Out of the Shadows: How Lotte Reiniger Made the First Animated Fairytale Movie

This picture-book biography follows Lotte Reiniger, born in Berlin in 1899, from her early fascination with film and traditional tales to her work in animation. As a child, she used paper cutting and puppets to stage Romeo and Juliet at home. She later worked on films with Paul Wegener, creating intertitles and then contributing sets, costumes, and special effects. The account covers her use of stop-motion animation, her multiplane camera, and her full-length silhouette film The Adventures of Prince Achmed. An author’s note discusses her life, animation work, and stereotyping in that film.