The Insects' Christmas (1913)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

One of Władysław Starewicz's shorts features a Santa ornament coming to life and making Christmas for various forest animals. "Rozhdestvo obitateley lesa" ("The Insects' Christmas" in English) is nothing special, but it's neat seeing the stop-motion work from animation's infancy. My favorite scene is when Santa (or Father Christmas, as the short calls him) whips up the Christmas tree. It just goes to show that animation doesn't have to be "cute". If you ask me, these shorts are more interesting that these animated features starring the celebrities of the moment.Worth seeing. Check it out.

"Rozhdestvo obitateley lesa" or "The Insects' Christmas" is a black-and-white silent film from over 100 years ago, even if there exist tinted versions. It is a Russian 7-minute movie by Wladyslaw Starewicz who is certainly considered one of the most impactful filmmakers from that time back then, especially when it comes to animation. Unfortunately, the genre was not yet ready for Starewicz' mind at that time and the possibilities simply weren't there to make a quality animated film. The only reason I can think of why this one is worth a watch may be to see how different it is compared to American filmmaking from the 1910 and animated filmmaking in the decades afterward. I am really generous with my 4/10 rating here. It is not good at all, but you can't really blame the maker, just the time and technology.

This Christmas film is nearly 100 years old, but it still bears watching today since it was so well-made originally and is awfully cute. The film begins with a Father Christmas ornament coming to life and climbing down the Christmas tree. It then makes its way outside to magically create a Christmas tree for the insects and a frog! All of this is done using excellent stop-motion filming and it is exceptionally smooth and high quality. The entire film is only about six minutes long but the pacing seems absolutely perfect.Oddly towards the end of the film, you see the words "Merry Christmas" above the bugs' Christmas tree but this is written in German. While the inter-title cards could easily be written is a variety of languages, this phrase was made on the film itself. Since it is apparently a Russian-made film, this just took me by surprise.

This is a pleasant animated feature by the stop-action pioneer Wladyslaw Starewicz. It's not so remarkable when compared to his own finest movies, but in itself it is an agreeable and good-natured feature, and it is done with his usual skilled craftsmanship.The idea of the story is simple, with an animated Father Christmas ornament planning a Christmas celebration for some forest creatures. There isn't a lot in terms of a story line, but there is a good variety of Starewicz's detailed animal puppets, and some interesting settings. Overall, "The Insects' Christmas" is not as interesting as his best films, but it does feature the kind of carefully crafted animation that you would expect from him.