UNKRAUT
Table of Content
Film Details
About the Film
A little Tale about a Snail
The 5-minute film UNKRAUT (english: Weeds) deals with the destruction of nature by man, seen through the eyes of a snail. The little animal lives on a little spot of weeds amidst grey paving stones. What seems wondrous and paradisiac to the snail is cause for road builders to repair a huge surface of concrete slabs. The road construction threatens the life of the snail.
The cartoon animation film fascinates with three-dimensional effects and a “slimy” character.
Film Profile
Themes
Environmental Destruction · Habitat · Displacement · Survival · Animals · Humans and Nature
Mood & Impact
unsettling · thought-provoking · surprising
Kind of Film
Symbolic nature drama.
Recommmendations
Certificate: “especially commendable”, German Film Quality Assessment Board (FBW), Germany
Jury statement
This debut film is immediately engaging. Through dynamic visual techniques, it creates a powerful metaphor for environmental preservation. The relentless spread of concrete serves as a starting point for reflecting on how even the last remnants of nature in our cities are disappearing beneath urban development. The film is a plea for preserving ecological diversity in urban spaces, symbolized by resilient weeds that resist eradication. It stands out through its distinctive visual style and aesthetic appeal.
Suitable for ages 0+, Voluntary Self-Regulation Organization of the Film Industry (FSK)
Awards
Gold Medaille, Union Internationale du Cinema non Professionel (UNICA) 1991, St. Gallen, Switzerland
2nd audience prize, student film days 1991, Babelsberg, Germany
selected for the film role “Best of Ottawa 92”, International Animation Film Festival Ottawa, Canada
Shown at the world environment conference 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Best Animation Film, Film and Video Festival 1995, Badalona, Spain
selected for the film role “Animation Celebration” (Editor: Terry Thoren, L.A., USA)
Credits
idea, animation, camera and sound
THOMAS STELLMACH
music
EDGAR KNECHT
www.edgarknecht.com
colouring
ANDY HUBER
THOMAS LOOSE
DIANA MUELLER
MONIKA STELLMACH
ELISABETH STELLMACH (GRANDMA)
technical support
KAZIMIERZ BENDKOWSKI
NORBERT HOBRECHT
PETER LEMKEN
SIEGFRIED WOLF
H.P. WEINZIERL
consultant
PROFESSOR PAUL DRIESSEN
KASSEL COLLEGE OF ART
copyright 1990
THOMAS STELLMACH ANIMATION
Making-of
After several puppet animation films UNKRAUT was my first coloured cartoon film, made during the second semester at the Kassel College of Art. I developed the story, did the direction, animation and the camera shooting on an animation stand. The production took 1,5 years. The shooting of the 4500 hand-coloured cells took four weeks. Six sound tracks were mixed together with the music of Edgar Knecht.
For some scenes I used rotoscopy. I build a little set of a meadow made by white paper and bold black contours. I shot its rotation in stop motion and traced the shape of the grasses and flowers frame by frame onto animation paper.
I filmed the movements of real construction machines and a road builder on 16mm film stock. With reproducing the contours onto animation paper, roughly tracing them with black wax pencil on animation cells and colouring it with different grey acrylic paint, the scenery was given a cold and uncaring appearance.
In contrast to to this look I animated the snail by freehand and painted it and its surrounding with bold and bright colours to accentuate its peaceful and joyful world.
To get a three-dimensional effect I constructed movable multi-plane layers, like Disney, to achieve an image depth by unfocused elements. For some shots there were nine cranks to wind frame by frame to simulate a camera movement (see excerpt) or the depth of cloudy sky.
The shooting of the 4500 hand-coloured cells took four weeks.
Six sound tracks were mixed together with the music of Edgar Knecht.
Animation Show
UNKRAUT is part of my Animation Show, an infotainment programme in which I present my award-winning animated films and explain how they were made.
Explore More
- Explore my other films
- See how I present my films in my Animated Film Show
- Discover my animation workshops
Contact Form
Please contact me if you would like to request a screener or book the film for cinema, festival or cultural screenings.
Duration
4:23 minutes
Technique
2D animation on cells, shot with an animation stand
Production
Thomas Stellmach Animation, 1991
Director
Thomas Stellmach
Language
No dialogue
Film format
MP4, 1080p, stereo
DCP, 2K, stereo