The Birth of the Robot

The Birth of the Robot 1936 Directed by Len Lye

This experiment was a “prestige advertisement” for Shell Motor Oil. As conventional animation became dominated by Walt Disney, many European filmmakers turned to puppets as an alternative, and Lye enlisted the help of avant-garde friends such as Humphrey Jennings and John Banting to make the amusing puppets. Exploring the still-complex color process, which involved the combination of three separate images, Lye creates such a vivid storm scene that reviewers hailed it as “proof that the color film has entered a new stage.” The music is Holst’s The Planets. - Harvard Film Archive

Country United Kingdom

Production Country United Kingdom

Language English

Spoken Language No Language

Gnere Animation

Release Date 1 October 1936

6 mins