Hoppity Pop (1946)
Article 5866 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 10-21-2020
Directed by Norman McLaren
No cast
Country: Canada
What it is: The Greatest Squiggles On Earth

Three abstract shapes perform to calliope music.

We’re in the world of abstract animation again, and Norman McLaren is my favorite practitioner of this sort of thing. What I admire most is that he can anthropomorphize abstract objects with apparent ease; these squiggles mutate and gyrate in such a way that they come off as clown circus acrobats. Granted, the presence of calliope music goes a long way towards making that sensation work, and I’m sure it was chosen towards that end. Nevertheless, I think McLaren goes a long way towards making abstract animation accessible to those who might otherwise have little use for it. Me, I found this one a lot of fun.