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The History and Theory of Cut-out Animation

From J. Stuart Blackton to South Park

The History and Theory of Cut-out Animation cover

The History and Theory of Cut-out Animation

From J. Stuart Blackton to South Park

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Pre-order. Available 03 Sep 2026
$129.60 RRP $162.00 Website price saving $32.40 (20%)

Payment for this pre-order will be taken when the item becomes available

Description

The History and Theory of Cut-out Animation surveys the history, theory and philosophy of the cut-out animation technique in early and contemporary media.

Cut-out animation is a two-dimensional form of stop-motion animation that involves the manipulation of characters that have been constructed from 'cut-out' pieces of paper. It is an animation technique that has its own unique aesthetic and encompasses a remarkable history, having played a very important role from the very beginnings of cinematic animation. It has been translated into a number of digital animated series, most notably the South Park series. This book investigates the history, theory and philosophy of this unique form of animation. Although scholarly in its approach, it is presented in a very accessible form to appeal to everyone who has an interest in animation practice, history and theory.

Accessibility Information

Additional accessibility information

  • EPUB 3.0
  • Conforms with the requirements of EPUB Accessibility Spec v1.1
  • WCAG level AA
  • WCAG v2.2 compliant
  • accessibility@bloomsbury.com

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The publication contains no hazards

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  • No accessibility features offered by the reading system, device or reading software are disabled or otherwise unusable with the product
  • Has alternative text descriptions for images

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Appearance of the text and page layout can be modified according to the capabilities of the reading system (font family and size, spaces, as well as color of background and text)

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Language tagging provided

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Pioneers of Cut-out Animation
2. Lotte Reiniger – A Lifetime of Cut-outs
3. Process and Pragmatism in Cut-out Animation
4. A Cut Above: Some Notable Cut-out Animations
5. South Park – Multimillion-Dollar Cut-outs
6. More Digital Cut-outs
7. Contemporary Cut-outs
Index

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published 03 Sep 2026
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Pages 208
ISBN 9781501340932
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Illustrations 40 bw illus
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Dan Torre

Dan Torreis a lecturer in the School of Media and…

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