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Press: OTP Sound at Sundance

Our very on sound maestro Barrett Slagle gets an ASCAP composer spotlight for his work on our latest Sundance entry, KKUM.

Yo Magic on Wandavision

Quique Rivera (aka Acho studio, one of our best friends and collaborators) cooked up this wild 90s influenced stop motion treat for the most recent episode of WandaVision.

Mound / Allison Schulnik

It’s raining today.

THE CULT OF FLEISCHER

Wanna be a mem-bah? Wanna be a mem-bah?

Heart of Batman

Turn that RBF (resting bat-face) upside-down with this brand spanking new doc on Batman: The Animated Series.

DESPOT

An ode to the viruses of our day by Nicholas D’Agostino (Pox Films Inc.) Featuring Shakespearean dialogue & cheeseburgers together onscreen for the first time ever!

DEVO in Human Highway

A 1982 “nuclear comedy” directed by Neil Young and starring DEVO. This is our very favorite scene.

Gumby Dharma

Ever wondered why Gumby’s head is shaped like that? There’s more to Gumby creator Art Clokey (1921-2010) than a little green slab of clay. Watch the whole doc here for the unexpectedly sweet psychedelic story.

Peace on Earth

In 1939, Hugh Harman managed to make a post-apocalyptic Christmas film with a genuinely heartfelt message. A perfect piece for 2020.

Sessions with Stan

OTP friend and collaborator Aron Fromm directed this animated spot based on a real bit of audio he recorded of Stan Lee many years ago.

Alien Xmas

The Chiodo Bros. extraterrestrial winter magnum opus is finally here for our gluttonous eyes to slurp up. Merry Xtraterrestrial-mas!

Bump in the Night

For those of you lucky enough to have been of Saturday-morning-cartoon-watching age in 1994 and 1995, you’ve already seen this. For everyone else, here’s Bump in the Night!

Alchemical Furnance

This upcoming documentary about our favorite Czech surrealist Jan Švankmajer shows us a side of the director we’ve never seen before – a smile.

Tales From the Far Side

We were shocked with excitement to discover that the greatest single panel comic strip of all time (sorry, “Family Circus”) was adapted into this spooky animated Halloween special in 1994!

The Purple Curtain Stop Motion Screening

For the first time ever, you can now view “The Purple Curtain Stop Motion Screening” (our very first program of animated shorts shown at OTP in May 2016) online.

Runaway Brain

Mickey Mouse is possessed by a feral creature, Minnie sports a tiny bikini, and violent cartoon insanity ensues in this decidedly adult and largely overlooked 1995 masterpiece of freaky Disney animation.

Krtek a Radiohead

If your brain needs a rest from the madness all around us, check into the warm jacuzzi of Zdeněk Miler’s legendary animated character Krtek blended with the velvety sounds of Radiohead.

kkum

“My mother’s dreams have always been strong premonitions for important moments in my life. I rely on her dreams more than any religion.” -Kangmin Kim (Director of KKUM)

Woke Up Looking at My Robot

Oh I wake up looking at my robot… Yes I find the time looking at my robot… Oh I find my way looking at my robot…

Feels Good Man

Can a documentary about memes leave you glued to your seat for 90 minutes?

Heat Wave

It’s going to be approaching 110° in Los Angeles this weekend! This stylistic marvel of stop motion magic is the closest you can get to the experience without a trip to the West Coast.

33 Years of UFOs over Catalonia

With the Pentagon greasing the wheels to release “new details of UFO encounters” to the public, we thought it would be a good time to remind the universe that Catalonia has been ahead of the curve for decades.

Switched on Bach

Wendy Carlos delivers brain scorching Brandenburg concertos via synthesizer for your delight.

Pasta in the Portal

What are YOU playing for lunch?

Night Mail 2020

Chef Calvin Frederick comes out of the shadows for a sneak peek at this kaleidoscopic madness he’s been cooking up.

Nightmare Fuel

The AV Club does us all a stunning favor by compiling 21 of the most horrifying sequences in children’s entertainment into one neat and convenient package.

Looney Tunes Cartoons

Just when you thought 2020 couldn’t get any Loonier…

We Know Jack

At long last, a podcast completely dedicated to the forsaken souls responsible for the creation of stop motion’s greatest cinematic masterpiece.

The Man Who Was Naked

Leslie William Nielsen: The naked man, the naked myth, the scantily clad legend.

Facing It

A short of a different color by mixed media master Sam Gainsborough.

TV Tower Babies

David Černy brings a bit of human warmth to a dark icon of Czech communist-era architecture.

Don’t Cry For Me, I’m Already Dead

Prepare to be brought to tears by Simpsons quotes in this early comic from Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar.

Zina Nicole Lahr

A bright, peaceful spark to keep burning through these cloudy days.

Farmageddon!

It’s on Netflix. It’s from Aardman. It’s the most underrated stop motion movie of the millennium.

Critters 2

Some absolutely bonkers creature effects magic, courtesy of our friends the Chiodo Brothers.

Salvation

This is some weird, wild stuff.

The Surprise and Wonder of Early Animation

We’ve always been huge fans of the wild, raw creativity found in early animation, and this killer article published by the New Yorker gives you a great place to start searching.

Rudolph’s Anime Christmas

Were you aware of the link between Japanese WWII propaganda films and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? Read on…

Christmas Valentine

A new stop motion music video for Ingrid Michaelson and Jason Mraz with a touch of Christmas magic.

妹妹 / SISTER

The beautiful new film from Siqi Song, available online for the next few weeks.

OTP X Indie Animation Podcast

OTP is this week’s guest on the best Indie Animation podcast around!

Friends of David

“We’re putting the band back together–we’re on a mission from God.” A very special tribute show to our friend David Del Fonzo. November 17th @ the Troubadour

Halloween Safety

An important message from 1985.

The Other Space

Our great friend and collaborator Blake Derksen is releasing a sci-fi stop motion short inspired by his own battle with cancer. We were honored to be a part of the production process.

BUFFALO WING CONSUMPTION SIMULATION

A time-bending sci-fi story that begins with cavemen and ends with buffalo wings, created by the almighty Kirsten Lepore.

My Life in Monsters

Mad genius Phil Tippett tells VICE about his monstrous past, present, and future.

Stingray, Thunderbirds, and World Police!

Your introduction to the world of sci-fi Supermarionation®!

Alternate Universe Roger Rabbit

Pee-wee Herman as Roger Rabbit? Let your imagination run wild.

Tex Avery’s World of Tomorrow

Before Don Hertzfeldt, there was Tex Avery…

Thought Leader

How many questions does it take to learn the answer? Thought Leader Pat Kelly tells all.

Busby Berkeley Dreams

We still dance on whirling stages in my Busby Berkeley dreams.

Weird Al visits Jurassic Park

Somehow, somewhere, in the mystical age of 1993…

Ye Olde Black Mirror

Aye, technologee be thy devil!

Breakfast with Cyriak

Breakfast: The quality content you’ve been looking for.

Negative Space

One of our favorite stop motion films from the festival circuit last year, now available to watch online!

Stop Motion Ocean

Water effects are notoriously impossible to pull off in stop motion. Javan Ivey is notoriously good at pulling off the impossible.

Sweet, Beautiful Looney Tunes

The Looney Tunes are back (in style!), thanks to the talents of Peter Browngardt and countless plucky young animators.

R.I.P. Suzan Pitt

Experimental animator, artist, teacher, and friend–rest in peace, Miss Suzan Pitt!

Drunk Mickey History

Ub course you know the real history of Mickey Mouse… don’t you?

Life Has No Meaning

“To say life has no meaning is not to say it has no value…” -Moon Honey

Max & the Manx

So this song is supposed to be like a video game or something?

Polarized

A surreal short story of ice bears and extra terrestrials from the OTP archives, shot in a musty bedroom in 2008.

R.I.P. Bruce Bickford

Rest in peace, amazing Mister Bickford!

Red Dot Sneak Peek

This Saturday, join us for an evening of celebrating the life and artwork of the legendary Chuck Jones!

Blind Mice

Nicholas D’Agostino and Pox Films Inc. (dear friends and OTP collaborators) premiere their fantastic new stop motion noir.

Behind the Comet…

Planet Earth, about to be recycled?

Welcome To My Daydream

Our friends at Starburns Industries are producing the upcoming documentary on the late Will Vinton, creator of Claymation® and one of the all time great stop motion directors.

SPACEBALLS!!!

Back on the big screen for one night only!

Chuck Jones

A very special tribute to one of the major influences behind Open The Portal.

Gumby Tries to Rob 7-Eleven

Heartbreaking footage of the original clayboy, caught green handed at the ol’ 7-Eleven

When Björk-y Met Michel-y

A weirdo from France and a wacko from Iceland find collaborative love in a paint piano.

HOTT MT – Earth on Heaven

Our nearest and dearest space siblings in HOTT MT released their brand new album Earth on Heaven today!

Dimensions of Dialogue

Woe to ye who enter here (and have never experienced a Jan Švankmajer film before)!

Puppetoon Screening!

A rare chance to see the incredible work of George Pal projected on newly restored 35mm film prints in Los Angeles.

Hesper Joins the Circle

Open the Portal is now represented by Circle of Confusion!

Aladdin: Street Rat Edition

Tommy Stanfield unearths another gem from the cave of wonders.

Double King

A wild ride into the mind of Aussie animation weirdo Felix Colgrave.

The Rock-afire Explosion

The shocking and startling truth behind the sordid past of Chuck E. Cheese!

HBO 1983

Magical miniatures with a few bizarro twists from a bygone era of wildly creative TV bumpers.

Chris Farley

No bells or whistles here, just a tribute to one of our favorite comedians of all time.

Nightmare: The Video Board Game

“YES, MY GATEKEEPER!!!”

Horizons

In the last days of a 1983 Walt Disney World attraction called Horizons, two unknown heroes would change the course of history for all of us when they learned to (extremely illegally) sneak off the ride vehicles to document the experience…

Mouse Soup

A little seen stop motion masterpiece created by John Clark Matthews in 1992.

Death by Droste

Artist Feliks Konczakowski brings a visual idea hailing from medieval times into the digital age with pictures in pictures in pictures in pictures…

JEOM Online Premiere

After a fantastic festival run including Sundance, SXSW, Ottawa, LA Film Festival, & GLAS, we are extremely excited to share our film JEOM (directed by Kangmin Kim) with the public.

The Illusion of Disney

Great animation is as complicated as life itself.

Min Börda (The Burden)

One of the sweetest stop motion shorts ever conceived, courtesy of the wonderful Niki Lindroth von Bahr.

The Greatest Stop Motion Story Ever Told

If you have to be told what it is, you should probably get your brain checked.

Benjamin

An artificial intelligence program created by two fantastic blokes who were kind enough to instruct it to write science fiction films instead of enslaving humanity.

Drumming With Tape

Japan’s Open Reel Ensemble shows us what happens when a medium designed to capture sound is repurposed to create it.

OTP at Comic Con!

Tell ’em Large Marge sent ya! Our official Comic Con 2018 panel, “Stop Motion as a Special Effect,” featuring the legendary Eric Adkins, Stephen Chiodo, and Tony Doublin.

Dragonframe

A short piece on our BIFAN leader film featured on the Dragonframe blog.

Sufjan in the Sandlot

A scene from the 1993 classic The Sandlot re-imagined with a new soundtrack.

SUNDANCE SHORTS TOUR!

Our new film JEOM (by Kangmin Kim) is currently traveling across the U.S. as a part of the Sundance Shorts Tour.

Animato

Mike Jittlov simply sweats genius.

Time Piece

Jim Henson’s brain-boggling 1966 Academy Award nominated short film.

Netflix and Ill

An OTP original re-imagining of the Netflix logo, ’90s style.

Foo Fighters Concert Visuals

OTP takes on The Foo Fighters 2018 live tour

Pan With Us

A rediscovered experimental animated gem from 2003 that’s guaranteed to give you goosebumps. R.L. Stine sold separately.

Creed Bratton

OTP’s music video for our friend Creed’s new song “More Than You Know.”

Johnny Strong: Night Moves

Be gone mutant!

GLAS 2018

Coming to your galaxy March 22nd: The GLAS 2018 Animation Festival, featuring our new short, Jeom!

Snow White at the El Capitan

Snow White is coming back to the big screen for a limited run at the El Capitan. We give you 3 delicious Snow White-isms to whet your whistle. Have a bite!

The Horror of the Abject Object

An essay on the power of stop motion animation penned by the magnificent Nick D’Agostino (Pox films).

Hot Dog Hands

An NSFTFOH (Not Safe For The Faint Of Heart) hand drawn animated short from our friend Matt Reynolds.

2018: The Anomaly of Science

An introduction to our studio’s official theme of 2018: The Anomaly of Science

Hello Kitty Nutcracker Fantasy

“In 1979, Sanrio hired an ex-Rankin/Bass animator to create their own stop-motion Christmas epic… The results were WEIRD AS HELL.”

Jeom in Sundance!

We are thrilled to announce that our brand new short film JEOM, directed and animated by Kangmin Kim, has been accepted as an official selection for the Sundance Film Festival in 2018!

Little Nemo in Slumberland

It’s almost impossible to believe that this 1911 short by master animator Winsor McCay was released when Walt Disney was only ten years old.

The Hand

Otevřete Portál! A 1965 masterpiece by Jiří Trnka, one of the fathers (and indisputable all-time masters) of puppet character animation

Everything

“A consciousness simulator created by a simulated consciousness.” -Reilly O’David

Donald in Mathmagic Land

Quite possibly the most singularly influential cartoon we’ve had the pleasure of viewing at OTP.

Cuphead

If animator Ub Iwerks lived in the age of Super Mario…

Lovestreams

Love in the time of AOL (a short by our good friend Sean Buckalew)

Komaneko Kills You With Kuteness

Komaneko’s “First Step” is the most painfully adorable stop motion film ever conceived.

The Animation Will Not Be Televised!

Selections from our Barcelona Purple Curtain screening–If you’re looking for a fix of incredible stop motion shorts, this is it.

I’m Scared

A dreamy new stop motion short based on the works of Craola, shot by stop motion masters of the universe Pete Levin and Musa Brooker.

PRESS: Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone features our lyric video for Neil Young’s ‘My Pledge’

2017: Suspension of Disbelief

An introduction to our studio’s official theme of 2017: Suspension of Disbelief

Human Zoetrope

An OTP original 24-frame animated tattoo on a single human body!

Bad Peppermint

An Open the Portal Christmas Morning story, featuring holographic animation created with the Microsoft Hololens.

Here Be Dragons

The mysterious Manuel Barenboim’s unequaled feat of light animation projected onto cactus spines.

Ripe Rock

Madman Max Winston’s early masterpiece of citrus creatures and mysterious feet.

Crystal Visions

Polaroids from our Crystal Visions screening ~ a Purple Curtain event (sponsored by GLAS and CalArts) celebrating female stop motion animators and artists.

Thumb Snatchers

…From the Moon Cocoon! Bradley Schaffer’s alien massacre magnum opus.

Ship of Fools

“So it just came out…?” -Josh Shaffner

Slow Bob / Henry Selick

Henry Selick’s mind-bending 1991 pilot, created with The Residents. OTP is proud to be sponsoring “An Evening With Henry Selick” (presented by GLAS Animation) at the Downtown Independent in Los Angeles

Tick Tock Timecrow

One of the first Open The Portal short films, featuring the original appearance of the Timecrow!

Guy Fantastico

Our music video for the one and only Guy Fantastico, created by a pirate edit of the final scene in Repo Man.

Animation is a Gift Word

A beautiful essay on the value of animation by the late great master of the art form, Chuck Jones.

Daydreaming

A Radiohead vignette by Open The Portal

Press: OTP x Helado Negro Game (REMEZLCA)

CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP

Chef Calvin Frederick

“My concern is not whether Calvin is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on Calvin’s side, for Calvin is always right.” -Chef Boyardee

Balance

This Oscar-winning 1989 surreal German short looks exactly how inside of my brain feels most days.

Journey Through a Melting Brain

This brain-boiling compilation features the best of “Strata-cut,” a style of animation so intense that only one person has ever mastered it.

PRESS: Pitchfork

Pitchfork premiere of our video for “Atomic Number” by Neko Case, k.d. lang, and Laura Veirs.

An Optical Poem

1938 short by Oskar Fischinger, to whom “Fantasia” owes much of its life.

Charlie Kaufman

A lovely essay by writer/director Charlie Kaufman on the art of stop motion animation.

PRESS: Businesswire

A very business-like write-up on our recent collaboration with Katy Perry and Staples.

Unarius

The Universal Articulate Interdimensional Understanding of Science invites you to the 33rd Interplanetary Conclave of Light.

Museum of Jurassic Technology

Mouse sandwich. They have mouse sandwich.

Vincent

Brought to life by master animator Stephen Chiodo (who taught us everything we know about stop motion), this 1982 Tim Burton directed short is one of our all time favorites.

The Wizard of Speed and Time

Mike Jittlov’s original, untouchable 1979 masterpiece.

World of Tomorrow

From Don Hertzfeldt, the mind who first brought the phrase “my spoon is too big” into the lexicon, comes a film that has nothing to do with spoons.

Bad Egg!

An early OTP experiment in hand drawn animation (and mouth made sound)

Pen Point Percussion

At Open The Portal, we create all of our own sounds in the studio–influenced in no small part by Norman McLaren, who devised a way of using images on film to create sound.

Kyrie

OTP experiment in visual music using paint and copies of the handwritten music of J.S. Bach, set to his composition “Kyrie,” from “Mass in B Minor.”

Karel Zeman, Adventurer in Film

There’s never been a better time to get lost in the dream world of Karel Zeman.

Open the Polaroids

Gallery of Polaroids featuring our studio space, shot by OTP ally Alfred Hitchcock.

Press: Stop Motion Magazine

“This rag tag group of friends has set out to make something new and different…”

Crowtoscoping

A rare look behind the Portal into our newfangled “Crowto-scoping” technique:

You Smell Too Human

The Hypothetical Clog is Dissolving.

Press: Animation World Network

“…the studio more closely resembles an adult version of “Pee Wee’s Playhouse” than a film production facility.”

Open The Party

A collection of photos from our studio launch party on 1/23.  Open The Portal is open for business!