Book Review by Boyd Campbell

At the dawn of a computer generated age in special effects, Neil Pettigrew and McFarland Publishing produce an encyclopedia that not only chronicles but heralds the significant contributions that stop-motion animators made in the history of cinema. As the popularity of computer generated effects push other (sometimes superior) methods into cold storage, a book like this becomes not only pleasurable and informative but necessary as a tribute to artists who created fantastic film memories one frame at a time.

For the purposes of this book, the author narrows the definition of a stop-motion film to those films where the use of the stop-motion technique interacts with live-action photography so that the audience might believe that the stop-motion miniatures are real. With this restriction in place the book doesn't cover puppetoon films that really are a different kind of animation (Although, he does review "A Nightmare Before Christmas".)

Pettigrew takes each film and rates its overall appeal separately from its stop-motion effects. (Sometimes a film gets good ratings for effects but a poor overall rating and vice-verse.) He takes each stop-motion sequence of the almost 300 reviewed films and breaks them down shot-by-shot to examine the artistry and technique of the stop-motion artist. Although he admits his technical examination of the films often uses a "best guess" approach, Pettigrew reveals plenty of stop-motion secrets giving a clear explanation of how the animators achieved their effects.

The Author with Ray Harryhausen

All of Pettigrew's 297 reviews are complete but he goes into the most depth for the larger stop-motion films. Reviews like, Clash of the Titans (23 pages), Flesh Gordon (8 pages) or King Kong (19 pages) don't skimp on information or insight. He also reviews some films you might not have realized contained any stop- motion in them like Topper or Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. He also gives interesting entries with photographs for famous uncompleted projects like The Primevals, Creation, and West of Kashmir.

This hefty tome (838 pages) gives a clear accounting of the often seminal and ground-breaking films that make the stop-motion genre so distinctive. Pettigrew admits writing the book was a labor of love spanning many years of information gathering. His dedication is evident not only in the number of film entries but also in the depth of each entry. The book generously includes 189 photographs (51 in color) which include not only the shots often printed in genre publications but several rare and unique photographs as well.

Animator David Allen works on a T-Rex from Caveman (1981). One of the books many photo illustrations.

Among the most interesting parts of the book are the four appendices. They include filmographies of forty-seven stop-motion artists, A listing of Academy Awards and nominations for stop-motion effects for the years 1939 to 1993, and a particularly fun section that asks stop-motion artists such as David Allen, Steven Archer, Jim Danforth, Dennis Muren, and Phil Tippett to list their top ten favorite stop-motion sequences from the history of the art. (Several list scenes from King Kong as their favorite.) He also includes a useful price guide for stop-motion memorabilia such as posters, lobby cards and press books. After the appendices, Pettigrew includes an in-depth glossary of stop-motion terms and techniques including a diagram of a static matte, rear-projection set-up.

The price of the book reflects not only the depth and skill of its editorial content but its quality construction as well. As with many McFarland publications, The Stop-Motion Filmography comes with sturdy library binding and acid-free papers to ensure long life.

The Stop-Motion Filmography is available online either from the
McFarland website
            or
Amazon.com.

You may contact Author Neil Pettigrew at harry.np@virgin.net