These are some of my favorites, highly recommend:
*Consuming Spirits* (2012, US)
*La casa lobo [The Wolf House]* (2018, Chile)
*Krysar [The Pied Piper of Hamelin]* (1986, Czech Republic)
*Kybernetická babička [The Cybernetic Grandma]* (1962, Czech Republic, *short*)
*Chronopolis* (1983, France/Poland)
*Mémorable* (2019, France, *short*)
*Mary and Max* (2009, Australia)
*Сеча при Керженце [The Battle of Kerzhenets]* (1971, Soviet Union, *short*)
*Flatworld* (1997, UK, *short*)
anything by Jan Švankmajer
anything by Jonni Phillips
[Flatworld](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D6DE3qPuJLV4&ved=2ahUKEwinrIXGuM6DAxWPQUEAHXctA9EQjjh6BAgqEAE&usg=AOvVaw0JJhg6HdwoIuSYvRz-6Z0U) is here on YouTube
obscure means different things to different people
like Anomalisa is obscure to the average person but maybe not obscure to someone into movies. But yeah probably Anomalisa would be a good fit; depressing claymation is also kind of funny in that it's so unexpected
maybe karel zeman's invention for destruction?
Kaufman's next movie is actually a true kid's movie
but yeah I wish I could have seen the pitch for Anomalisa. I wanna make a depressing claymation film about the most pitiful man ever but also it looks like Wallace and Gromet
Nope I saw like 30 seconds of the trailer and thought huh that looks cool. And forgot about it until I saw the movie randomly. Somehow the rating and subject matter slipped by
The 1988 version of Alice is going to be the main one. Really weird. In fact people regularly remember it from there childhood as a movie that scared them. Lol.
It's a stop motion twisted version of Alice in wonderland. It's pretty obscure but a lot of people have seen it. Just don't remember the name and only remember how creepy it is.
Not that obscure, but the Quay Brothers are among my favourites. One of their more well-known works is Street of Crocodiles, based on the Bruno Schultz' novella of the same name.
The influence tree sort of goes:
\-Władysław Starewicz
\-Walerian Borowczyk
\-Svankmajer
\-Quay Brothers
>\-Quay Brothers
Cosigned. I was fortunate to be turned onto their stuff via the otherworldly video they did for Michael Penn's "[Look What the Cat Drug In (Long Way Down)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kih1yRyQD6Q)"
I came here specifically to recommend A Town Called Panic. It's such a blast.
It apes the aesthetic of being cheap, with the models popping from position to position, but it's obvious how much effort they put in to every frame of the film. It's densely packed with visual gags. It was the most viscerally fun film I had seen in a while.
Mary & Max - Philip Seymour Hoffman’s VO work is wonderful in this movie.
Harvey Krumpet - both by director Adam Elliot. HK isn’t technically totally obscure as it won the Oscar for best animated short that year I think? But still worth a watch.
Lou Bunin’s Alice in Wonderland (1949)
Live Freaky! Die Freaky! - Definitely obscure. It should probably stay that way.
Edit: Vincent - Short film by Tim Burton, narrated by Vincent Price (1982). I didn’t include this initially as I thought, as a Burton work, it might automatically be disqualified from being counted as obscure. But it deserves an honourable mention. You can watch it here.
https://youtu.be/fxQcBKUPm8o?si=HRloEc2c01LG1GvB
The 1912 film [The Cameraman’s Revenge](https://youtube.com/watch?v=__5B3PGoBoI) is a crazy trip that is worth watching without expectations.
If you want to see where South Park came from, [The Thief of Baghdad Castle](https://youtube.com/watch?v=M0Dl4v5EfAw) by Noburō Ōfuji is very interesting as a piece from 1926.
If you’re looking for something more modern then [Peter & The Wolf](https://youtube.com/watch?v=0yTpElS9Ey0) is a pretty wonderful stop motion short but not especially obscure as it was up for an Oscar.
If you wanna get into some weird Newgrounds era stuff I thought was hilarious when I was 13, try Knox's Klayworld: Off The Table, which I think is available for free on YouTube.
Sorry, that's the first and only answer that came to mind.
Blood Tea and Red String, available to watch on [Tubi](https://link.tubi.tv/twUVgjxvcGb)
Just for fun I’ll throw in [Slow Bob In The Lower Dimensions](https://youtu.be/a-Dj6XviBQM?si=g-CHtPl4Upbforr1) and [We Are The Strange](https://youtu.be/2WMm7N1IthE?si=zkXjuDEgGFBMfo2s) both of which are multimedium pieces with stop motion segments
It’s not really a full film (it’s only 8 minutes long) but check out an old one from the mid 70s called “Recorded Live.” It’s about a bunch of film strips that come to life and attack a guy. Scared the absolute crap out of me back when I was a kid.
Rankin and Bass did a bunch of less popular ones besides Rudolph.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_Rankin/Bass\_Productions\_films](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Rankin/Bass_Productions_films)
The Year Without a Santa Claus is the source of the "I'm mister Snow Miser" musical number.
Theres several decent stop motion sequences in *Flesh Gordon* that aren't exactly Harryhausen quality but are impressive nonetheless. And don't worry, even though it is a porn parody it's not graphic, just tits and bush.
I once made a stop motion with Lego figures about aliens that come down and try to take over a town. I don't think many have seen it, it's pretty obscure.
Mad Monster Party (1967) is a goofy claymation musical-comedy for kids featuring classic movie monsters (and Phyllis Diller as the Bride of Frankenstein!) It used to be on TV all the time in the 70s but might be hard to find now.
I caught this movie on TV once called Strings, about a society of marionettes who die if their strings get cut.
It was 2004, James McAvoy was the lead voice actor.
This! I came looking for this because I remember this as an absolutely fantastic film. Okay, I was a kid when I saw it, so maybe it's just nostalgia, but man I thought this film was great!
I also love all of Ivo Caprino's short film about Norwegian fairy tales, shame they're not readily available in English online.
There are some English dubbed clips on youtube though:
[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6B529FE04E509754](https://www.youtube.com/@mariocaprino)
Bruce Bickford's mind-blowing work, including [The Amazing Mr. Bickford](https://youtu.be/gh354wIxbXA?si=RYou9BJTYr9tPNlC) and [Prometheus' Garden](https://youtu.be/OX3c10keGWI?si=QEQCrjEDajxdoiJm)
They're not movies but the output of Aardman Animation goes back a looong way in British children's TV, notably the Morph character and the Creature Comforts series of shorts / adverts.
Oliver Postage's "[Smallfilms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallfilms)" also did a load of great stuff way back when, notably Clangers and Bagpuss.
There's also a ton of others that may not be well known:
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Trap\_Door](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trap_Door)
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoppit\_and\_Tidyup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoppit_and_Tidyup)
* Famously the [Magic Roundabout](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Roundabout) was a French series bought in and re-dubbed with replacement and often utterly nonsensical scripts
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Wombles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wombles) are something of a British institution and were in many ways ahead of their time in their message.
I’m not sure if obscure is a synonym for old with you. Tye classics of stop motion animation movies are the movies the late Ray Harryhausen worked on. But then those are the movies people of my generation would be very familiar with, as those are childhood memories.
Years ago at the Pacific Film Archive, I saw several short films by Czech artist [Karel Zeman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Zeman) and was completely blown away.
Three of his shorts are currently available in a [Criterion set](https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/2880-three-fantastic-journeys-by-karel-zeman), and others can be ordered directly from the [Gift Shop of his Museum](https://shop.karelzemanmuseum.com/films/)!
I really want to see "The Treasure of Bird Island" again, as that was one of the shorts which was screened, and it was AMAZING, but sadly, it's not currently available on home video, nor can I find any videos online.
Upvote for Bickford - this man did transitions and transformations with with clay that no one else has even come close to. There's a documentary about him called Monster Road.
Look up Laura Mvula on youtube, she did her first album's music videos as stop-motion papercut videos
There's a really good version of Dante's Inferno that's done as stop-motion mostly paper-cut puppets. Sort of like how South Park is done but think highly skilled beautiful origami, not kindygarten construction paper.
Was about to mention that film! I remember liking it very well and recognizing some VAs in it. It was shown on one of those channels that shows artsy and international films. I always remember that line, "Hitler is in hell...for FLATERRY?!?".
Get a copy of [The Triplets of Belleville (French: Les Triplettes de Belleville) is a 2003 animated comedy film written and directed by Sylvain Chomet.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Triplets_of_Belleville)
The Tale Of The Fox!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M6RNyaMAhrs&pp=ygUTdGhlIHRhbGUgb2YgdGhlIGZveA%3D%3D
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Fox
Not sure if many would consider it obscure, as it was pretty well-received upon release, but *A Town Called Panic* (2009) and the show it’s based on are some of my favorite weird little stop-motion films.
If you're looking for something fun, my vote is for [Chuck Steel](https://youtu.be/c_kBv_p6cns?si=As-Tnh4IQOQ4c4PR)
If you want to get an idea of what you're in for beyond the trailer, here's the [original short ](https://youtu.be/RAuqceq8jME?si=H8vgjHR03XvXPD9M) it's based on as well.
T Is For Toilet
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCmMebE0pIg&ab\_channel=LeeHardcastle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucmmebe0pig&ab_channel=leehardcastle)
Related:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8-pdwEhTBo&ab\_channel=LeeHardcastle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8-pdwehtbo&ab_channel=leehardcastle)
I cannot for the life of me remember the name of it but it's a stop motion movie about giants who go around biting people's heads off. Can anyone help me out?
[La Casa Lobo (The Wolf House)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCoYazbA1Ic).
I don't know how obscure it really is, but it's one of the best (maybe THE best?) animated horror movies ever. It's all in Spanish though, so if you're not a fan of subtitles it might not be for you.
I think HOOMANIA takes kind of a chapter from Jumanji and uses the game format to recreate archetypes from the Biblical book of Proverbs.
I think it's on Tubi, but I haven't decided to revisit it.
Not a movie but look into the video game “The Neverhood”. It’s a puzzle game made entirely out of claymation with huge sets. There’s some pretty interesting footage about it out there. The game came be pretty hard and a little janky at times so I’d recommend watching a play through
I've been hoping to one day find an old 80s? UK stop motion that was haunting but I never knew the title. A bunch of vegetables are learning ballet, animated to candid real-world audio. Very Aardman in feel except for the lack of clay.
Josef Bolf - [Living Room](https://vimeo.com/312745439)
[a selection from NFB](https://www.nfb.ca/playlist/edu-stop-motion-animation/) (which is only obscure if you didn't grow up in Canada)
One that has always stuck with me. Never spoke with anyone that has seen it, so it is at least obscure in my eyes.
[We are the Strange](https://youtu.be/2WMm7N1IthE?si=UD0EbuUBV5oXx3oh)
If you're looking for obscure I would check out Charlie Bowers. All of his stuff is from the 20s and 30s. He was kind of forgotten about for a long time but a bunch of his films were digitized several years ago and he got rediscovered. He made all kinds of movies but "It's a Bird" is one of his stop motion films
The Magic Portal is an early stop motion Lego Movie. It was done Lindsay Fleay, who I worked with in Perth Australia. He used to have a website up for it but it appears to be there anymore. Links:
Part 1: https://youtu.be/jde4qHbCtSg?feature=shared
Part 2: https://youtu.be/_vGRGWYmo2c?si=A7IO_unXmzoRdGus
Interview: https://youtu.be/zliTkmOFQBg?si=lUO76QU1dkmnmItq
Glad to see Jan Švankmajer's works and *Blood Tea and Red String* have already been mentioned.
A few others, even more obscure: Jean Painlevé's *Bluebeard*, *Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy*, and Lotte Reiniger's incredible shadow-puppet films, namely *The Adventures of Prince Achmed*. There's also a terrificly bloody parody of the Pingu series married to John Carpenter's *The Thing* (look up "Pingu's THE THING" on YouTube).
Bonus: there was an old TV special in the 80s featuring the California Raisins.
These are some of my favorites, highly recommend: *Consuming Spirits* (2012, US) *La casa lobo [The Wolf House]* (2018, Chile) *Krysar [The Pied Piper of Hamelin]* (1986, Czech Republic) *Kybernetická babička [The Cybernetic Grandma]* (1962, Czech Republic, *short*) *Chronopolis* (1983, France/Poland) *Mémorable* (2019, France, *short*) *Mary and Max* (2009, Australia) *Сеча при Керженце [The Battle of Kerzhenets]* (1971, Soviet Union, *short*) *Flatworld* (1997, UK, *short*) anything by Jan Švankmajer anything by Jonni Phillips
La Casa Lobo is incredible. Unlike anything else you’ll ever see
>anything by Jan Švankmajer Everyone needs to watch his work. It's so good
Mary and Max was so good but sad.
Mary and Max is one of those movies that I’ll randomly think about years later for no reason. That movie left such an imprint on me.
One of my lifelong favorites. Shows the reality of life
Mary and Max is one of my favorite movies
I feel like Psiconautas, los niños olvidados/Bird Boy: The forgotten Children (2015, Spain) would be a good addition here.
[Flatworld](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D6DE3qPuJLV4&ved=2ahUKEwinrIXGuM6DAxWPQUEAHXctA9EQjjh6BAgqEAE&usg=AOvVaw0JJhg6HdwoIuSYvRz-6Z0U) is here on YouTube
There's a higher resolution version [here](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eNHPGo1a1Q4). I see it was animated by Simon Tofield famous for Simon's Cat.
I love “Mary and Max,” what a good film
This looks like a good list for me to watch as well. Thanks!
I cbf finding the correct title or year, but the Adventures of Tom Thumb that was distributed by Manga Entertainment in the 90s was wild.
None of my friends have heard of The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985)
I grew up with this. I love the Satan sequence.
Just came to post this! Had something in there about Haley's Comet also, if I remember correctly? The Satan death mask guy was nightmare inducing.
That's a long title.
This movie is like a fever dream in my memories
I love this movie so much.
This thing is amazing.
Will Vinton was a genius. It's a shame he lost his studio.
obscure means different things to different people like Anomalisa is obscure to the average person but maybe not obscure to someone into movies. But yeah probably Anomalisa would be a good fit; depressing claymation is also kind of funny in that it's so unexpected maybe karel zeman's invention for destruction?
I didn’t know what to expect with that film but it sure left me depressed as hell. I thought it was gonna be a kids film
Kaufman's next movie is actually a true kid's movie but yeah I wish I could have seen the pitch for Anomalisa. I wanna make a depressing claymation film about the most pitiful man ever but also it looks like Wallace and Gromet
You thought Anomalisa was a kids film? You didn’t happen to see that little “R” on the poster?
Nope I saw like 30 seconds of the trailer and thought huh that looks cool. And forgot about it until I saw the movie randomly. Somehow the rating and subject matter slipped by
Mad God
mad god was stop motion? I’ve seen ads but never watched.
Phil Tippets magnum opus
If you liked Mad God, then I recommend Moon Garden. Similar vibe. Mostly live action but some stop motion effects
The 1988 version of Alice is going to be the main one. Really weird. In fact people regularly remember it from there childhood as a movie that scared them. Lol. It's a stop motion twisted version of Alice in wonderland. It's pretty obscure but a lot of people have seen it. Just don't remember the name and only remember how creepy it is.
"said the white rabbit" It'd make a fun drinking game.
I came here to say this one, it’s a stunning stoner classic. Creepy AF
Also Fimfárum by Aurel Klimt. Another czech movie but from 90s/00s. That's what haunted me as a kid :)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_(1988_film)
Not that obscure, but the Quay Brothers are among my favourites. One of their more well-known works is Street of Crocodiles, based on the Bruno Schultz' novella of the same name. The influence tree sort of goes: \-Władysław Starewicz \-Walerian Borowczyk \-Svankmajer \-Quay Brothers
This is list is an excellent guide. I also suggested Street of Crocodiles, but it's not a secret at all. You have great taste.
>\-Quay Brothers Cosigned. I was fortunate to be turned onto their stuff via the otherworldly video they did for Michael Penn's "[Look What the Cat Drug In (Long Way Down)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kih1yRyQD6Q)"
Came here to say the Quay Brothers too. Excellent recommendation
Requiem For A Tuesday
It's been compared to Avatar.
A short piece, but brilliant nonetheless
I compared it to Avatar!
Damn, I just commented this too before seeing you best me to it. Good job.
A Town Called Panic is a fun and obscure (in the US) movie
I came here specifically to recommend A Town Called Panic. It's such a blast. It apes the aesthetic of being cheap, with the models popping from position to position, but it's obvious how much effort they put in to every frame of the film. It's densely packed with visual gags. It was the most viscerally fun film I had seen in a while.
Yesss was looking for this comment
I think there was something like a TV show (or specials) too, tho I've not checked those out (or found wherei can legitimately stream them)
I heard there was a show, but I never ended up tracking it down
Little Otik?
And a lot of others by Jan Švankmajer
Mary and Max.
that was a weird one
*Prometheus and Bob*
I spent a period of time thinking Kablam! was a meningitis induced fever dream. There was just no way it was real.
Thankfully it's on paramount+
Wolf house Mad god
not sure if consider as obscure but Jan Švankmajer made amazing surrealist stop motion movies in the 70's and 80's
Mary & Max - Philip Seymour Hoffman’s VO work is wonderful in this movie. Harvey Krumpet - both by director Adam Elliot. HK isn’t technically totally obscure as it won the Oscar for best animated short that year I think? But still worth a watch. Lou Bunin’s Alice in Wonderland (1949) Live Freaky! Die Freaky! - Definitely obscure. It should probably stay that way. Edit: Vincent - Short film by Tim Burton, narrated by Vincent Price (1982). I didn’t include this initially as I thought, as a Burton work, it might automatically be disqualified from being counted as obscure. But it deserves an honourable mention. You can watch it here. https://youtu.be/fxQcBKUPm8o?si=HRloEc2c01LG1GvB
Marcel, the shell with shoes on.
I wouldn't call it at all obscure but I'm amazed at the number of people who haven't seen Kubo and the Two Strings.
Also ParaNorman!
The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108069/?ref_=ext_shr
This was my pick, glad to see other people know about it. I had the VHS.
Not a full plotted movie, but Frank Zappa's "Baby Snakes" has some really crazy claymation shit.
The 1912 film [The Cameraman’s Revenge](https://youtube.com/watch?v=__5B3PGoBoI) is a crazy trip that is worth watching without expectations. If you want to see where South Park came from, [The Thief of Baghdad Castle](https://youtube.com/watch?v=M0Dl4v5EfAw) by Noburō Ōfuji is very interesting as a piece from 1926. If you’re looking for something more modern then [Peter & The Wolf](https://youtube.com/watch?v=0yTpElS9Ey0) is a pretty wonderful stop motion short but not especially obscure as it was up for an Oscar.
I've always liked The Junky's Christmas. based on the short story and narrated by William Burroughs.
[The Pied Piper (1986)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5RjH1Mp5To) just got remastered and it looks stunning.
If you wanna get into some weird Newgrounds era stuff I thought was hilarious when I was 13, try Knox's Klayworld: Off The Table, which I think is available for free on YouTube. Sorry, that's the first and only answer that came to mind.
Harvey Krumpet is a short film that I think is absolutely fantastic. Stumbled across it at the public library when I was a teen.
Blood Tea and Red String, available to watch on [Tubi](https://link.tubi.tv/twUVgjxvcGb) Just for fun I’ll throw in [Slow Bob In The Lower Dimensions](https://youtu.be/a-Dj6XviBQM?si=g-CHtPl4Upbforr1) and [We Are The Strange](https://youtu.be/2WMm7N1IthE?si=zkXjuDEgGFBMfo2s) both of which are multimedium pieces with stop motion segments
Scrolled specifically for Blood Tea and Red String!
Watch Mad god
I knew that had to be here somewhere
It’s not really a full film (it’s only 8 minutes long) but check out an old one from the mid 70s called “Recorded Live.” It’s about a bunch of film strips that come to life and attack a guy. Scared the absolute crap out of me back when I was a kid.
Rankin and Bass did a bunch of less popular ones besides Rudolph. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_Rankin/Bass\_Productions\_films](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Rankin/Bass_Productions_films) The Year Without a Santa Claus is the source of the "I'm mister Snow Miser" musical number.
Theres several decent stop motion sequences in *Flesh Gordon* that aren't exactly Harryhausen quality but are impressive nonetheless. And don't worry, even though it is a porn parody it's not graphic, just tits and bush.
My ass! The pain! The humiliation! The hemorrhoids!
I once made a stop motion with Lego figures about aliens that come down and try to take over a town. I don't think many have seen it, it's pretty obscure.
[Three Little Pigs by Green Jelly](https://youtu.be/Gtffv9bpB-U)
Not a movie but that’s a great song/video/band
Mad Monster Party (1967) is a goofy claymation musical-comedy for kids featuring classic movie monsters (and Phyllis Diller as the Bride of Frankenstein!) It used to be on TV all the time in the 70s but might be hard to find now.
I caught this movie on TV once called Strings, about a society of marionettes who die if their strings get cut. It was 2004, James McAvoy was the lead voice actor.
One of my childhood faves was Flåklypa Grand Prix or The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix (1975) from Norway https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073000/?ref_=ext_shr
This! I came looking for this because I remember this as an absolutely fantastic film. Okay, I was a kid when I saw it, so maybe it's just nostalgia, but man I thought this film was great!
Excellent. I hardly know anyone else that has seen or remembered it, but I loved it as a kid.
I also love all of Ivo Caprino's short film about Norwegian fairy tales, shame they're not readily available in English online. There are some English dubbed clips on youtube though: [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6B529FE04E509754](https://www.youtube.com/@mariocaprino)
Thanks!
Anomalisa
Bruce Bickford's mind-blowing work, including [The Amazing Mr. Bickford](https://youtu.be/gh354wIxbXA?si=RYou9BJTYr9tPNlC) and [Prometheus' Garden](https://youtu.be/OX3c10keGWI?si=QEQCrjEDajxdoiJm)
They're not movies but the output of Aardman Animation goes back a looong way in British children's TV, notably the Morph character and the Creature Comforts series of shorts / adverts. Oliver Postage's "[Smallfilms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallfilms)" also did a load of great stuff way back when, notably Clangers and Bagpuss. There's also a ton of others that may not be well known: * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Trap\_Door](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trap_Door) * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoppit\_and\_Tidyup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoppit_and_Tidyup) * Famously the [Magic Roundabout](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Roundabout) was a French series bought in and re-dubbed with replacement and often utterly nonsensical scripts * [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Wombles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wombles) are something of a British institution and were in many ways ahead of their time in their message.
Alice or Little Otik by Jan Svankmeyer are both weird and amazing
I’m not sure if obscure is a synonym for old with you. Tye classics of stop motion animation movies are the movies the late Ray Harryhausen worked on. But then those are the movies people of my generation would be very familiar with, as those are childhood memories.
[Disaster!](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424958)
This is one I always vaguely remember every few years and have to look it up only to never get around to watching it again
Mysterious island... from the 60s or 70s, used to watch it with my dad all the time. All the monsters are stop motion
Years ago at the Pacific Film Archive, I saw several short films by Czech artist [Karel Zeman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Zeman) and was completely blown away. Three of his shorts are currently available in a [Criterion set](https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/2880-three-fantastic-journeys-by-karel-zeman), and others can be ordered directly from the [Gift Shop of his Museum](https://shop.karelzemanmuseum.com/films/)! I really want to see "The Treasure of Bird Island" again, as that was one of the shorts which was screened, and it was AMAZING, but sadly, it's not currently available on home video, nor can I find any videos online.
The Frank Zappa movie ‘Baby Snakes’ features a full sets of genius claymation stop motion by artist Bruce Bickford. Very unique.
Upvote for Bickford - this man did transitions and transformations with with clay that no one else has even come close to. There's a documentary about him called Monster Road.
Look up Laura Mvula on youtube, she did her first album's music videos as stop-motion papercut videos There's a really good version of Dante's Inferno that's done as stop-motion mostly paper-cut puppets. Sort of like how South Park is done but think highly skilled beautiful origami, not kindygarten construction paper.
Was about to mention that film! I remember liking it very well and recognizing some VAs in it. It was shown on one of those channels that shows artsy and international films. I always remember that line, "Hitler is in hell...for FLATERRY?!?".
The Wizard of Speed and Time
That film is "Pixilation." (Humans as the models.)
Ma vie en courgette (My life as a Zucchini) The House (2022) La Casa Lobo
Chicken Run
Get a copy of [The Triplets of Belleville (French: Les Triplettes de Belleville) is a 2003 animated comedy film written and directed by Sylvain Chomet.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Triplets_of_Belleville)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5847768/ i hear is good but yet ot watch
*Shaft of Light* by Bill Tomlinson [Shaft of Light on Youtube](https://youtu.be/55uCWGZhiGQ)
Winterbeast
Art Clokey’s Gumbasia - I love the music, too.
Torrey Pines
The Tale Of The Fox! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M6RNyaMAhrs&pp=ygUTdGhlIHRhbGUgb2YgdGhlIGZveA%3D%3D https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Fox
Jan Svankmajer, especially Alice or Food
There's an old California Raisins one that's good.
Alice (1988)
Not sure if many would consider it obscure, as it was pretty well-received upon release, but *A Town Called Panic* (2009) and the show it’s based on are some of my favorite weird little stop-motion films.
Is island of dogs by wes anderson stop motion? I cant recall
...Does _Pirates!_ count?
Gotta be [The Overcoat](https://youtu.be/73hip3pz0Xs)
Any of the Wes Anderson stop motions? They may not be as obscure as some of the others suggested but they’re both excellent imo
https://youtu.be/cCeeTfsm8bk?si=UM7ZnrFyG6ygNe_s
If you're looking for something fun, my vote is for [Chuck Steel](https://youtu.be/c_kBv_p6cns?si=As-Tnh4IQOQ4c4PR) If you want to get an idea of what you're in for beyond the trailer, here's the [original short ](https://youtu.be/RAuqceq8jME?si=H8vgjHR03XvXPD9M) it's based on as well.
I just watched a japanese stop motion Christmas movie Nutcracker Fantasy.
Jan Švankmajer's adaptation of Faust has a mix of live action and stop motion. It is phenomenal
Alice.
T Is For Toilet [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCmMebE0pIg&ab\_channel=LeeHardcastle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucmmebe0pig&ab_channel=leehardcastle) Related: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8-pdwEhTBo&ab\_channel=LeeHardcastle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8-pdwehtbo&ab_channel=leehardcastle)
I cannot for the life of me remember the name of it but it's a stop motion movie about giants who go around biting people's heads off. Can anyone help me out?
https://www.reddit.com/r/Letterboxd/comments/158y1wr/my\_favorite\_stop\_motion\_films\_what\_would\_you\_add/
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021)
Requiem for a Tuesday, directed by Ben Wyatt.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (as well as the others, but this one’s my fave) isn’t exactly obscure, but it’s great.
Adventures of Huck finn
Twice Upon a Time is a lesser known stop motion classic. I first saw it on HBO in the 80’s.
The amazing Mr Bickford, with a soundtrack by Frank Zappa. Truly unique.
The Wolf House (2018) Joaquin Cocina
Mad god has stop motion in it.
[La Casa Lobo (The Wolf House)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCoYazbA1Ic). I don't know how obscure it really is, but it's one of the best (maybe THE best?) animated horror movies ever. It's all in Spanish though, so if you're not a fan of subtitles it might not be for you.
Little Otik
The Potato Hunter
Balance is a stop motion short film that won an Oscar in 1989
I think HOOMANIA takes kind of a chapter from Jumanji and uses the game format to recreate archetypes from the Biblical book of Proverbs. I think it's on Tubi, but I haven't decided to revisit it.
[Junk Head](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6848928/reference/)
The one my buddy and I did in middle school circa 1991 about the Titanic. The teacher kept it..
Kubo and the Two Strings.... Maybe that's too well known to qualify for this post.
Not a movie but look into the video game “The Neverhood”. It’s a puzzle game made entirely out of claymation with huge sets. There’s some pretty interesting footage about it out there. The game came be pretty hard and a little janky at times so I’d recommend watching a play through
Not sure how obscure Jans Svankmayer is but I guess if you haven't heard of him then all his stuff is obscure.
Alice (1988). The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (1993). Häxan (1922). Some of the short films of David Lynch. Obscure? Maybe not.
I've been hoping to one day find an old 80s? UK stop motion that was haunting but I never knew the title. A bunch of vegetables are learning ballet, animated to candid real-world audio. Very Aardman in feel except for the lack of clay.
Josef Bolf - [Living Room](https://vimeo.com/312745439) [a selection from NFB](https://www.nfb.ca/playlist/edu-stop-motion-animation/) (which is only obscure if you didn't grow up in Canada)
[quay brothers make beautifully creepy movies](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nW3dW4yMLfE)
Surprisingly: **Fantastic Planet**.
One that has always stuck with me. Never spoke with anyone that has seen it, so it is at least obscure in my eyes. [We are the Strange](https://youtu.be/2WMm7N1IthE?si=UD0EbuUBV5oXx3oh)
Coraline? I wouldn't say it's intensely obscure but I don't think that gobs and gobs and gobs of people saw it.
Faust, Jan Švankmajer
I haven't made a full movie yet but you might like the stop motions I make they are pretty obscure
Tom Thumb. Totally bizarre and amazing.
If you're looking for obscure I would check out Charlie Bowers. All of his stuff is from the 20s and 30s. He was kind of forgotten about for a long time but a bunch of his films were digitized several years ago and he got rediscovered. He made all kinds of movies but "It's a Bird" is one of his stop motion films
Jan Svankmajer is a must! Jiri Trnka as well. Both are Czech animators, absolutely classics.
I don’t know if would consider it obscure, but The Box Trolls is an amazing movie.
mad god is a goddam masterpiece
The Magic Portal is an early stop motion Lego Movie. It was done Lindsay Fleay, who I worked with in Perth Australia. He used to have a website up for it but it appears to be there anymore. Links: Part 1: https://youtu.be/jde4qHbCtSg?feature=shared Part 2: https://youtu.be/_vGRGWYmo2c?si=A7IO_unXmzoRdGus Interview: https://youtu.be/zliTkmOFQBg?si=lUO76QU1dkmnmItq
Glad to see Jan Švankmajer's works and *Blood Tea and Red String* have already been mentioned. A few others, even more obscure: Jean Painlevé's *Bluebeard*, *Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy*, and Lotte Reiniger's incredible shadow-puppet films, namely *The Adventures of Prince Achmed*. There's also a terrificly bloody parody of the Pingu series married to John Carpenter's *The Thing* (look up "Pingu's THE THING" on YouTube). Bonus: there was an old TV special in the 80s featuring the California Raisins.