Object of the week: Lotte Reiniger’s cut-out figures and backgrounds for Cinderella

“I could cut out silhouettes almost as soon as I could manage to hold a pair of scissors,” recalled Lotte Reiniger in 1936. Reiniger was a pioneer of silhouette animation, who loved myths and fairytales and returned to them again and again to create exquisite, imaginative worlds from paper and light.

These figures and the background below were created for Cinderella (1954), one of a series of short films that Reiniger made for British and American television in the 1950s and 60s. The cut-out figures reveal the mechanics behind her process. 

After storyboarding the whole film, she would sketch each character before cutting them out in a medium-strong cardboard. As can be seen here, this was usually but not exclusively black – as the figures would be placed on a sheet of plate glass and backlit, they would only show as shadow forms.

Some parts would be cut from thinly rolled lead to provide extra strength, and then they would all be connected using small hinges constructed from fuse wire. Characters requiring a lot of movement needed more fully articulated parts (compare the king raising his quizzical lorgnette with the relatively static queen, for instance) – and versions would be made in different sizes for when characters needed to be seen in close-up or from afar. 

The close-up versions of characters often featured more detail, as can be seen here in the two different versions of the prince.

Backgrounds were created later, after Reiniger had laid out the figures to test movement and choreography. Once she had determined what space was required, and where within the frame the action would take place, she would construct the backgrounds for each scene. Multiple layers of transparent paper were built up to create darker and lighter areas and then covered with another sheet of paper to protect the set as the figures were positioned on top. When needed, the darker layers could be removed so the same background could create the impression of day or night, as with this cobbled market place.

The sense of character and atmosphere that Reiniger imbues into her creations can be all the more appreciated by seeing the pieces of raw paper, card and wire with which she painstakingly conjured her magical tales. Animated on screen, their pure black silhouettes appear as effortless pieces of storytelling, deftly capturing the essence of a character and creating magical worlds of the imagination.

Produced with the support of the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery funding.