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Sunn (Joseph)Penwiper, The (1926)

Mud animation by pioneer San Francisco Chinese American animator Joseph Sunn. From the "Ralph Wolfe's Mud Stuff" series.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Sunn (Joseph)
Sponsor: N/A
Audio/Visual: Si, B&W
Keywords: Animation: Mud; Chinese Americans; Animation: Stop-motion

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: GE_Pretzel - - March 19, 2006
Subject: A precursor to Pingu?
The scenery may be sparse and the characters crudely composed, but this 1926 short features several strange scenes that should keep one's attention. The communal gyration in which the family of birds engage at the film's conclusion is especially puzzling. To the best of my knowledge, biologists have never documented such peculiar behaviour among these animals in their natural habitat.

Reviewer: samrees - - March 11, 2006
Subject: interesting at the very least
worth checking out ....especially if you like Pingu....
surely this had an influence on the makers of Pingu....similar movements - sliding around and the way the beak shouts at the beginning .............
but yeah....didnt understand story....liked it when they all started whizzing round in the air for no apparent reason :]

Reviewer: Karma Hawk - - March 27, 2005
Subject: cool little short
This film is from 1906 and features excellent claymation that right their is a feet in itself! Having said that this film is kind of basic, but check it out anyway it's pretty cool. And still 1906!!!

Reviewer: Spuzz - - February 14, 2004
Subject: Sort of a 1926 version of "Lost Highway"
Another very peculiar mud animation by Ralph Wolfe, whose films are very personal to him it seems, and not for anyone else. a penwiper comes on the scene, and lays some eggs. A hunter comes on, and after unsuccessfully trying to clobber the bird, changes into another penwiper (why? I'm not.. sure) that penwiper has a brick, and decides to lay that. (why? I'm not.. sure). The birds hatch, and the wipettes soon learn how to uh, twirl around.

Very bizarre and strange.

Reviewer: wotchurr - - October 11, 2003
Subject: The day the twenties stopped roaring.
I'd always thought that Gumby and "Pokey" were the gayest thing ever in the world of claymation...and then I saw this.

Reviewer: cainmark - - May 21, 2003
Subject: Wow.
This was an amazingly surreal bit of clay stop-motion. I do't think I'd ever seen claymation in B&W before.

Not much of a story, but the movements are rather intriguing, especially when the characters all helicopter up into the air.

Different, unique, and enjoyable.

Reviewer: 2muchtv - - May 20, 2003
Subject: Gumby's great great grandfather
Phenomenal work for the time, in very good condition, as well. Great example of early claymation.

Shotlist

Early "Mud" animated film . San Francisco " Penwipers" and "Green Pastures"