Mid-90s(?) stop motion animation about rusty tool-characters
Aug 14, 2023 10:32:41 GMT
extremewreck2000 likes this
Post by piornik on Aug 14, 2023 10:32:41 GMT
This thing has been haunting me for the past ~20 years, and I’ve finally decided it’s time to share it with the rest of the world. Maybe someone somewhere out there has any idea what it could be… details below:
When I saw it: around 1995 to 1997 - so it could be from around that time, or older
Where I saw it: Poland, one of the public TV stations
I only saw a part of it, not the while thing. If I remember correctly, the scene was set possibly inside some old workshop, on a desk, and it was not very bright in there. The characters were kind of miniature, made out of tools and small metal parts, such as nuts and bolts, nails, etc. Everything was very rusty and dirty, that really sticks out in my head the most. There was possibly a toolbox with more metal parts somewhere in the background?
I think there was a whole group of characters in the background, but 2 of them I remember the most clearly: there was a basic “stickman” main(?) character with a metal nut for a head, and the other one was a character whose head was a pair of scissors - the scissors were positioned in such way to make it look like a bird’s beak - and it was attacking the other guy and I think the rest of the characters in general, and they had to defend themselves from it. I do not 100% remember if this “bird” character’s body was also a stickman or more bird-like, but it’s possible that it was sculpted in a way to resemble a bird skeleton. The characters didn't have defined facial features, like eyes or mouths, other than when the shape of the tool was utilized to give you the idea of one being there - like the scissor beak.
I assume it must have been stop motion animation because those metal parts looked pretty realistic, and I remember the characters moving kind of erratically. And considering the time frame, CGI would not look like this for sure. Either way, it was definitely NOT drawn-animated. Sadly, I don't remember which TV station I saw it on, or if it was part of an ad or a movie/short.
Now, I’ve done some searching on and off in my life, and though I could not determine what it actually is, I determined some of the things it likely ISN’T, which includes:
- work by Julian Antonisz/Antoniszczak - a polish stop motion animator and inventor who did some pretty weird and often unintentionally(?) creepy animations, sometimes utilizing tool parts - like this one. I researched him because he’s polish so it would make sense for me to see his work on TV, but I couldn’t find anything like that in his portfolio.
- work by Brothers Quay - an american duo of stop-motion animators. I am 99% sure it was not by them either - although the style of their work does seem familiar… many of their animations are difficult to find online, so there is /some/ possibility that they could be related,
- work by PES/Adam Pesapane - now PES made his debut animation in 2001, so of course it couldn’t be what I’m looking for, however - one of the animations on the PES youtube channel REALLY reminds me of what I’m looking for. The general concept of animating tools, the creepy atmosphere, dark sets, the animalistic behaviour - when I first found it, I was instantly confident that I’ve found the artist I’m looking for! Although I now know it’s not the case, if you're interested I suggest you watch it just to have an idea of the type of thing I’m trying to find: link
Also pasting some pics below to narrow down the looks/feel of the animation:
^ a character from one of the Brothers Quay animations. Definitely not what I saw back then, but a similar concept,
^ another pic of what characters looked like, roughly,
^ in general characters/ surroundings were rusty and dirty,
^ likely took place in old/abandoned workshop like this, on a desk or some other surface, but likely not the floor.
This thing has really burned itself in my memory, because let me tell you, it FREAKED ME THE HELL OUT when I saw it as a kid lol. The erratic movements, the dirty, rusty looks, the overall weird and creepy atmosphere really left a big impression on me back then, so I hope this will ring some bells somewhere - I would love to find it and see it again. Thanks for any help!
When I saw it: around 1995 to 1997 - so it could be from around that time, or older
Where I saw it: Poland, one of the public TV stations
I only saw a part of it, not the while thing. If I remember correctly, the scene was set possibly inside some old workshop, on a desk, and it was not very bright in there. The characters were kind of miniature, made out of tools and small metal parts, such as nuts and bolts, nails, etc. Everything was very rusty and dirty, that really sticks out in my head the most. There was possibly a toolbox with more metal parts somewhere in the background?
I think there was a whole group of characters in the background, but 2 of them I remember the most clearly: there was a basic “stickman” main(?) character with a metal nut for a head, and the other one was a character whose head was a pair of scissors - the scissors were positioned in such way to make it look like a bird’s beak - and it was attacking the other guy and I think the rest of the characters in general, and they had to defend themselves from it. I do not 100% remember if this “bird” character’s body was also a stickman or more bird-like, but it’s possible that it was sculpted in a way to resemble a bird skeleton. The characters didn't have defined facial features, like eyes or mouths, other than when the shape of the tool was utilized to give you the idea of one being there - like the scissor beak.
I assume it must have been stop motion animation because those metal parts looked pretty realistic, and I remember the characters moving kind of erratically. And considering the time frame, CGI would not look like this for sure. Either way, it was definitely NOT drawn-animated. Sadly, I don't remember which TV station I saw it on, or if it was part of an ad or a movie/short.
Now, I’ve done some searching on and off in my life, and though I could not determine what it actually is, I determined some of the things it likely ISN’T, which includes:
- work by Julian Antonisz/Antoniszczak - a polish stop motion animator and inventor who did some pretty weird and often unintentionally(?) creepy animations, sometimes utilizing tool parts - like this one. I researched him because he’s polish so it would make sense for me to see his work on TV, but I couldn’t find anything like that in his portfolio.
- work by Brothers Quay - an american duo of stop-motion animators. I am 99% sure it was not by them either - although the style of their work does seem familiar… many of their animations are difficult to find online, so there is /some/ possibility that they could be related,
- work by PES/Adam Pesapane - now PES made his debut animation in 2001, so of course it couldn’t be what I’m looking for, however - one of the animations on the PES youtube channel REALLY reminds me of what I’m looking for. The general concept of animating tools, the creepy atmosphere, dark sets, the animalistic behaviour - when I first found it, I was instantly confident that I’ve found the artist I’m looking for! Although I now know it’s not the case, if you're interested I suggest you watch it just to have an idea of the type of thing I’m trying to find: link
Also pasting some pics below to narrow down the looks/feel of the animation:
^ a character from one of the Brothers Quay animations. Definitely not what I saw back then, but a similar concept,
^ another pic of what characters looked like, roughly,
^ in general characters/ surroundings were rusty and dirty,
^ likely took place in old/abandoned workshop like this, on a desk or some other surface, but likely not the floor.
This thing has really burned itself in my memory, because let me tell you, it FREAKED ME THE HELL OUT when I saw it as a kid lol. The erratic movements, the dirty, rusty looks, the overall weird and creepy atmosphere really left a big impression on me back then, so I hope this will ring some bells somewhere - I would love to find it and see it again. Thanks for any help!
