesame Street (2000) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
3 x 45-65 second edutainment 
for Kwasukusela/Times Media/CTW New York 
Mixed Media 
 
Oros (2000) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Lindsay Smithers FCB 
Clay Animation 
 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 149 
Sesame Street (2000-2001) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
8 x 30-80 second Edutainment 
for CTW New York 
Mixed Media 
 
Glen Tea (2002) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
2 x 30 second commercial 
for JWT 
Pixilation 
 
Takalani Sesame (2002-2003) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
40 minute Edutainment 
for Sesame Workshop New York 
Mixed Media 
 
Shoprite Checkers Easter (2003) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
20 second commercial 
for Berry Bush BBDO 
Clay Animation 
 
Glen Tea (2003) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
30 second commercial 
for JWT 
Pixilation 
 
Salticrax (2003) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
30 second commercial 
for Miros Productions 
Pixilation 
 
Sabat (2004) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Triggerfish Animation 
20 second commercial 
for Pie Street 
Clay Animation 
 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 150 
Jacquie Trowell - Freelance 
 
Sesame Street (2004) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Freelance 
6 min second Edutainment 
for Triggerfish 
Mixed Media 
 
Souvenir (2005) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Freelance 
90 second Advertising 
for Film South Africa 
Puppet Animation 
 
Ocean Basket (2005) 
Director: Jacquie Trowell 
Freelance 
6 x 15 second commercials 
for Joe Public 
Stop-Motion 
 
Sesame Street (2005) 
Consultant: Jacquie Trowell 
Freelance 
3 min second Edutainment 
for Triggerfish 
Mixed Media 
 
Der Tag (2005) 
Animation supervisor: Jacquie Trowell 
Freelance 
3 minute Music Video 
for Cyclone Films 
Stop-Motion
                                                                                                               Haycock 151 
Appendix C: Description of attached DVDs 
 
There are three DVDs that have been included with this document. Some of the films 
discussed in this research report have been placed on these DVDs. If a film is on one 
of these DVDs it will be indicated with: (See DVD - Disk # i). The following is an 
outline of the three DVDs. In the research report it will be indicated with  
 
These DVDs are region free and should play on any DVD player in the world, as well 
as on computers with DVD players software installed.  
 
Disk 01 
Disk 01 has Klaybow Films? showreel, various commercials by XYZoo and 
Triggerfish and the stop-motion animation produced for Takalani Sesame discussed in 
chapter 08. 
 
Klaybow Films  
? Klaybow Showreel (1987)  - Includes clips from Bimbo?s Books, the entire 
Hello and Goodbye Music video, and the 
television commercials produced for Rainbow 
Chicken (1986) and Mayo Mayonnaise (1987).  
 
 
XYZoo (Television commercials) 
? XYZoo Showreel (1990-1992) 
? Everfresh Milk (1991) 
? Magic Diaper Babies (1991) 
? Piper?s Sweetmilk Cheese (1992) 
? KTV (1993) 
? SABC Radio (1995) 
? VW Citi Golf (1997) 
? Wellington VO Brandy ?Rooster? (2001) 
? Wellington VO Brandy ?Kiwi? (2001) 
? Wellington VO Brandy ?Dragon? (2002) 
? Wellington VO Brandy ?Wallaby? (2002) 
? Wellington VO Brandy ?Burning Bird (2002) 
? Wellington VO Brandy ?Party Animals (2002) 
? Sanlam ?Plover? (2004) 
? Sanlam Guinea Fowl? (2004) 
 
(Disk 01contents continued on next page) 
 
 
 
                                                                                                               Haycock 152 
Triggerfish (1997-1999) 
? Paraffin Safety Campaign (1997) 
? Huapango De Los Volcanos (1997) 
? Royco Potato Bake (1999)  
 
 Takalani Sesame (1999 - 2004) 
? Red?s Hair 
? Red Sneezes 
? Red Goes Swimming 
? Red Brushes his Teeth 
? Red Piecing it together 
? Wire Farmer Helps Cow 
? Wire Farmer Elements of Nature 
? Wire Farer Season Surprises 
? Beetle?s Entering Social Groups 
? Beetle?s Find a Button 
? Chicken Soccer 
? Chicken Recycle 
? Chicken Tangle 
? Dancing Chameleon 
? Dung Beetle 
? Bugley and Peach 
? Bird Doctor 
 
Disk 02 (Billy Budd Films) 
Disk 02 has the short clay animations produced for Billy Budd Films. 
 
Klaybow Films 
? The Star Child (1989)  
 
XYZoo 
? The Prodigal Son (1993) 
? Michael the Visitor (1995) 
 
Disk 03 (Billy Budd Films) 
Disk 03 has three short clay animations produced by XYZoo for Billy Budd Films. 
 
XYZoo 
? The First Christmas (1998) 
? The Chimes (2000) 
? The Velveteen Rabbit (2003) 
 
                                                
i ?#? Indicates number. This would either be 01, 02, or 03. 
                                                                                                               Haycock 153 
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Balablok. Dir. Bretislav Pojar 1972. National Film Board of Canada. Film 
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Chew Chew Land. Dir. James Stuart Blackton. Vitagraph. 1910. Film.  
 
Claymation?. Dir. Will Vinton. Will Vinton Productions. 1978. Film  
                                                                                                               Haycock 154 
Closed Mondays. Dir. Will Vinton and Bob Gardiner. 1974. Film. 
 
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The Coiling Prankster. Dir Garri Bardin. Soyuzmulttin, Soviet Union, 1999 
 
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                                                                                                               Haycock 155 
El Hotel Electico. Dir. Segundo de Chom?m. Pathe Freres. 1908. Film. 
 
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Freud, Sigmund. The Uncanny.  Penguin Books, London, 2003 
 
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The Haunted Hotel. Dir. James Stuart Blackton. Vitagraph Company of America. 
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                                                                                                               Haycock 156 
It Happened at the Stadium. Dir. Alexander Ptushko. USSR. 1928. Film.  
 
Holman, Loyd Bruce. Puppet Animation in the Cinema: History and Technique. 
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James and The Giant Peach. Dir. Henry Selick. . 1996. Film.  
 
Joschko, Lucie. ?Seeking the Voice of Insiders: Ethnographic Exploration of the 
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Kaye, Emma. Skype Interview. 13 January 2010. 
 
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                                                                                                               Haycock 157 
The Little Prince. Dir Will Vinton. Will Vinton Productions/Billy Budd Films. 1979. 
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Lucanaus Cervus. Dir Ladislas Starevich. 1910. Film 
 
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                                                                                                               Haycock 158 
Opening Speech. Dir. Bretislav Pojar. Bratri v triku. Czech. 1963. Film. 
 
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                                                                                                               Haycock 159 
Shapurjee, Shanaz. A Historical Enquiry into the Animation Unit, Situated within the 
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