06 January 2010

Madame Tutli-Putli



Madame Tutli-Putli, together with everything that makes up her life, boards a night train. Two men who live in their trunks travel above her. She sits diagonally from an Asian child who studies a manual on How to handle your enemies. Opposite her, a tennis player offers obscene services.
As the train rides, the day descends into dark.
Madame Tutli-Putli is a highly praised and continuously awarded Canadian stop-motion animated film created by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (2007). The short was in the making for five whole years.
The puppet of Madame Tutli-Putli was modelled on the actress Laurie Maher. In a revolutionary techological move, Maher's actual eyes were filmed and merged with the puppet. I very much hope that this technique does not make it into the animation for children. This is not the stuff of dreams. This is the stuff of nightmares.

1 comment:

  1. It's a masterpiece. I don't think I've ever seen better -or more beautiful- stop motion animation. Maher's eyes definitely make the movie (and the character) but the art direction, camera work, lighting, are all sheer perfection. No wonder it took 5 years to make.

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