The Wasteland Reviewer

The Wasteland Collection: The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)

What was the first animated feature film? You might think that it was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves thanks to the popularity of Disney and the influence of Walt Disney on animation. But you just might have to travel the globe to Germany. The year is 1926. Director Lotte Reiniger brought to life one of the most impressive feats in animation and film in general in the form of The Adventures of Prince Achmed. This gorgeous, animated feature presented in moving silhouettes and brings to life multiple stories from Arabian Nights. Having the title of the first animated feature film is certainly enough to garner a reputation. But looking deeper into The Adventures of Prince Achmed will allow you to see what is so special about this film.

Have you seen an animated film rendered in such a way? These are not hand drawn characters. They are not characters whose movement is created by careful editing. This whole film is brought to life lighting the background in differing colors and allowing the cut outs of characters and settings to move in a way that brings them to life. Seeing these silhouettes walking around, flying around, and bouncing around is such a fun experience. There must be so much detail in each figure to make sure they stand out and make sure they convey the needed actions of the characters. There is a poetry in motion that is quite inspiring when you get to see just how many fun and creative characters that are made for the film. You will not see many films that take this approach to visual storytelling, but it will make this film standout.

What are the types of stories that will get the attention of Reiniger for this groundbreaking film? Achmed goes on quite a few adventures that will certainly complicate things. When you have five or six different adventures in a film that take our protagonist globetrotting, that is such an inspiring possibility. But when you are making everything by hand and you have plenty of different uniquely designed characters, that is a hard prospect to tackle. The result is nothing short of incredible. The narrative is loose, but it captures such a fantastical experience. Few films dove this headlong into fantasy and mythology quite like The Adventures of Prince Achmed. You have a shapeshifting magical being that can turn into different animals. You have flying horses and other magical creatures. There are genies and sorcerers whose magic creates wondrous story elements. This is not only a pioneering animated film but also an early standout for fantasy films alike.

What is the special key to making The Adventures of Prince Achmed such a long-lasting film in the history of cinema? It has that movie magic for sure. The idea of shadow puppetry being used to make so many wondrous things come true is just a charming thought. This seems like a novel idea but how often did audiences get a chance to see horses fly? Or people turning into different animals? Or dreams literally coming true in an instance? These are things of our imagination, but Reiniger found a way to make this all come to life on the silver screen. With CGI, we take for granted how easy it is to make the unthinkable come to life on screen. Back in 1926, that was so much harder then. But The Adventures of Prince Achmed is such a film that boasts such impressive effects that it could deliver on all those wonderful things. That is the impressive potential of film and Reiniger can show that off so well.