Tale of a Tendril

1925
Silent
7m

A bug's life laid bare in this charming cut-out animated tale by pioneering film naturalist F. Percy Smith

Are you ready for a bedtime story? F. Percy Smith was a naturalist and pioneer filmmaker who brought his interests together in microphotography marvels like The Acrobatic Fly (1910) featuring real insects. Though best known for his natural history work on the long running Secrets of Nature series, these 'Bedtime Stories of Archie the Ant' shorts reveal his remarkable talents as a character animator.

Smith's background as a nature lover is readily apparent in the film, with the whole plot based on spotting the visual similarity between a plant's tendril and the proboscis of a butterfly. Though the film is produced through 2D cut-out animation, every effort is made to give the characters and the backgrounds a sense of depth - including using real plant-life in some scenes.

Early Animation

The dawn of a new celluloid art: Britain's animation pioneers at peace and war

When you're creating a new art form, everything is experimental. The pioneers of animation in Britain cast a range of subjects as the stars of their films - the toys of an Edwardian child; insects and animals; Kaiser Bill and John Bull. But even the richest of fantasies on display here offer a window into the turbulent era in which they were made. When the nation went to war, animation was conscripted to meet its propaganda needs. In peacetime, the industry sought success as an entertainer, but found a career in sales.