Norman McLaren Movies

  • 1952
    Neighbours

    Neighbours

    Neighbours

    7.4911952HD

    In this Oscar-winning short film, Norman McLaren employs the principles normally used to put drawings or puppets into motion to animate live actors....

    Neighbours
  • 1957
    A Chairy Tale

    A Chairy Tale

    A Chairy Tale

    6.71957HD

    An ordinary looking chair refuses to be sat upon.

    A Chairy Tale
  • 1949
    Begone Dull Care

    Begone Dull Care

    Begone Dull Care

    6.71949HD

    In this extraordinary short animation, Evelyn Lambart and Norman McLaren painted colours, shapes, and transformations directly onto their filmstrip....

    Begone Dull Care
  • 1952
    A Phantasy

    A Phantasy

    A Phantasy

    6.11952HD

    An animated film drawn entirely in pastels. Various fantastical plant-like things "grow" from the ground, eventually launching five spheres. The...

    A Phantasy
  • 1940
    Spook Sport

    Spook Sport

    Spook Sport

    5.91940HD

    It's midnight in a graveyard. The principal characters are spooks, ghosts, bats, bells, and, at the end, the sun. As midnight strikes, 12 spooks...

    Spook Sport
  • 1968
    Pas de Deux

    Pas de Deux

    Pas de Deux

    6.4851968HD

    Two ballet dancers perform a dance enhanced with surreal after-image visuals.

    Pas de Deux
  • 1940
    Dots

    Dots

    Dots

    61940HD

    An experimental film in which both sound and visuals were created entirely by Norman McLaren drawing directly upon the film with ordinary pen and...

    Dots
  • 1955
    Blinkity Blank

    Blinkity Blank

    Blinkity Blank

    6.2231955HD

    A playful exercise in intermittent animation and spasmodic imagery. Playing with the laws relating to persistence of vision and after-image on the...

    Blinkity Blank
  • 1962
    Lines: Horizontal

    Lines: Horizontal

    Lines: Horizontal

    6.11962HD

    An experiment in pure design by film artists Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart. Lines, ruled directly on film, move with precision and grace against...

    Lines: Horizontal
  • 1941
    V for Victory

    V for Victory

    V for Victory

    51941HD

    This animated short by Norman McLaren is a publicity message for a war bond campaign. Symbols, a stick man and lettering are drawn directly on 35mm...

    V for Victory
  • 2024
    Daedalus

    Daedalus

    Daedalus

    102024HD

    "Fly too high and you will burn, go too low and you won't breathe." Daedalus weaves a tale of ambition and caution through an ancient myth, set in a...

    Daedalus
  • 1961
    Opening Speech

    Opening Speech

    Opening Speech

    6.71961HD

    Norman McLaren attempts to give the opening speech for the first Montreal International Film Festival, but his microphone won't cooperate.

    Opening Speech
  • 1971
    Synchromy

    Synchromy

    Synchromy

    6.61971HD

    The film's soundtrack is an original musical composition produced with synthetic sound - through photographing unusual geometric shapes and running...

    Synchromy
  • 1943
    Chants populaires nº 5

    Chants populaires nº 5

    Chants populaires nº 5

    51943HD

    Russian artist Alexander Alexeieff illustrated the song "Et moi je m'enfouiyais" (En passant) using the pinscreen technique. Norman McLaren...

    Chants populaires nº 5
  • 1959
    Short and Suite

    Short and Suite

    Short and Suite

    61959HD

    A color cocktail by Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart, translating into moving patterns of color and light the moods of music written for a jazz...

    Short and Suite
  • 1944
    Rock the Boat

    Rock the Boat

    Rock the Boat

    5.61944HD

    One of a series of French-Canadian folk songs, this film was illustrated by Norman McLaren for the Chants populaires series. White gouache drawings...

    Rock the Boat
  • 1944
    Keep Your Mouth Shut

    Keep Your Mouth Shut

    Keep Your Mouth Shut

    61944HD

    This animated short from Norman McLaren features a human skull cautioning Canadians to “keep their mouths shut” in an effort to end...

    Keep Your Mouth Shut
  • 1983
    Narcissus

    Narcissus

    Narcissus

    5.21983HD

    In this short film by Norman McLaren, dancers enact the Greek tragedy of Narcissus, the beautiful youth whose excessive self-love condemned him to a...

    Narcissus
  • 1943
    Barrel Zoom

    Barrel Zoom

    Barrel Zoom

    01943HD

    Images supered on a revolving barrel.

    Barrel Zoom
  • 1936
    Defence of Madrid

    Defence of Madrid

    Defence of Madrid

    01936HD

    This cinematic travelogue consists of three parts. In the first part, texts and small maps are our guides through Madrid in 1936. We see pictures of...

    Defence of Madrid