Hans Richter's Rhythmus 23 (1923) is an early example of abstract animation. It has no narrative and pretty much consists entirely of squares changing shape and size and is entirely in black and white. I personally think this animation is boring to watch because nothing exciting really happens and the colours are very dull. It is however, interesting to try to figure out how this animation would have been achieved in 1923.
Oskar Fischinger's Toccata and Fugue in D minor (1940) (above, top) and his Early Abstraction (1950) are also early examples of experimental animation. Early Abstraction is far more abstract than Toccata. Toccata is part of Disney's Fantasia (1940), so the animation fits the music in a more classic, semi-abstract way. However, after watching Early Abstraction, it is arguably evident that the latter animation actually fits its music better as it uses bolder and brighter colours, and the visuals correspond with the beat more accurately. However, despite this I prefer Toccata as the style used in the animation is more varied throughout so I find it makes it more interesting to watch.
Early Abstractions (1946) by Harry Smith is also an abstract animation, though not as early as some of the previous examples. It is far more dynamic than some of the earliest examples, making it more interesting to watch. It also sticks to the concept of cells, shown by many of the shapes; and the movements of the shapes look as though they are splitting like cells under a microscope. The colours used are also very natural, and the music sounds quite organic, which sticks to this kind of natural science style within the animation.
A Colour Box (1935) (above, top) by Len Lye, is an animation which was made for G.P.O (now called Royal Mail) as a piece of advertising. It is lively and doesn't take itself too seriously, so it's quite a bold and fun animation to watch; especially when coupled with the lively music. However it is a bit weird when, towards the end, it starts advertising the various prices of sending a parcel, it almost ruins it really.
Rainbow Dance (1936) by Len Lye was also produced by G.P.O. Again, it is very lively and fun to watch and uses bright colours and fast-paced music. However, it is less abstract, and the fact that a dancer is used as a central subject, it gives the viewers eyes something to follow, and a little more narrative, rather than allowing your eyes to flit around the screen like in his previous animation.
Boogie Doodle by Norman McLaren is another example of abstract animation, again to lively, fun music. I like this animation better than the previous examples of abstract animation because the style is more interesting in that adding the white and black marks to the blue shapes gives them a more 3D look, which contrasts really nicely with the 2D looking black marks. Also, because the animation focuses on just a couple of central shapes, it gives the viewer's eyes something to focus on as opposed to just flailing around the screen.
Neighbours (1952) by Norman McLaren is an example of experimental animation which is not abstract, and it also has a storyline. This animation has also been done using stop-motion, which was less common in early experimental animation. This animation really works though because it is clearly using real actors, but gives a very comical look to it, and certain points in the animation happen which would have never been possible in live action, such as when one of the characters is flying.
Tango (1983) by Zbig Rybczynski is an experimental animation about the chaos of life, where the increasing number of people in that one room builds up a sense of anxiety, but the routine and repetition in it makes it easy to cope with the amount of information happening at once in this animation. It is a great animation to watch, really original, and one of the most fascinating things about this animation is it's impeccable timing and coordination; a really great animation.
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