Norman McLaren Movies

An experiment in pure design by film artists Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart. Lines, ruled directly on film, move with precision and grace against...

Produced for the National Film Board of Canada

Norman McLaren's documentary-style account of how a letter from home reaches a sailor on duty in foreign waters.

This animated short from Norman McLaren features a human skull cautioning Canadians to “keep their mouths shut” in an effort to end...

New Yorkers watch as Norman McLaren's animated promotional film for Canadian tourism plays on the giant pixelboard overlooking Times Square. The...

In this short film by Norman McLaren, dancers enact the Greek tragedy of Narcissus, the beautiful youth whose excessive self-love condemned him to a...

The fourth thematic mini documentary about revolutionary filmmaker Norman McLaren.

Advertising cartoon showing advantages of using gas supply and gas cookers.

This animated short by Norman McLaren is a publicity message for a war bond campaign. Symbols, a stick man and lettering are drawn directly on 35mm...

This cinematic travelogue consists of three parts. In the first part, texts and small maps are our guides through Madrid in 1936. We see pictures of...

1960s. A test using circles. Silent film.

A Norman McLaren Animated Film

A film fantasy of dancing music and dancing color. Listen to the Mocking Bird played by an oldtime fiddler, brilliant patterns ripple, flow, flicker...

Early abstract 3D film by animation master Norman McLaren and collaborator Evelyn Lambart.

‘Too esoteric, even for me,’ said McLaren about his The Flicker Film. The famous animator’s most abstract effort is marginalized to...

A play on the theme of hearts. Two hearts cavort, change shape, shoot arrows at one another, give birth, and finally become one heart bearing the...

An unfinished animated short by Norman McLaren.

Montage and animation in two Acts: the preparation for the Glasgow Arts School Ball; and the ball itself.

This animated short by Norman McLaren serves as a wartime savings campaign. Symbolic figures, drawn directly on 35mm film stock, move and dance...

On a blue background, a series of numbers (1 to 5) begin to appear, forming simple arithmetic equations that create a pattern. Numbers and symbols...