Les Bêtes

Over the years working in stop-motion animation I've constructed dozens of puppets for projects that, for various reasons, were never filmed. These puppets lingered in storage for almost 2 decades, slowly deteriorating with the passage of time. Finally, in January of 2020, I realized it was time to use them or throw them away, so I decided to put them all in a movie together and see what would happen.

There was no script and no storyboards; the puppets were simply laid out on a table and inspiration allowed to flow. The garish color palette of the assembled characters inspired the decision to proceed in black & white, which looked reminiscent of a 1930's Ladislas Starevich animation. Following this germ of an idea, shots would be set up and animated, trying as much as possible to use filming techniques that mimicked those from the '30s and '40s.

As the coronavirus pandemic took hold in March of 2020, "Les Bêtes" went from a spare-time project to my full-time occupation. Since I was relying upon my "actors" (the puppets in the film) to tell me what to do, I never knew what the next shot would be until a few days beforehand. However, every shot was coming into view with the chaotic events of 2020 as a vivid backdrop. I have no doubt the horrors of that year played a powerful subconscious role in the evolution of the story.

The irony of "Les Bêtes" to me, is that it turned out to be a much more interesting film than any of the story ideas for which these characters were originally created. It's clear to me now that they were made for THIS film, proving that there's a place for all of our "misfit toys" in the creative space if we remain open to it.