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Begone Dull Care
A vivid interpretation of jazz music played by the Oscar Peterson Trio. Begone Dull Care brings a wild piece of music to life with abstract expressionist animation. It captures the energy of the piece in visual form. Evelyn Lambart and Norman McLaren painted colours, shapes, and transformations directly onto their filmstrip, impossible to simulate with digital tools.
Bio Norman McLaren
Norman McLaren (1914-1987) was a Scottish-born Canadian animator and director known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He was a pioneer in a number of areas, including drawn-on-film animation, visual music, abstract film, pixilation, and graphical sound. His awards included an Oscar for Best Documentary in 1952 for Neighbours, a Silver Bear for best short documentary at the 1956 Berlin International Film Festival, and a 1969 BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film for Pas de deux.
I want to tell the viewer about my inner feelings, but I don’t want to tell the viewer about my inner thoughts and opinions—you know, intellectualising. In Begone Dull Care, I’m telling them how I feel about that music.
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- This film was #78 in the “Greatest” Short Films of All Time 2025