The Birth of the Robot

Synopsis

This experiment was a “prestige advertisement” for Shell Motor Oil. As conventional animation became dominated by Walt Disney, many European filmmakers turned to puppets as an alternative, and Lye enlisted the help of avant-garde friends such as Humphrey Jennings and John Banting to make the amusing puppets. Exploring the still-complex color process, which involved the combination of three separate images, Lye creates such a vivid storm scene that reviewers hailed it as “proof that the color film has entered a new stage.” The music is Holst’s The Planets. - Harvard Film Archive

Main Cast

Crew

Department	Role	Name
Directing	Director	Len Lye
Visual Effects	Color Designer	Humphrey Jennings
Writing	Writer	C.H. David
Department	Role	Name

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