Norman McLaren Movies

Norman McLaren made Scherzo early after his arrival in North America in 1939, but the film was subsequently lost. In 1984 the original materials were...

This cinematic travelogue consists of three parts. In the first part, texts and small maps are our guides through Madrid in 1936. We see pictures of...

A man sets a ping-pong ball into motion and it becomes fruitful and multiplies.

A slow-motion study by Norman McLaren of the pas-de-deux adagio, one of the most exacting and difficult dances of classical ballet. A ballet...

This animated short from Norman McLaren features a human skull cautioning Canadians to “keep their mouths shut” in an effort to end...

A documentary showing Norman McLaren working on the hand-drawn sound process he uses for his short film, Loops.

This animated short co-animated by René Jodoin and Norman McLaren was produced for inclusion in the Let's All Sing Together sing-along series....

In this early film Norman McLaren shot crystal formations through a low-power microscope, using polarized light with the lower part of the picture...

Experimental film showing a day's activities at the Glasgow College of Art.

An animated film in which colored shapes dance to calliope music. The visuals were drawn by Norman McLaren directly upon the film with pen and ink....

An unfinished animated short by Norman McLaren.

A compilation of seven shorts made for the National Film Board of Canada. Features the NFBC shorts, "Nahanni," "Le Merle," "A Chairy Tale," "The Cars...

In Là-haut sur ces montagnes, Mclaren used for the first time a chain-of-mixes (chiaroscuro) on a pastel-drawn landscape. The idea for such a...

A gay fantasia of patterned sound in which Norman McLaren salutes the West Indies, painting the spirit of fiesta on film to the lively beat of an...

This animated short by Norman McLaren serves as a wartime savings campaign. Symbolic figures, drawn directly on 35mm film stock, move and dance...

A play on the theme of hearts. Two hearts cavort, change shape, shoot arrows at one another, give birth, and finally become one heart bearing the...

In this film Norman McLaren uses puppets, diagrams, animation and live-action to present an anti-war message for use by peace organizations.

The first part of this series by Norman McLaren deals only with tempo. It starts by showing the disc travelling in one move (1/24 of a second) from A...

Norman McLaren instructs Grant Munro on the movements he is to make. The film technique for Two Bagatelles is pixillation, where the actor is...

Norman McLaren's documentary-style account of how a letter from home reaches a sailor on duty in foreign waters.