The term "psychedelic animation" refers to animated works that mirror altered states of consciousness through techniques such as "visual patterns of hallucination, cryptic symbols, perception of cellular or atomic forms, and strange journeys or narratives."[1]
Dr. Maureen Furniss, a historian of animation at the California Institute of the Arts, defines psychedelia as "[m]usic or visual art based on the hallucinatory experiences produced by psychedelic drugs" (446). She employs "psychedelic" as a key term on page 273 in her A New History of Animation textbook to refer to both form (e.g. the colorful and fantastical imagery of Marcell Jankovics's Son of the White Mare) and content (e.g. the visualization of "thoughts and dreams" in Sally Cruikshank's Quasi at the Quackadero). [2]
The following is a chronological list of psychedelic animations - that is, animated works that depict the inner world of the psyche (as per the original usage of the term "psychedelic" coined by Humphry Osmond[3]), as opposed to more externally- or objectively-oriented form and content. Fantastical works on their own are not necessarily psychedelic, as they can present a reality that appears to be shared among characters of a particular story (i.e. fantasy works may not occur within the mind of a single character); however, many fantastical works can be symbolic of the interior journey of the psyche writ large (e.g. see Jung's concepts of Individuation and Collective unconscious).
This list is in chronological order and divided into the distinct categories of Short Films (including Anthology collections of short films), TV Shows, Feature Films, and Related (e.g. works that are not predominantly psychedelic but contain psychedelic sequences, works that are not predominantly animated but include sequences of animation, etc.)
Short Films & Anthologies
edit- 1974: Sisyphus (film)
- 1977: The Struggle (1977 film)
- 1995: Memories (1995 film)
- 2007: Genius Party
- 2008: Genius Party Beyond
- 2013: Short Peace
TV Shows
edit- 1991: Aeon Flux
- 1991: Liquid Television
- 2004: Tom Goes to the Mayor
- 2005: Mushi-shi
- 2007: Mononoke (TV series)
- 2010: The Tatami Galaxy
- 2010: Adventure Time
- 2014: Space Dandy
- 2018: Devilman Crybaby
- 2019: Undone (TV series)
- 2020: The Midnight Gospel
Feature Films
edit1940s
edit- 1940: Fantasia (1940 film)
1950s
edit1960s
edit- 1968: Yellow Submarine (film)
1970s
edit- 1972: Fritz the Cat (film)
- 1973: Johnny Corncob
- 1973: Fantastic Planet
- 1973: Belladonna of Sadness
- 1975: Quasi at the Quackadero
- 1976: Allegro non troppo
- 1977: Wizards (film)
1980s
edit- 1981: Son of the White Mare
- 1982: Les Maîtres du temps
- 1987: Gandahar (film)
- 1988: Alice (1988 film)
- 1988: Akira (1988 film)
- 1988: My Neighbor Totoro
1990s
edit- 1992: The Tune
- 1993: The Thief and the Cobbler
- 1993: The Nightmare Before Christmas
- 1995: Ghost in the Shell (1995 film)
- 1996: James and the Giant Peach (film)
- 1997: Princess Mononoke
2000s
edit- 2001: Spirited Away
- 2001: Waking Life
- 2002: Song of the Miraculous Hind
- 2003: The Animatrix
- 2003: Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem
- 2004: Mind Game (film)
- 2004: Howl's Moving Castle (film)
- 2006: Paprika (2006 film)
- 2006: Tekkonkinkreet
- 2006: A Scanner Darkly (film)
- 2009: Redline (2009 film)
- 2009: Coraline (film)
- 2009: A Town Called Panic
2010s
edit- 2017: Loving Vincent
2020s
editRelated
edit- 1962: The Fabulous Baron Munchausen: integrates moments of animation into live-action
- 1968: 2001: A Space Odyssey: the Stargate sequence features slit-scan animation
- 1977: Hausu: integrates moments of animation into live-action
- 1982: Pink Floyd - The Wall: certain musical sequences are animated
- 1988: Who Framed Roger Rabbit: integrates animation and live-action
- 2022: Love, Death & Robots Vol 3, Ep 3: "The Very Pulse of the Machine"
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ Weinel, J (2011). "Tiny Jungle: Psychedelic Techniques in Audio-Visual Composition". International Computer Music Conference.
- ↑ Furniss, Maureen (2016). A New History of Animation. Thames & Hudson.
- ↑ "The Origin of the Term "Psychedelic" - NYAS". 4 April 2024.
Additional Reading
edit- Harvard Film Archive: Psychedelic Cinema, Psychedelic Cinema
- IMDB: →Top 150 Trippy-Psychedelic Movies of All Time, Top 150 Trippy-Psychedelic Movies of All Time
- Far Out: The 20 Greatest Psychedelic Films of All Time, The 20 greatest psychedelic films of all time
- Collider: 12 Best Psychedelic Movies, According to Reddit