Watch FMovies. Created by Noburo Ofuji, who had been cartoon making since the 1920s, often with decorative paper cutouts. The character animation looks like it was done 15 years before, but a lot of the elements are highly original; design (those trees!), use of camera focus. Heavily musical in a manner that recalls animation's earliest use of sound. The lesson here is: "If you can't count on your friends, travel alone".