Directing

Philip Stapp

Known for

Directing

Credits

15 titles

Known for

Behind the camera

Animal Farm poster
7.1

Animals on a farm lead a revolution against the farmers to put their destiny in their own hands. However this revolution eats their own children and they cannot avoid corruption.

Animal Farm

1954

Symmetry poster
NR

"Stapp was one of the greatest animators working in the 1950-1975 era, using stylized, often pointillist abstract imagery, in a floating world sometimes surrealist, at other times reminiscent of Japanese "ukiyo-e" illustration. His spectacular 'Symmetry' is his greatest film, a fantasy of dancing images breaking apart, spinning, and converging." -Academic Film Archive of North America

Symmetry

1966

Water poster
NR

Uses animated and live-action sequences to provide a factual analysis of the looming water shortage in industrialized countries, and the ecological hazards implied for the world as the problem reaches a crisis stage.

Water

1961

Boundary Lines poster
NR

This outstanding cartoon successfully combines a social message with unique color animation, provocative commentary and a distinguished musical score.

Boundary Lines

1947

It's the Greatest Little City poster
NR

This funny animated short, a cynical look at the excesses of commercialism in city and town planning, was produced at Ohio State University.

It's the Greatest Little City

1970

From Generation to Generation poster
7.3

This film illustrates the basic facts of human reproduction shown through the lives of a young farm couple with one child.

From Generation to Generation

1959

Picture in Your Mind poster
NR

Sent by the U.S. government as a participant in the Marshall Plan with a specific mission to assist the French in re-gearing their animation studios, Stapp discovered a Europe much-decimated by war, but in further danger of annihilation by nuclear weapons. Returning to the U.S., he produced this alarming-yet-hopeful film, replete with its lonely, Tanguy-inspired landscapes peopled with static figures casting long shadows across charcoal-colored plains. While taking the risk of leaning a bit toward didacticism, Stapp managed to urgently convey the thought that world destruction was not necessarily inevitable, provided that people embrace, rather than reject their cultural and racial differences. ‘Picture’ is a unique document resulting from the sometimes dreamy, sometimes nightmarish vision of the artist in a war-torn land, with the spectre of death hovering ever-so-slightly ahead.

Picture in Your Mind

1948

Picture in Your Mind poster
NR

Sent by the U.S. government as a participant in the Marshall Plan with a specific mission to assist the French in re-gearing their animation studios, Stapp discovered a Europe much-decimated by war, but in further danger of annihilation by nuclear weapons. Returning to the U.S., he produced this alarming-yet-hopeful film, replete with its lonely, Tanguy-inspired landscapes peopled with static figures casting long shadows across charcoal-colored plains. While taking the risk of leaning a bit toward didacticism, Stapp managed to urgently convey the thought that world destruction was not necessarily inevitable, provided that people embrace, rather than reject their cultural and racial differences. ‘Picture’ is a unique document resulting from the sometimes dreamy, sometimes nightmarish vision of the artist in a war-torn land, with the spectre of death hovering ever-so-slightly ahead.

Picture in Your Mind

1948

First Americans (Part I): And Their Gods poster
NR

Colorful animation, based on pre-Columbian Indian designs, surveys the religious beliefs and practices of the Indians of Central America before the arrival of Columbus. Utilizing pointillist, abstract, and multiplanar split-image figures, Stapp describes Mayan and Aztec cultures, unfolding in codex-like form, accompanied by ethno-concrète music by Thomas Wagner & Arthur Burrows.

First Americans (Part I): And Their Gods

1969

Homage à François Couperin (Butterflies) poster
NR

A three-minute fantasy of butterflies and dragonflies cavorting amongst the pussywillows, Japanese-inspired animation accompanied by two variations on keyboard works by the Baroque composer.

Homage à François Couperin (Butterflies)

1978

No artwork available
NR

An animated film opening with a description of the life of Christ based upon the Apostles' Creed. The remainder of the film is an application of the Christian faith, interpreting stewardship as it relates to contemporary life.

The Gift

1962

First Americans (Part II): Some Indians of the Southlands poster
NR

Stapp's pointillist style here has matured since the first of the series, done in 1969. Here, he also makes extensive use of parallel images converging and diverging on the multi-plane camera.

First Americans (Part II): Some Indians of the Southlands

1976

To Your Health poster
7.3

An animated short outlining the problems with alcohol consumption.

To Your Health

1956

To Your Health poster
7.3

An animated short outlining the problems with alcohol consumption.

To Your Health

1956

No artwork available
NR

Presents highlights of Chinese history, focusing on major dynasties. Relates eminent achievements of each period to the present. Tells of the influence of ancient Chinese tradition on contemporary Chinese life-styles. Winner of the Chris Award.

The Ancient Chinese

1974