STUDIE NR. 6 / STUDIE NR. 7 (1930)/(1931)
Articles 5211/5212 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 7-22-2016 / 7-23-2016
Directed by Oskar Fischinger
No cast
Country: Germany
What it is: Abstract animation

Yes, I’m reviewing two movies at once, but given the fact that they’re two movies of a 14-part series that consist of abstract animated shapes moving in sync to the music on the soundtrack, I think my decision is understandable. Actually, the Walt Lee guide which listed these lists numbers five through eleven of the series as a single entry; why it didn’t include the first four or the last three is unknown by me. At any rate, they’re cut from the same cloth; the first has mostly bird-like shapes moving around to “Los Verderones”, while the second has mostly flat paper-shapes dancing around to Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance No. 5”. They’re both well done and short enough so that they don’t overstay their welcome. I suspect the rest of the series is similar, but these appear to be the only two that are quickly and easily available for viewing; I saw excerpts for 5 and 8, but would prefer to cover the full shorts when they become available. Believe it or not, the Nazis labeled him a degenerate due to the abstract nature of these shorts, no doubt because they were suspicious of anything they couldn’t understand. He would later help design the abstract sequence in FANTASIA, but would quit when the powers that be made his abstract designs more representational.