Die geheimen Abenteuer von Däumling

The way that this movie was filmed using clay-mation and live people is amazing. The people are jerky and clumsy, and the clay-mation is smooth and fluid. Too top off that, the entire thing is bizzare and surreal. When I saw it in the theater they showed a short film about Kafka and his Metamorphosis afterwards which was just as fun and twisted. I don't know if it's on the video, but it should be.

"The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb" is extremely bizarre. It often reminded me of Czech animator Jan Svankmajer. The story concerns a tiny Tom Thumb who's oddly born to a regular sized couple. They live in the slums in a bleak sort of future. Tom is kidnapped and taken to a science lab of mutated creatures. The lab does horrible experiments to animals and wants to try some tests on poor Tom. Tom has to fight against the evil Jack the Giant Killer, and try to find a way home to his family. Some viewers will find the the film frustrating since the characters talk in grunts and squeak noises. If you enjoyed "Eraserhead" or bizarre stop motion films like "Alice" (1988) and "Faust" (1994), you should definitely witness "The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb".

Last night i had the chance to see this excellent piece of animation and I truly enjoyed it. For all those interested in clay/latex animation (Aardman style) the s/fx are awesome.

As for the storytelling: absolutely wicked ! One of the best adaptations of a nursery tale I've seen, with somber dystopia tones: think Aldous Huxley and Brothers Grimm meet Chicken Run.

Fantastic flick !

I am a big fan of twisted, dark, and weird movies. This film filled in all three quite nicely. It is a stop motion animation film, with live actors. I don't mean that it is a film where stop motion and live action are combined, but a film where live actors are stop motion animated and interact with the more conventional stop motion models. This gives the film a strange, jumpy feel that keeps you on edge right from the start. Also, the makers took the time to make every set seem dirty and stained. They even have insects crawling on just about every surface.

On top of this, it also has a wonderful soundtrack supplied by bands like "Sheep On Drugs", "Startled Insects" and a Theme by John Paul Jones, the former bassist for Led Zepplin.

The plot is similar to the original Tom Thumb, but told in a more current time and twisted around a bit. This gives the film a strangely familiar feel, which I found wonderfully unnerving. The characters don't really speak so much as mumble, which, along with the jerky motion, adds to the un-ease.

All in all, this movie stands right up there with David Lynch and Jan Svankmajer films as a twisted masterpiece.

Done in stop-motion, though there are also live actors, and the live actors unusually appear to be done in stop motion as well!

An insect flies into an artificial insemination factory, and gets squished and some of its guts drip into one of the specimen jars. Sometime thereafter, a woman in a small hovel gives birth to a tiny boy that fits easily into his father's palm. He's named Tom Thumb, and his parents do not seem surprised or disappointed by his small size. Unfortunately, some men in black trenchcoats, hats, and gloves come and take him away to a laboratory.

The laboratory has all manner of strange creatures and parts of creatures being kept alive for weird procedures and experiments. Tom is helped by a small dragon-like creature that is partly skeletal, partly cybernetic, partly raw flesh, and partly "normal" looking. He meets other tiny people and tries to make his way back home.

The world they live in is rather dingy-looking, and there are always some insects present. There is very little dialog, and some of what is spoken is little more than mumbling.

Definitely calls to mind the Brothers Quay, Jan Svankmajer, and the team of Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, City of Lost Children). Quite entertaining, and I wonder how available the other works by this director might be.