Stop-Motion Love

I fell head over heels in love with stop-motion animation when I was a little girl thanks to a mid-sixties christmas special. Years later, that tiny flame I held in my heart for stop-motion was refueled when my beloved brought home a copy of Blood Tea and Red String.

I adore this film. It turned my dusty little flame into a blazing fire. The soundtrack is my favorite thing to fall asleep to. All those ticking clocks! Not to mention the "heart rending musical score that was composed and performed by Mark Growden accompanies this disturbing and wondrous adventure".
Aaaah, Alice in Wonderland.
Doesn't just the thought of it make your heart skip a beat?
If not, then perhaps this little gem will.
Alice, (1988), by Jan Švankmajer is about as surreal as it gets when it comes to film adaptations of the book. I owe a very good friend a kiss on the forehead for subjecting me to it and several thimblefuls of absinthe one fine evening (after eight hours of travel no less!).
Taxidermy and tea cups!
I recommend turning the volume on the film off and turning the soundtrack of your choosing up while watching this.
You can view a clip of it here.

And now for the icing on the cake:
I recently stumbled upon the Great Grandfather of today's stop-motion films.
Ladislaw Starewicz was an entomology enthusiast and subsequent stop-motion filmmaker. I've read that he is best known for the 1912 film, Mest' kinegatograficheskogo operatora (The Cameraman's Revenge) (I doubt anyone has made an art of insect personification such as this before or since!!!), but he made so many that I think it's best to decide for one's self. Oh, to have been able to meet this man!

"The Tale of the Fox (Le Roman de Renard)"

And for your viewing pleasure:
The Town Rat and the Country Rat
Voice of the Nightingale
The Frogs Who Wanted a King