{"id":311288,"date":"2026-03-03T17:53:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T17:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/311288\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T17:53:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T17:53:09","slug":"the-adventures-of-prince-achmed-the-oldest-surviving-animated-feature-film-is-now-in-the-public-domain-1926","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/311288\/","title":{"rendered":"The Adventures of Prince Achmed, the Oldest Surviving Animated Feature Film, Is Now in the Public Domain (1926)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Die Aben\u00adteuer des Prinzen Achmed<\/a>, or\u00a0The Adven\u00adtures of Prince Achmed, lays fair claim to being the ear\u00adli\u00adest ani\u00admat\u00aded fea\u00adture film in exis\u00adtence.\u00a0If we do grant it that title, it beats the next con\u00adtender by more than a decade. While\u00a0Prince\u00a0Achmed\u00a0came out a cen\u00adtu\u00adry ago, in 1926, Snow White and the Sev\u00aden Dwarfs, whose pro\u00adduc\u00adtion was presided over by a cer\u00adtain Walt Dis\u00adney, did\u00adn\u2019t reach the\u00adaters until 1937. The lat\u00adter pic\u00adture holds great dis\u00adtinc\u00adtion in the his\u00adto\u00adry of cin\u00ade\u00adma, of course, not least that of being the first fea\u00adture made with cel ani\u00adma\u00adtion: the dom\u00adi\u00adnant tech\u00adnique through\u00adout most of the twen\u00adti\u00adeth cen\u00adtu\u00adry, and one whose dig\u00adi\u00adtal replace\u00adment has been lament\u00aded by clas\u00adsic ani\u00adma\u00adtion enthu\u00adsi\u00adasts. But the quiv\u00ader\u00ading sil\u00adhou\u00adettes of Prince Achmed\u00a0show an alter\u00adna\u00adtive.<\/p>\n

The mak\u00ading of\u00a0Snow White was, by the stan\u00addards of the day, a vast under\u00adtak\u00ading, requir\u00ading Dis\u00adney to mar\u00adshal artis\u00adtic and indus\u00adtri\u00adal resources at a scale then unknown in ani\u00adma\u00adtion. Prince Achmed, by con\u00adtrast, owes its exis\u00adtence most\u00adly to the work of one woman: Lotte Reiniger<\/a>, who first learned the craft of\u00a0scheren\u00adschnitte sil\u00adhou\u00adette-mak\u00ading as a lit\u00adtle girl in Berlin.<\/p>\n

Scheren\u00adschnitte was inspired by what was thought to be ancient Chi\u00adnese arts of paper-cut\u00adting and pup\u00adpetry, but when watched today,\u00a0Prince Achmed\u00a0or the oth\u00ader ani\u00adma\u00adtions<\/a> Reiniger cre\u00adat\u00aded bring more read\u00adi\u00adly to mind tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal Javanese wayang\u00a0kulit<\/a> shad\u00adow pup\u00adpet the\u00adater: an aes\u00adthet\u00adic that,\u00a0in a sense, suits the source mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal ide\u00adal\u00adly.<\/p>\n

The episodes that con\u00adsti\u00adtute\u00a0Prince Achmed\u2019s nar\u00adra\u00adtive are drawn in large part from One Thou\u00adsand and One Nights<\/a>, a text whose cen\u00adturies-long evo\u00adlu\u00adtion bears the marks of not just many dis\u00adtinct cul\u00adtures across Asia and the Mid\u00addle East,\u00a0but also those of more dra\u00admat\u00adic trans\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtion through its folk\u00adtales\u2019 cul\u00adtur\u00adal trans\u00adpo\u00adsi\u00adtion into French, then oth\u00ader Euro\u00adpean lan\u00adguages.\u00a0What\u00a0Reiniger brings to enchant\u00adi\u00adng hand\u00admade life\u00a0isn\u2019t any par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar place at any par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar time, but rather an ele\u00adgant, mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous, quite lit\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly arabesque realm that nev\u00ader real\u00adly exist\u00aded. In oth\u00ader words, Prince Achmed\u00a0takes place in what can only be called the Ori\u00adent \u2014 which, now that the film has fall\u00aden into the pub\u00adlic domain, we can all vis\u00adit when\u00adev\u00ader we like. And if such vis\u00adits hap\u00adpen to inspire a new gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion of Lotte Reinigers in this world of mar\u00adket-researched mega-bud\u00adget ani\u00adma\u00adtion, so much the bet\u00adter.<\/p>\n

Relat\u00aded con\u00adtent:<\/p>\n

The First Ani\u00admat\u00aded Fea\u00adture Film: The Adven\u00adtures of Prince Achmed by Lotte Reiniger (1926)<\/a><\/p>\n

The Ground\u00adbreak\u00ading Sil\u00adhou\u00adette Ani\u00adma\u00adtions of Lotte Reiniger: Cin\u00adderel\u00adla, Hansel and Gre\u00adtel, and More<\/a><\/p>\n

Ani\u00adma\u00adtion Pio\u00adneer Lotte Reiniger Adapts Mozart\u2019s The Mag\u00adic Flute into an All-Sil\u00adhou\u00adette Short Film (1935)<\/a><\/p>\n

The Ani\u00adma\u00adtions That Changed Cin\u00ade\u00adma: The Ground\u00adbreak\u00ading Lega\u00adcies of Prince Achmed, Aki\u00adra, The Iron Giant & More<\/a><\/p>\n

Watch the Old\u00adest Japan\u00adese Ani\u00adme Film, Jun\u2019ichi K\u014duchi\u2019s The Dull Sword (1917)<\/a><\/p>\n

The Beau\u00adti\u00adful Anar\u00adchy of the Ear\u00adli\u00adest Ani\u00admat\u00aded Car\u00adtoons: Explore an Archive with 200+ Ear\u00adly Ani\u00adma\u00adtions<\/a><\/p>\n

Based in Seoul,\u00a0Col\u00adin<\/a>\u00a0M<\/a>a<\/a>rshall<\/a>\u00a0writes and broad\u00adcasts on cities, lan\u00adguage, and cul\u00adture. He\u2019s the author of the newslet\u00adter\u00a0Books on Cities<\/a>\u00a0as well as the books\u00a0\ud55c\uad6d \uc694\uc57d \uae08\uc9c0<\/a>\u00a0(No Sum\u00adma\u00adriz\u00ading Korea) and\u00a0Kore\u00adan Newtro<\/a>.\u00a0Fol\u00adlow him on the social net\u00adwork for\u00admer\u00adly known as Twit\u00adter at\u00a0@colinm<\/a>a<\/a>rshall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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