 Born in Berlin in 1899, Lotte Reiniger developed a distinctive method of animating with cut-out paper silhouettes. She was also a pioneer of the multiplane, where layers of glass under the camera allow the animator to add depth and complexity to two-dimensional animation.
Although she worked with some of the pioneers of German experimental abstract film, her work was strongly narrative, taking its stories from fairy tales, opera, and A Thousand and One Nights. Her films are characterised by a mannered style that combines subtle acting with a rather frozen bloodless quality, and realism with elements of cartoon. The look developed out of a childhood enthusiasm for shadow puppets, and is usually designed in shades of grey and black on a white background. Her feature film, The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Germany, 1926), made between 1923 and 1926, was a huge popular and critical success.
In 1949 she moved to London, and from 1953 to 1963 produced a prodigious amount of work. Made under great pressure of time, many of these films, although charming, do not have the special magic that made Reiniger an important artist.
However, Snow White and Rose Red is an exception. The bear character transcends the medium and suspends disbelief, becoming magically alive in the mind of the audience.
Ruth Lingford
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FILM & TV CREDITS
