''Boogie-Doodle'' is a 1940 drawn-on-film visual music short by Norman McLaren, set to the

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pi ...

music of African-American jazz pianist Albert Ammons. Though released by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

(NFB) in 1941, ''Boogie-Doodle'' was actually made by McLaren in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1940, a year before he was invited by John Grierson to Canada to found the NFB's animation unit. McLaren, who had been influenced by the hand-painted films of

Len Lye Leonard Charles Huia Lye (; 5 July 1901 – 15 May 1980) was a New Zealand artist known primarily for his experimental films and kinetic sculpture. His films are held in archives including the New Zealand Film Archive, British Film Institute, M ...

, was in New York exploring the technique on a grant from the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation, creating ''Boogie-Doodle'' along with three other cameraless films: ''Dots'', ''Loops'' and ''Stars and Stripes''. The animation in ''Boogie-Doodle'' coincides exactly with Ammon's musical piece, with McLaren's animation beginning at the very first bar and concluding at the final note.

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* * 1940 films 1940 animated films Animated films without speech Films directed by Norman McLaren Visual music Jazz films Drawn-on-film animated films National Film Board of Canada animated short films Canadian animated short films Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation 1940s animated short films Animated musical films Canadian musical films 1940s Canadian films {{1940s-Canada-film-stub