Mikey, please.

Why do we love watching puppets smash each other so much?

If you’ve never treated yourselves to the sanity-defying animated delights of Zagreb Film from the 50s, 60s, and beyond, you are in for the zaggiest day of your life.

From deep in the forests of the Czech lands comes the mysterious duo Dva, who make “no-exist radio pop,” or music for radios that do not exist.

Sean Buckelew’s long awaited drone-centric short is finally here.

The fine folks over at Chorus.fm interviewed us about our process on the Fall Out Boy video (plus some F-O-B-T-S video at OTP)!

“Now here’s my plan…”

This Puppetoon masterpiece by George Pal has been properly remastered at last.

Our Adult Swim “Teeth Trilogy” has been featured on the Dragonframe blog,

What are we looking at, and how did someone make it in 2003???

Thriller, Closer, Sledgehammer… You can count the number of perfect music videos in this world on one hand. “Congratulations Smack & Katy” is one of them.

Open The Portal is hosting a very special Halloween animation night with our friends from Protozoa.

Bad Mr. Frosty summons you to the campfire for the chilling tale of what happened to the greatest stop motion 16-bit fighting game ever created

Our friends at Apartment D cooked up this fantastic treat for you–not to be mist!

Selick & Key & Peele bring you the first full trailer for their spooky new treat.

Cover thy heads and bow before the awesome power of KC’s drumming, o sweet foolish mortals!

We like to hold our secrets close here at Open The Portal, but once every 200 years we crawl out of our cave and post a behind the scenes clip. This is one of those videos.

Bezerk animation mind David Daniels takes us on a journey through his melting brain with a brand new art show in Los Angeles.

The Beef is Strong with this one.

The man behind Pee Wee’s puppets has a whole rootin’ tootin’ world o’ weirdness to share with all yew weary trav’llers!

Director Mike Johnson & Primus teamed up in 1998 to bring new fire to this devilish classic.

In theaters Friday, June 24th, 2022–You will believe that a shellephant can fly.

The Gaming Historian presents the comprehensive history of Super Mario World that you never knew you needed this badly.

Pharrell’s new music video does for zoetropes what Bang did for energy drinks.

If you watch 9 Extraweg videos in a row, you get a waffle party.

Our dear pals at RatBat Studios (lead by Max Winston) created this goblicious spot for Fontaine Cards, and you can meet the goblins in Los Angeles this Saturday!

Therapist: “An A Capella version of the Jurassic Park theme sung by Daniel Radcliffe, Paul Dano, and Andy Hull doesn’t exist. It can’t hurt you.” Swiss Army Man soundtrack:

Through me you pass into the city of Sillyville, through Silly Whim you pass into eternal pain, through Wee among the Sing lost for aye. -Dante Alighieri, 1989

Yesterworld Entertainment takes us through the story of the most exciting Quaker Oats television commercial ever conceived. Really!

This mind-bending 1984 DEVO music video was almost lost to the sands of time when the Jimi Hendrix estate blocked its release, but the undefeated Internet has come through and rescued it!

Super Eyepatch Wolf pulls the hairballs off our eyes to reveal deep, cosmic truths about Garfield that would make Nermal squirm.

Aardman Animation has always been one of our nearest and dearest influences at Open The Portal, and they’ve just released an absolutely cracking documentary.

We’re cooking up new shorts with the strangest squad of animation directors this side of Steamboat Willie! First on the list is OTP friend and collaborator Aron Fromm, who built this short on a real bit of audio he recorded with Stan Lee many years ago.

The teaser to Guillermo Del Toro’s upcoming stop motion take on Pinocchio is here, and it’s looking strombolicious.

Henry Selick returns with a stop motion Key & Peele feature film about demons. Happy 2022!

We are honored to be a part of the incredible team nominated for a SXSW 2022 Innovation Award for the first ever Google Slides music video by The Academic and our friends at BBDO!

The Royal Ocean Film Society makes the compelling case that Gremlins 2 may be the best film in the history of cinema.

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

“The Muppet used for the Ghost of Christmas Past was a rod puppet that was submerged into a tank filled with baby oil.” Holiday nightmare fuel!

Our stone cold supergenius friends at Screen Novelties created this killer trailer for the new Cuphead game using live puppetry and a variety of practical special effects.

Documentary filmmaker Jinho Choi visited OTP recently to make a documentary about Kangmin Kim’s process, and our collaboration on Kangmin’s recent film KKUM. 포털을 열다!!!

Panique au Village is the best damn Belgian stop motion sitcom ever created, and we’re damn well standing behind it.

Quique Rivera of Acho Studio (one of the nearest and dearest members of the OTP family) just directed this fabulous stop motion story from Big Mouth Season 5 on Netflix, streaming now!

Come one, come all–it’s the swanky premiere of OTP’s very first original pilot, this Saturday in Hollywood!

In honor of creator Art Clokey’s birthday, it’s the perfect time to watch Gumby Dharma, the unexpectedly sweet psychedelic story behind our favorite little green slab of clay.

Try to make it through all 61 seconds of this micro-classic by Juan Pablo Zaramella without crying.

“He was a comedic genius–anybody that didn’t get it, I’m sorry for you that you didn’t get it.” -Bob Saget on Norm Macdonald

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

Phil Tippett’s nightmare opus is here at last!

OTP talks to Shoutout about all our favorite things to do in LA.

“Who knew slugs could be so romantic?” -The BBC

The animation world has finally decided to cross our eyes once and for all with this animated Magic Eye style video.

Meet three Kirk Douglasses, all nicely packaged in one convenient stop motion film noir. 1994 was a hell of a time.

Experimental animator, artist, teacher, and friend, with us from 1943-2019. Rest in peace, Miss Suzan Pitt!

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

Flesh ‘n ink gallery of OTP doodles rendered eternal in tattoo!

“We have awarded this degree to either a genius or madman. Time will show.”

It’s hard to believe something this weird got on TV in 2005, and is still unreleased online sixteen years later, but one hero on Vimeo dared to revive these long lost episodes…

A wild ride of an optical sequence from from the film “Gateways to the Mind” (1958). Trust us when we say that you’ll NEVER trust another trapezoid.

The animated titles to HBO’s new series Q: Into the Storm by Tourist Pictures are nothing short of inQredible.

Check out Bruce Bickford’s work in stunning “NO-D,” available exclusively on VHS (or YouTube if you don’t care about the glasses)

SXSW has recognized our new film KKUM from director Kangmin Kim with the Special Jury Recognition for Innovation!

Our friends and animation family at the Global Animation Syndicate cordially invite you to their fantastic 2021 program.

OTP sound maestro Barrett Slagle flexes his musical muscles in this ASCAP feature on our latest film, KKUM

Three videos by our great friends in the parallel universe of WATTS LA

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.

It’s raining today.

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

“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)

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…

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

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.

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.

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

What are YOU playing for lunch?

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This is some weird, wild stuff.

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.

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

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

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

“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

An important message from 1985.

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.

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

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

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

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

Before Don Hertzfeldt, there was Tex Avery…

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

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

Somehow, somewhere, in the mystical age of 1993…

Aye, technologee be thy devil!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rest in peace, amazing Mister Bickford!

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

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

Planet Earth, about to be recycled?

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.

Back on the big screen for one night only!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Open the Portal is now represented by Circle of Confusion!

Tommy Stanfield unearths another gem from the cave of wonders.

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

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

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

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

“YES, MY GATEKEEPER!!!”

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…

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

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

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.

Great animation is as complicated as life itself.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

Mike Jittlov simply sweats genius.

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

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

OTP takes on The Foo Fighters 2018 live tour

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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!

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mouse sandwich. They have mouse sandwich.

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.

Mike Jittlov’s original, untouchable 1979 masterpiece.

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.

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

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.

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.”

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

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

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

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

The Hypothetical Clog is Dissolving.

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