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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Stop-Motion Animation

Stop-Motion Animation is a film technique where a three-dimensional model is moved by minute increments and each movement filmed one frame at a time. When the frames are run together, this gives the appearance of the model moving. This should be differentiated from regular Animation where a two-dimensional drawn image is moved one frame at a time.

The first stop-motion animated films were made in the silent era. The pioneer of the form was Willis O’Brien who went on to make the greatest of all stop-motion animated films King Kong (1933). The most famous of animators was Ray Harryhausen who made a series of films from the 1950s to the 1980s where his stop-motion animated creatures were the stars of the show.

Stop-motion is a costly and time-consuming process. It has largely died away since the 1980s, being supplanted by advances in visual effects and then the CGI revolution of the 1990s onwards. There are however still some throwbacks, in particular the work of Henry Selick and Aardman Animation, as well as small appearances in other films.

A side branch of Stop-Motion Animation is Claymation where the dimensional models are made out of clay.


20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)

9 August 200124 October 2019

Rating: ★★★½

Alien Monster

Director: Nathan Juran
Actors: William Hopper, Joan Taylor, Thomas Browne Henry, Frank Puglia, …
Category: Science Fiction

The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960)

5 August 20025 February 2022

Rating: ★★★

Big and Small Adventures

Director: Jack Sher
Actors: Kerwin Mathews, June Thorburn, Lee Patterson, Basil Sydney, …
Category: Fantasy

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

11 September 20005 August 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Arabian Nights Adventures

Director: Nathan Juran
Actors: Kerwin Mathews, Torin Thatcher, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer
Category: Fantasy

ABCs of Death 2 (2014)

1 November 201422 December 2024

Rating: ★★½

Horror Anthology

Director: E.L. Katz, Julian Barratt, Julian Gilbey, Robert Morgan, …
Actors: Andy Nyman, Julian Barratt, Tristan Risk, Conor Sweeney, …
Category: Horror

The Alien Factor (1978)

7 June 199925 June 2025

Rating: ★★

Alien Monsters

Director: Donald M. Dohler
Actors: Don Leifert, George Stover
Category: Science Fiction

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

26 May 199928 June 2022

Rating: ★★½

Atomically-Revived Dinosaur

Director: Eugene Lourie
Actors: Paul Christian, Cecil Kellaway, Paula Raymond, Kenneth Tobey, …
Category: Science Fiction

Beetlejuice (1988)

3 July 200016 October 2024

Rating: ★★★½

Gonzo Afterlife Comedy

Director: Tim Burton
Actors: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, …
Category: Fantasy

The Black Scorpion (1957)

3 September 200024 June 2025

Rating: ★★★

Giant Scorpions

Director: Edward Ludwig
Actors: Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas
Category: Science Fiction

The BoxTrolls (2014)

18 October 201426 February 2020

Rating: ★★★

Cuddly Trolls/Stop-Motion Animation

Director: Graham Annable, Anthony Stacchi
Actors: Isaac Hempstead Wright, Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning, Jared Harris, …
Category: Fantasy

Caveman (1981)

6 September 200019 October 2021

Rating: ★★

Prehistoric Spoof

Director: Carl Gottlieb
Actors: Ringo Starr, Shelley Long, Dennis Quaid, Barbara Bach, …
Category: Science Fiction

Clash of the Titans (1981)

14 April 200125 June 2024

Rating: ★★

Greek Mythology Adventure

Director: Desmond Davis
Actors: Harry Hamlin, Laurence Olivier, Judi Bowker, Burgess Meredith, …
Category: Fantasy

Coraline (2009)

25 August 200918 December 2019

Rating: ★★★★

Stop-Motion Animation/Sinister Mirror World

Director: Henry Selick
Actors: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, …
Category: Fantasy

Corpse Bride (2005)

31 October 200512 December 2024

Rating: ★★★★

Stop-Motion Animated Gothic

Director: Tim Burton, Mike Johnson
Actors: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Joanna Lumley, …
Category: Fantasy

Cowgirls vs Pterodactyls (2021)

30 January 202224 June 2025

Rating: 0­

Western With Dinosaurs

Director: Joshua Kennedy
Actors: Madelyn Wiley, Carmen Vienhage, Haley Zega, Dani Thompson, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Crater Lake Monster (1977)

17 May 201728 June 2024

Rating: ★

Monster in the Lake

Director: William R. Stromberg
Category: Science Fiction

Dave Made a Maze (2017)

27 August 201726 June 2020

Rating: ★★★

Lost in a Cardboard Labyrinth

Director: Bill Watterson
Actors: Meera Rohit Kumbhani, Nick Thune, Adam Busch, James Urbaniak, …
Category: Fantasy

The Dinosaur and the Missing Link: A Prehistoric Tragedy (1915)

3 January 201919 October 2021

Rating: ★★

Cavemen and Dinosaurs

Director: Willis O'Brien
Category: Science Fiction

Dinosaurus! (1960)

22 February 200531 December 2022

Rating: ★★½

Revived Dinosaurs and Caveman

Director: Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr
Actors: Ward Ramsey, Gregg Martell, Paul Lukather, Jack Younger
Category: Science Fiction

Doctor Mordrid (1992)

7 May 201411 November 2019

Rating: ★★★

Magician Superhero

Director: Albert Band, Charles Band
Actors: Jeffrey Combs, Yvette Nipar, Brian Thompson, Jay Acovone
Category: Fantasy

Earth vs the Flying Saucers (1956)

9 September 200023 June 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Alien Invasion

Director: Fred F. Sears
Actors: Hugh Marlowe, Morris Ankrum, Joan Taylor, Donald Curtis
Category: Science Fiction

Equinox (1970)

30 June 20018 October 2020

Rating: ★★

Backwoods Occultism

Director: Jack Woods
Category: Horror

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

30 November 200913 April 2025

Rating: ★★★★

Stop-Motion Animation/Talking Animals

Director: Wes Anderson
Actors: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, …
Category: Fantasy

Fiend Without a Face (1958)

9 August 200027 December 2022

Rating: ★★

Hopping Brain Invasion

Director: Arthur Crabtree
Actors: Marshall Thompson, Kim Parker
Category: Science Fiction

The First Men in the Moon (1964)

5 September 200224 October 2019

Rating: ★★

Victorian Lunar Expedition/H.G. Wells Adaptation

Director: Nathan Juran
Actors: Lionel Jeffries, Edward Judd, Martha Hyer
Category: Science Fiction

Flesh Gordon (1974)

9 May 200011 August 2022

Rating: ★★

Softcore Flash Gordon Parody

Director: Michael Benveniste, Walter R. Cichy, Howard Ziehm
Actors: Jason Williams, Suzanne Fields, William Hunt
Category: Science Fiction

Frankenweenie (2012)

28 November 201219 October 2024

Rating: ★★

Universal Frankenstein Homage/Boy Resurrects Dog/Stop-Motion Animation

Director: Tim Burton
Actors: Charlie Tahan, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, …
Category: Horror

The Gate (1987)

6 August 200027 October 2024

Rating: ★★½

Demonic Gateway Opened

Director: Tibor Takacs
Actors: Stephen Dorff, Louis Tripp, Jennifer Irwin, Kelly Rowan, …
Category: Horror

Gate II (1990)

6 August 200121 December 2019

Rating: ★★★

Demonic Wishes

Director: Tibor Takacs
Actors: Louis Tripp, Pamela Segall
Category: Horror

The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918)

2 March 20222 March 2022

Rating: ★★★

Vision of Prehistory

Director: Willis O'Brien
Category: Fantasy, Science Fiction

The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)

12 November 200221 December 2023

Rating: ★★★★

Arabian Nights Adventure

Director: Gordon Hessler
Actors: John Phillip Law, Tom Baker, Caroline Munro, Douglas Wilmer, …
Category: Fantasy

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

17 December 202217 December 2022

Rating: ★★★½

Living Puppet Boy/Stop-Motion Animation

Director: Guillermo Del Toro, Mark Gustafson
Actors: Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Christoph Waltz, …
Category: Fantasy

Hercules (1983)

19 October 20027 December 2023

Rating: 0­

Greek Mythological Hero

Director: Luigi Cozzi
Actors: Lou Ferrigno, Sybil Danning, Mirella D'Angelo, William Berger, …
Category: Fantasy

The House (2022)

15 March 20242 June 2024

Rating: ★★★★

Stop-Motion Animation Anthology

Director: Emma de Swaef, Marc James Roels, Nikki Lindroth von Bahr, Paloma Baeza
Actors: Mia Goth, Helena Bonham Carter, Matthew Goode, Paul Kaye, …
Category: Fantasy

Isle of Dogs (2018)

17 November 201821 July 2023

Rating: ★★★★

Stop-Motion Animation/Talking Dogs

Director: Wes Anderson
Actors: Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, …
Category: Fantasy

It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)

8 May 199917 December 2024

Rating: ★★½

Giant Atomic Octopus

Director: Robert Gordon
Actors: Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue, Donald Curtis
Category: Science Fiction

Jack the Giant Killer (1962)

19 June 200017 August 2023

Rating: ★★

Heroic Fantasy Adventure

Director: Nathan Juran
Actors: Kerwin Mathews, Torin Thatcher, Judi Meredith, Don Beddoe, …
Category: Fantasy

James and the Giant Peach (1996)

1 December 200018 November 2021

Rating: ★★★★

Fantastical Journey/Stop-Motion Animation/Roald Dahl Adaptation

Director: Henry Selick
Actors: Paul Terry, Miriam Margolyes, Joanna Lumley, Pete Postlethwaite, …
Category: Fantasy

Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

2 September 20037 May 2020

Rating: ★★★★

Greek Myth Adventure

Director: Don Chaffey
Actors: Todd Armstrong, Nancy Kovack, Nigel Green, Laurence Naismith, …
Category: Fantasy

Josh Kirby … Time Warrior! Planet of the Dino-Knights (1995)

21 April 199921 December 2021

Rating: ★★

Juvenile Adventures Through Time

Director: Ernest Farino
Actors: Corbin Allred, Jennifer Burns, Barrie Ingham, Derek Webster, …
Category: Science Fiction

Josh Kirby … Time Warrior! The Human Pets (1995)

26 April 199921 December 2021

Rating: ★★

Juvenile Adventures Through Time

Director: Frank Arnold
Actors: Corbin Allred, Jennifer Burns, Barrie Ingham, John DeMita, …
Category: Science Fiction

Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955)

30 July 201522 December 2021

Rating: ★★

Journey Through Prehistory

Director: Karel Zeman
Category: Science Fiction

King Kong (1933)

12 November 200026 June 2025

Rating: ★★★★★

Giant Ape

Director: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsak
Actors: Fay Wray, Bruce Cabot, Robert Armstrong, Frank Reicher
Category: Science Fiction

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

17 December 201620 July 2023

Rating: ★★★½

Stop-Motion Animation/Boy’s Epic Journey

Director: Travis Knight
Actors: Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Rooney Mara, …
Category: Fantasy

Laserblast (1978)

3 June 20051 September 2019

Rating: 0­

Teen Underdog Takes Revenge with an Alien Raygun

Director: Michael Rae
Actors: Kim Milford, Roddy McDowall, Cheryl Smith, Gianni Russo, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Little Prince (2015)

20 March 201630 December 2024

Rating: ★★½

Animation/Young Boy Alien Visitor Fable

Director: Mark Osborne
Actors: Mackenzie Foy, Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Riley Osborne, …
Category: Fantasy

The Lost World (1925)

3 July 200026 August 2020

Rating: ★★★½

Lost Plateau of Dinosaurs

Director: Harry O. Hoyt
Actors: Wallace Beery
Category: Science Fiction

Lunacy (2005)

24 July 200623 July 2024

Rating: ★★

Surrealism/Insane Asylum

Director: Jan Svankmajer
Actors: Pavel Liska, Jan Triska, Pavel Novy
Category: Fantasy

Mad God (2021)

25 June 202216 June 2024

Rating: ★★★★

Surreal Nightmare World/Stop-Motion Animation

Director: Phil Tippett
Actors: Alex Cox, Hans Brekke, Jake Freytag, David Lauer, …
Category: Fantasy

Mad Monster Party? (1967)

5 August 200018 May 2020

Rating: ★★★

Famous Monster Bash/Stop-Motion Animation

Director: Jules Bass
Actors: Boris Karloff, Phyllis Diller
Category: Fantasy

Manborg (2011)

17 November 201213 November 2024

Rating: ★★★½

Cyborg Hero/Deliberately Bad SF Film

Director: Steven Kostanski
Actors: Matthew Kennedy, Conor Sweeney, Meredith Sweeney, Ludwig Lee, …
Category: Science Fiction

Marcel the Shell With Shoes On (2021)

10 May 202510 May 2025

Rating: ★★★★★

Stop-Motion Animation/Talking Shell

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Actors: Dean Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate, Isabella Rossellini, Lesley Stahl
Category: Fantasy

Memoir of a Snail (2024)

15 December 20246 April 2025

Rating: ★★★★

Claymation/Eccentric Characters

Director: Adam Elliot
Actors: Sarah Snook, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jackie Weaver, Magda Szubanski, …
Category: Fantasy

Mighty Joe Young (1949)

11 June 200014 November 2023

Rating: ★★★★½

Giant Ape

Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack
Actors: Robert Armstrong, Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Frank McHugh
Category: Fantasy

Missing Link (2019)

27 July 20198 October 2019

Rating: ★★½

Bigfoot Comedy/Stop-Motion Animation

Director: Chris Butler
Actors: Hugh Jackman, Zach Galifianakis, Zoe Saldana, Timothy Olyphant, …
Category: Fantasy

Monkeybone (2001)

23 February 200113 October 2023

Rating: ★★½

Cartoonist in the Afterlife

Director: Henry Selick
Actors: Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda, John Turturro, Chris Kattan, …
Category: Fantasy

Mysterious Island (1961)

4 January 200122 September 2023

Rating: ★★★

Desert Island Survival/Giant Animals

Director: Cy Endfield
Actors: Herbert Lom, Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood, Gary Merrill, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

8 February 200423 April 2020

Rating: ★★★★★

Halloween Denizens Take Over Christmas/Stop-Motion Animation

Director: Henry Selick
Actors: Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, …
Category: Fantasy

A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell (1990)

28 January 201522 January 2025

Rating: 0­

Heroine vs Post-Holocaust Dinosaurs

Director: Brett Piper
Category: Science Fiction

Oblivion (1994)

2 April 201920 January 2023

Rating: ★★★

Western on an Alien Planet

Director: Sam Irvin
Actors: Richard Joseph Paul, Andrew Divoff, Jimmie F. Skaggs, Meg Foster, …
Category: Science Fiction

One Million Years B.C. (1966)

11 February 200121 November 2023

Rating: ★★★

Cavemen vs Dinosaurs/Prehistoric Drama

Director: Don Chaffey
Actors: Raquel Welch, John Richardson, Martine Beswick, Robert Brown
Category: Science Fiction

ParaNorman (2012)

16 August 201228 December 2023

Rating: ★★★

Stop-Motion Animated Children’s Film/Kid Sees Dead People

Director: Chris Butler, Sam Fell
Actors: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, …
Category: Horror

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)

24 December 20023 February 2025

Rating: ★★★★

Overgrown Adolescent’s Nonsense Adventures

Director: Tim Burton
Actors: Paul Reubens, Elizabeth Daily, Diane Salinger, Judd Omen, …
Category: Fantasy

Planet of Dinosaurs (1977)

14 April 201610 February 2025

Rating: ★★

Survival on a Dinosaur-Inhabited Planet

Director: James K. Shea
Actors: Louie Lawless, James Whitworth, Michael Thayer
Category: Science Fiction

The Primevals (2023)

28 June 202428 June 2024

Rating: ★★★

Lost World/Alien Lizard People

Director: David Allen
Actors: Juliet Mills, Richard Joseph Paul, Leon Russom, Walker Brandt, …
Category: Science Fiction

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (2011)

20 August 202420 August 2024

Rating: ★★★

Ray Harryhausen Documentary

Director: Gilles Penso
Actors: Ray Harryhausen, Tim Burton, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, …
Category: Fantasy

RoboCop 2 (1990)

6 January 201127 September 2023

Rating: ★★★

Cyborg Cop

Director: Irvin Kershner
Actors: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Belinda Bauer, Gabriel Damon, …
Category: Science Fiction

The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (1993)

16 December 200924 June 2022

Rating: ★★★★

Little Person/Surreal Bizarreness

Director: Dave Borthwick
Category: Fantasy

Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)

15 July 200214 March 2025

Rating: ★★

Arabian Nights Adventure

Director: Sam Wanamaker
Actors: Patrick Wayne, Jane Seymour, Taryn Power, Patrick Troughton, …
Category: Fantasy

The Son of Kong (1933)

8 May 200020 March 2025

Rating: ★★½

King Kong Sequel

Director: Ernest B. Schoedsack
Actors: Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack, Frank Reicher, Victor Wong
Category: Science Fiction

Stopmotion (2023)

27 April 202527 April 2025

Rating: ★★★

Filmmakers Obsessive Descent

Director: Robert Morgan
Actors: Aisling Franciosi, Caoilinn Springall, Stella Gonet, Tom York, …
Category: Horror

Subspecies (1991)

29 July 20027 October 2024

Rating: ★★

Vampires

Director: Ted Nicolaou
Actors: Laura Tate, Anders Hove, Michelle McBride, Irina Movila, …
Category: Horror

A Town Called Panic (2009)

16 April 20105 May 2025

Rating: ★★★★

Stop-Motion Animated Plastic Toys/Gonzo Comedy

Director: Stephane Aubier, Vincent Patar
Actors: Vincent Patar, Stephane Aubier, Jeanne Balibar, Benoit Poelvoorde, …
Category: Fantasy

Toys in the Attic (2009)

23 September 20122 January 2023

Rating: ★★½

Stop-Motion Animation/The Secret Life of Toys

Director: Jiri Barta, Vivian Schilling
Category: Fantasy

The Valley of Gwangi (1969)

3 May 200112 September 2024

Rating: ★★★

Dinosaur Discovered

Director: James O'Connolly
Actors: James Franciscus, Lawrence Naismith, Richard Carlson, Freda Jackson, …
Category: Science Fiction

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)

4 January 20254 January 2025

Rating: ★★★

Aardman Animation

Director: Merlin Crossingham, Nick Park
Actors: Ben Whitehead, Reece Shearsmith, Peter Kay, Lauren Patel, …
Category: Fantasy

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970)

25 August 200224 December 2023

Rating: ★★½

Cavemen vs Dinosaurs

Director: Val Guest
Actors: Victoria Vetri, Robin Hawdron, Patrick Allen, Imogen Hassall
Category: Science Fiction

Willy McBean and His Magic Machine (1965)

12 May 20049 September 2021

Rating: ★★★

Children’s Time Travel Film

Director: Arthur Rankin Jr
Actors: Billie Richards, Larry Mann, Paul Soles, James Doohan
Category: Science Fiction

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)

19 December 200216 June 2025

Rating: ★★

Brothers Grimm Anthology/Biopic

Director: Henry Levin, George Pal
Actors: Laurence Harvey, Karl Boehm, Barbara Eden, Oscar Homolka, …
Category: Fantasy

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Theme Essays

  • Films About Atlantis
  • Werewolf Films
  • Virtual Reality
  • Imprisonment Thrillers
  • Films Depicting NASA and the Space Program
  • Human Bloodsports and Death Games
  • Animals Attack Films
  • Films About Plague and Pandemic
  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns
∧

Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2025

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