Fétiche

Words alone cannot describe the sheer beauty and power of this film.

Think "Toy Story". Now, think "Toy Story", circa 1934. Now, imagine the animation looks as lifelike, as fluid. Think of the movie not as something adults and children can enjoy, but imagine it as a filme-noire.

Imagine trying to do something like that back in 1934. Somehow, "The Mascot" delivers. In a story where toys come to life, and one of them is trying to deliver an orange to his sick owner, Starewicz delivers a level of animation completely unexpected. It's so fluid, you will wonder for a long time whether what you see is really stop-motion animation.

Comparing "Toy Story" and "The Mascot" is an excercise in futility, plot-wise: while "Toy Story" is a children's story adults can enjoy, "The Mascot" is a dark, chilling story aimed at adults. Meaning, NO, your kids won't like it. One bit.

Still, get it if you can. You might be able to find it along "Vampyr" in DVD and LaserDisc. And prepare to be stunned at what Starewicz was able to do back in 1934 with a couple of puppets.

If any one feature demonstrates as far as possible Wladyslaw Starewicz's wide range of talents, this might be it. "The Mascot" seamlessly combines top-quality puppet animation with live action; it tells a tale with some humor, some horror, and some humanity; and it does it all with a vivid sense of imagination. At the height of the action, there is a constant succession of detailed images at the same time that the story reaches its peak of suspense.

The story follows a toy dog through an odyssey to fulfill a young child's request. The basic story line would be interesting enough, though now pretty familiar from many similar stories by lesser lights. But it is fleshed out by such an imaginative array of creatures and settings that the only possible way to appreciate it is to see it. The detail is extraordinary, especially since each detail in many of the frames had to be done carefully by hand. Many of the details are quite amusing, while others are sinister, bizarre, or just plain interesting. Nor does Starewicz resort to tired or obvious devices in order to impress - the closer you look, the more you see.

While this is certainly not a children's movie, in every other respect it is more impressive and more interesting than any of the animated features from the computer imagery era. For anyone who enjoys classic cinema, it's not to be missed.

One of Starewicz's longest and strangest short films follows a toy dog in search of an orange after becoming animated by the tear of the mother of a girl who longs for an orange. The dog comes upon an orange after falling out of the back of a car on his way to be sold, but at night must protect the orange when he comes enters a devilish nightclub featuring many bizarre and scary characters. With the help of a stuffed cat, the dog gets the orange back to the little girl and she is saved from a terrible scurvy death. The Mascot features new techniques I have not yet seen in Starewicz's films. The addition of sync sound and a mixture of live action with the stop-motion animation makes for a new twist on Starewicz's old style of puppetry. Live scenes of moving cars and people's feet walking by as a puppet sits on the concrete sidewalk is impressive and fresh. The honking of cars and cries of street vendors is noteworthy due to the fact that small studio shifts to sound were costly and Starewicz's utilization of the new technology seems like old hat. New puppet characters in this film are frightening contributions to the devil's club scene. Twigss and newspaper shreds come to life. Skeletons of dead birds lay eggs which hatch skeleton chicks. Characters come flying in from all over on pats and pans and rocking horses. A new editing technique uses quick zooms which are accomplished through editing to speed up the pace of what before might have been a slow scene. Overall, Starewicz is able to update his style of film-making to meet the demands of a new audience making this film one of the best examples of his work.

The Mascot is just one entree of an incredible visual feast by Russian/Polish Animator Ladislaw Starewicz. This is especially true when compared to the poverty of digital imagination we are witnessing today. It is a vision of such texture and pure creativity that it could inspire whole new artistic movements. I had to laugh out loud at the unexpectedness and depth of the imagery. This film is made for children. But not "children" as defined by Disney or Hasbro or Sesame Street. Rather for real children who love strange mythologies and flights of unchecked fantasy. The tale follows the quest of a stuffed puppy doll in search of an orange. (!?) It follows the animated puppy through the city streets of Paris into hell (!) to protect the orange. This little film was made by Ladislaw Starewicz who is credited with being the first man to make stop-motion animated stories in 1910. Starewicz is truly an inspiration behind the masterfully weird puppet films of the Brothers Quay and Jan Swankmejer. And in some ways his little films surpass them.... which is hard to believe. But it's true. Starewicz has a taproot inserted deeply into the soil of arcane ancient Europa. It is a world of puppets and gargoyles, of dolls and devils, of fairytales and medieval woodcuts. The silent qualities in this nearly silent film only emphasize the dense textures and old European qualities. There is a deep source of inspiration here for artists, film makers, and humans who still exercise their imagination. This film is featured in a compilation of Starewicz's work entitle THE CAMERAMAN'S REVENGE AND OTHER SHORT FILMS. All of these short films are worth their weight in artist gold.

Straight from the brilliant mind of animation pioneer Wladyslaw Starewicz, "Fétiche", or "The Mascot" as it is known nowadays, stands as a masterpiece of stop-motion animation that sadly, has been almost forgotten by now. Nevertheless, the work of this man deserves to be seen, and in fact, must be seen to be believed because the outstanding way the animation flows is simply unbelievable.

Decades before "Toy Story", Starewicz conceived the idea of moving toys, in "Fétiche", he tells the story of a small stuffed dog that gets makes friends with the sick daughter of his maker. One day, his maker takes him away to sell him, and the adventure begins as he tries to find his way back home. In his Odyssey, he'll travel from Paris to Hell, and will find the other toys that were supposed to be sold with him.

It is a surreal experience to watch this movie, as Starewicz makes every imaginable creature come alive with grace and beauty. The other toys include a beautiful ballerina, who loves a thief, but she also is secretly loved by a clown, forming a love triangle; an old woman, a stuffed cat and a stuffed ape complete the group. every toy is so detailed and very expressive that without words one can understand their motives.

Truly, the surreal atmosphere the whole animation has it is remarkable. It is hard to believe that a work of this magnitude was done in 1934 since it looks even better than most of the current day animation. The influence it has in modern day animator such as Tim Burton and Henry Selick is very significant.

This short is a masterpiece of animation and the outstanding work of one genius who done everything by himself and that has influenced animators for decades. Starewicz's work is an immortal piece of art that should be seen by everyone. This work is not only for kids, adults as well will enjoy it and probably catch most of the subtext hidden in the movie.

It is possible to find it in the "Vampyr" DVD as a bonus feature. Anyone with the slightest interest in animation should give it a look.