Hen Hop

Norman McLaren,
1942,
3 min 40 s

Pour voir ce contenu vous aurez besoin de la toute derniere version de Adobe Flash Player. Téléchargez Flash Player.

This content requires the very latest version of Adobe Flash Player.
Download Flash Player.

Open in a pop-out

Synopsis
Point Of View

This joyful short animation features a dancing hen that transforms into an egg. The film was made without a camera by Norman McLaren, who drew directly onto 35 mm movie stock with ordinary pen and ink. Colour was added optically.

Donald McWilliams

I met McLaren in 1968. I soon understood that the frequency of birds, chickens and chickens’ feet in his films was no accident. He identified with birds, particularly chickens. I was very puzzled and asked his friend Evelyn Lambart about it. She looked at me with astonishment. “We’re all an animal. I’m a horse. What are you?” I was speechless for perhaps a minute. Then I saw. “You’re right, Evelyn. I’m a squirrel.” I would then see that McLaren’s animation of chicken movements and behaviour had much in common with his own movements and behaviour. Knowing he was a hen made it easier to work with him. Hen Hop features a dancing hen. McLaren told me that he pretended the hen was Fred Astaire.

From the playlist : Norman McLaren: Hands-on Animation