Adventures in Animation
- mikezef1
- Oct 12, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 14
A selection of reflections upon animation events visited:
On a sunny afternoon in London, I weaved my way across Waterloo Bridge to the charming Garden Cinema to hear Animation Director Paul Vester reflect upon his life and work.
Paul Vester - Saturday 11 October 2025.
On route were many members of a peace demonstration beginning to make their way home, wearily carrying placards. Political tensions in the Middle East were apparent in Vester's film “In the Woods” (2008).
(Image from "In the Woods" by Paul Vester)
Personally, I found this to be his most interesting piece. It featured a mix of film, animation and sound clips from news articles and American political speeches, the satirical tone is still very relevant today. Described as “a short film, composed structurally of overlapping time capsules, concerning American language in general, and specifically during the Bush years completed Sept 2008”
It's available to watch on Vimeo:
Vester talked about finding structure for an animation through music and Musique concrète.
This is a theme I notice again and again in my reading around animation. For example:
"...the Brothers Quay work to music because they’ve found that invariably aids their puppetry. “So our films obey musical laws,” Stephen explains. “Of course, you can never tell people how they should watch a film. But the musical element provides a narrative of its own.” Link to full Quay article in The Guardian
Vester talked about working in advertising, he said "That's where the money is" but also advised many of the studio executives he worked for grew exhausted and burnt out quickly.
His Toshiba adverts were amusing:
He spoke about going from being a hands-on animator to more of a director, employing other animators as ‘actors’ to deliver his ideas.
He moved to America for several years which proved lucrative. He then moved to more academic work at CalArts and worked on an improvised TV show that included animation:
Unsurprisingly, his favourite piece is the one he’s working on now, interpreting player piano music into images. He provided us with a preview. It seems to be related to ‘visual music’ and reminded me of some of Norman McLaren’s work.
He frequently juxtaposes photography, film, animation and sound. He jumps between the urban, the rural and surreal. Throughout his rich and varied career, I noticed reoccurring themes of disorientation, trauma and intrigue.
Perhaps Vester's most well known work is "Abductees" (1995).
Many of the animators he collaborated with on "Abductees" were present at the event, some spoke to the audience and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work with him.
In the film, about people experiencing some form of abduction, the tone remains fairly impartial:
The following week, alien worlds featured in:
"The Time Masters" - Saturday 18 October 2025 - at Ciné Lumière, S.Kensington
Directed by visionary science-fiction animator René Laloux (La Planète sauvage / Fantastic Planet) and designed by the legendary Jean Giraud – aka Mœbius – The Time Masters is a visually fantastic foray into existentialist space adventure.
There was an insightful introduction by Michael Leader. Apparently, René Laloux wanted to make the production more in the detailed cutout style of his previous film “Fantastic Planet” but the producers insisted it be made in the conventional cel animation style. It was an international production, including input from the BBC.
The film has a psychological and biological tone. A child wanders on an alien world amongst trees like tentacles, reminiscent of dendrites in the brain. He communicates with a variety of people on a spaceship via a device he calls “Mike”. Childlike, spherical robotic creatures appear with the ability to read thoughts and describe them as smells (bad thoughts 'stink' and pleasant thoughts have a wonderful aroma).
Later, sinister angelic winged characters controlled by an amorphous 'AI like' entity can only be defeated by the heroic sacrifice of an egotistical, self-interested character… There’s a mysterious elderly man with a metal plate on his skull. Some social and political themes about control, conformity and individuality too.
Scenery and wildlife designed by Moebius reminded me of later Studio Ghibli films, particularly Nausicaa.
Indeed, as noted elsewhere, Myazaki has expressed a debt to Moebius.
The film was shown at the Ciné Lumière in the Institut français (French Institute), South Kensington, London. It's an impressive venue with a great café and a good excuse to catch up with old friends.
French Madeleine in honour of Marcel Proust.
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