ANNOUNCING!

The Puppetoon Movie Volume 3

CROWDFUNDER

Puppetoon Case
CONTRIBUTE :

Reward Categories:

All donor categories receive a Gift of Volume 3 and a Thank You PDF.
Higher level donations receive added gifts of Volume 3 and if available Volume 2. Please remember the primary function of this crowdfunder is to support the George Pal Puppetoon preservation so these films can be enjoyed for generations to come. Your generous contribution makes this effort possible for everyone.

From Producer-Director Arnold Leibovit of The Puppetoon Movie Volume 1 (2015), The Puppetoon Movie Volume 2 (2021), The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal (2000) and The Time Machine (2002 remake Dreamworks Pictures-Warner Bros.) See IMDB for Details.

The Puppetoon Movie Volume 3 will be another historic collector's edition comprised of 25-30 uncut digitally restored Puppetoons scanned in 2K High Definition. All film transfers come from original 35mm Nitrate IB Technicolor prints or Original Technicolor Successive Exposure Negatives (SEN) never before released on any home video!

Academy Award®-winning genius George Pal created a series of stunning stop-motion animated short films circa 1932-1947 called Puppetoons. Brilliant even by today's standards...these films are a marvel to behold that must be seen to be believed!

Your invaluable donations will make it possible to preserve the legacy of more timeless works before the original prints and negatives are lost forever.

THE GOAL

The Puppetoon Movie Volume 3 will be comprised of more Puppetoons kept from the public eye for more than 85 years! They are being digitally restored uncut in 2K High Definition. Guaranteed to be another glorious and exciting visual feast.

In the annals of Hollywood, George Pal will always be remembered as a titan, a brilliant visionary who profoundly shaped the art of motion pictures. As an animator, Pal was a pioneer of stop-motion animation known as Puppetoons™, and a peer of Walt Disney. In the 1950s, as a producer and director of live-action films, he brought to the screen such classics as H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine. Pal's cinematic legacy can be seen in the works of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Gene Roddenberry, The Walt Disney Studios, Pixar, Tim Burton and dozens of others.

George Pal seated in The Time Machine

George Pal seated in The Time Machine

Buy Puppetoon 2 Blu-ray+DVD

THE NEED FOR FUNDING

Following the acclaimed The Puppetoon Movie Volume 1 and Volume 2 Blu-ray, Volume 3 is an ambitious effort requiring outside funding. Upon its successful completion, this historic set will make possible many more ground-breaking Puppetoons to be seen and appreciated for the first time in generations. Money raised in this campaign will go toward these necessary costs:

Cost of Rights, Digital Restoration

The more money we raise, the more films can be included in this collection. We hope to release at least 18-20 short subjects. The 2K High Definition scanning, restoration, color correction, authoring, packaging plus production costs of a Blu-ray can cost well over $50,000. We will try to do as many titles as funding allows, so we will be relying on your help to include as many films as possible. Licensing and 2K digitizing/scanning can cost $25,000 alone. From there, preservation, restoration, color correction, authoring, mastering and packaging takes place, with an estimated cost of around $25,000. The more contributions we receive the better chance of meeting the immediate goal of completing The Puppetoon Movie Volume 3 in our ongoing mission to preserve most of these timeless masterpieces.

Mastering Costs

Each film will be newly transferred in 2K HD from the original 35mm Nitrate IB Technicolor prints or derived from eye-popping Technicolor Successive Exposure Negatives (SEN). Once the films are scanned & digitized, separate soundtracks are put in sync with picture, then each print undergoes a thorough mastering process, which includes scene-by-scene color correction, digital dirt and debris removal, image stabilization, de-noising plus conversions, if necessary, from a variety of different formats.

The Puppetoon Movie (1987)

The Puppetoon Movie (1987)

George Pal was born into a Hungarian theatrical family. His interest turned from the stage to architecture, then cartoon drawings, then film animation. A bit of the gypsy, Pal first set up an animation shop in Berlin, Germany, then Praque, Czechoslovakia then on to Paris, France, the Netherlands and finally the United States always staying one step ahead of the Nazi regime.

It was in Eindhoven, Holland where Pal was to first create some of the most dazzling cinematic visions in the form of entertaining commercial story films dubbed Puppetoons. His Puppetoons utilized thousands of meticulously crafted wooden puppets and Technicolor stop-motion photography to create three-dimensional animation, the likes of which the world had never seen before. Animated figures gracefully twirled, bent, marched, squashed, flew, sang and danced in fabled stories of music and fantasy. Paramount Pictures, impressed with Pal's animation, offered him a deal to create his Puppetoons in the United States and that lasted for almost a decade. From there Pal said he wanted to take off his short pants (short subjects) and put on his long pants - make features - which led to making some of the most iconic and influential science fiction and fantasy feature motion pictures of the era. Pal was called The Father of Science Fiction and Fantasy in Modern Film firmly cementing his lasting legacy in the record books of cinematic history.

George Pal receiving Academy Award for Puppetoons

George Pal receiving Academy Award for Puppetoons (1944)

George Pal replacement figure animation

Pal pioneered replacement figure animation, where up to 5,000 wooden puppets could be created for a single film, for which 12,000 frames had to be shot. This resulted in exceptionally fluid movement that few other techniques can compare. (Pictured The Philips Broadcast of 1938)

Philips Broadcast of 1938 figure in action

The Philips Broadcast of 1938 figure in action

About The Team

Arnold Leibovit
Arnold Leibovit
(Producer-Director-Curator)

Producer The Time Machine (2002) starring Guy Pearce and Jeremy Irons, Special Effects by ILM/Digital Domain/Stan Winston (Dreamworks/Warner Bros.); Director-Producer of The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal (1986) featuring Charlton Heston, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Rod Taylor, Tony Randall, Barbara Eden, Russ Tamblyn, Ray Harryhausen, Ray Bradbury, Gene Roddenberry, Joe Dante, Robert Wise, Roy E. Disney, premiering at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences; Directed-Producer The Puppetoon Movie (1987) starring Gumby & Pokey, premiere at the first American Film Institute Film Festival; Assistant Editor The Funhouse (1981) Director Tobe Hooper (Universal Pictures); Associate Director-Editor Rascal Dazzle Our Gang Comedies (1980) with Jerry Lewis, George Spanky McFarland, Carl Alfalfa Switzer, Composer Nelson Riddle (King World Productions); Director Penny Lane (1975); Director Judgment: An Essay on War (1974); Director The Fatherland (1973) (Whitney Museum of Art New American Filmmakers Series); Production Executive Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (1983); Broadway Musical Comedy (Mavin Productions); Director Neil Simon's Star Spangled Girl at the Neil Simon Comedy Festival (2005). Other: Producer The Time Machine Soundtrack (1988) Composer Russell Garcia; Producer The Fantasy Film Music of George Pal (2004) MGM/Warner Bros. (1958-1975). Awards: George Pal Memorial Award The Saturn Academy of Science Fiction and Fantasy; CINE Golden Eagles; International Film & TV Festival; Award of Excellence Film Advisory Board, others; Producers Council Producers Guild of America.

Mrs. George Pal and Arnold Leibovit

Mrs. George Pal and Arnold Leibovit at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Premiere of The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal (1986)

Arnold Leibovit guest hosts with Ben Mankiewicz on Turner Classic Movies

Arnold Leibovit guest hosts with Ben Mankiewicz on Turner Classic Movies' 2-Day George Pal Tribute Oct 11 & Oct 12, 2017

Jerry Beck
Jerry Beck
(Consultant, Animation Historian, Author, Former President ASIFA)

His fifteen books on animation include The Animated Movie Guide, Looney Tunes: The Ultimate Visual Guide and The 50 Greatest Cartoons. He is a former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney, and is currently a consulting producer to Warner Bros. and Shout! Factory for their classic animation DVD compilations. Beck has curated animation retrospectives and animator tributes for the Annecy and Ottawa Animation Festivals, The Museum of Modern Art and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. He has taught animation history at NYU, SVA, the AFI and UCLA. He is currently teaching Animation History at Woodbury University in Burbank, California and Cal Arts. Beck started his career in film distribution, working at MGM/UA, Orion Classics, Cannon Films and Expanded Entertainment (Tournee of Animation), before starting his own company, Streamline Pictures, in 1989. Beck was instrumental in launching Animation Magazine, and has written for The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He co-created Cartoon Brew and co-wrote that blog for nine years. Today, he is the editor of two websites, Animation Scoop and Cartoon Research.

Steve Stanchfield
Steve Stanchfield
(Consultant, Animation Historian, Educator, Film Archivist)

Steve operates the well recognized Thunderbean Animation in Michigan which has produced dozens of restored animation Blu-ray and DVD collections. He is also a professor at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.

Mark Lobo
Mark Lobo
(Graphic, Motion, Web Design & Development)

Mark has worked on digital media projects since the mid 1980s and has extensive knowledge of digital imaging, web design, video, motion graphics, and interaction as his area of specialty. Lobo has provided solutions for digital media in various industries which has inspired him to hone his skills to further understand the interactive user experience.

Fabio Bedoya
Fabio Bedoya
(Digital Imaging, Colorist)

Fabio’s expertise is in digital imaging and has worked on numerous television advertising commercial projects, music videos and short films. He loves learning about all things post production and especially his current passion for film restoration.

CONTRIBUTE :

Reward Categories:

All donor categories receive a Gift of Volume 3 and a Thank You PDF.
Higher level donations receive added gifts of Volume 3 plus if available Volume 2. Please remember the primary function of this crowdfunder is to support the George Pal Puppetoon preservation so these films can be enjoyed for generations to come. Your generous contribution makes this effort possible for everyone.