"They Thought It Was a Marvel": Arthur Melbourne-Cooper (1874-1961), Pioneer of Puppet Animation

Drawing on hitherto unseen archival material and interviews, “They Thought It Was a Marvel” sketches an unforgettable portrait of British pioneer filmmaker Arthur Melbourne-Cooper. Tjitte de Vries and Ati Mul sift through several of Melbourne-Cooper’s films, emphasizing his contributions to early cinema while simultaneously arguing their case that Melbourne-Cooper’s Matches Appeal is the first animated film. Accompanying the book is a DVD that features the six surviving animated films made by Melbourne-Cooper.