1942-1944 - How To Cross a Gorge and Guadalacanal, Ray Harryhausen

As WWII unfolds, a young Harryhausen (who was already well into stop motion) joins the war effort, making the stop motion military training films.

1943 - Bury The Axis, Lou Bunin

Allied WWII war propaganda at its sharpest (and nastiest), this film showcases Bunin’s superb abilities in the medium. 

1946 - Mother Goose Stories, Ray Harryhausen

With the end of WWII, Harryhausen turns his attention to his own series of charming stop motion fairy tale adaptations. The production value and animation quality on display here are outstanding. A heart-warming bit of extra info- this series was a true family effort. Harryhausen’s mom worked on the puppet costumes, while his dad tackled sets and models. 

1947 - Tubby The Tuba, George Pal

This installment in the Hungarian-born Pal’s Puppetoon series is just one example of the distinctive replacement animation method he helped pioneer and perfect. Title character Tubby longs to play something other than a bass line, and after some hardships and heartbreaks, gets his wish. Look for all the other Puppetoon shorts, as well as the feature version called The Puppetoon Movie, that was created many years later, in 1987.

1949 - Lou Bunin’s Alice In Wonderland, Lou Bunin

This is a fast-paced and intense adaptation of the Lewis Carroll story, that mixes stop motion with live action. Disney tried to pressure Bunin to hold off releasing his film till Disney’s version had come out. Disney sued. Bunin won.

1949 - The Emperor’s Nightingale, Jirí Trnka

The Czech master adapts a Hans Christian Andersen tale in this feature film. With a parade of the gorgeous puppets that came to be associated with Trnka’s work, this film serves as a wonderful showcase for classic Czech puppet work. Prepare to be inspired as you watch this story of “real” and mechanical birds, played out in the court of the Chinese Emperor.