''Peludópolis'' is a 1931

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

animated film directed by

Quirino Cristiani Quirino Cristiani (2 July 1896 – 2 August 1984) was an Italian-born Argentine animation director and cartoonist, responsible for the world's first two animated feature films as well as the first animated feature film with sound, even though the ...

. It was released on 18 September 1931 in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. The film was released with a

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National Pictures, First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone is the last major analog sound-on-disc sys ...

sound-on-disc Sound-on-disc is a class of sound film processes using a phonograph or other disc to record or play back sound in sync with a motion picture. Early sound-on-disc systems used a mechanical interlock with the movie projector, while more recent sys ...

synchronization system soundtrack, making the film generally credited as the first animated feature film with sound. The film is now considered a lost film.

Plot

The story revolves around Argentine president, Hipolito Yrigoyen, nicknamed by his detractors "Peludo" (

Armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

), sailing as a pirate on his ship ''Peludópolis'' (Peludo city, which represented Argentina) to the island of Quesolandia, while constantly being harassed by hungry sharks (the dissident

Radicals Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

). ''Peludópolis'' had been stolen by Yrigoyen from her former owner, the "Pelado" ("The Bald", nickname of the dissident Radical leader and ex-president Marcelo T. de Alvear), and is eventually recovered by Argentine military forces.

Production

A year into production for the film, president Yrigoyen was ousted by a military coup d'état, and production on the film halted. Still wanting this film to see the light of day, Cristiani began de-emphasizing Yrigoyen and the sharks and started adding in the generals that overthrew Yrigoyen as the heroes. During this time, Cristiani added an everyman character named Juan Pueblo to act as the moral center of the film. After the delay and plot rearrangement, ''Peludópolis'' was finally released on 16 September 1931. The single most notable feature of ''Peludópolis'' was the fact that it was the first animated film to be released with sound. Cristiani added this feature partway through production, before the plot had been rearranged, using the

system to record the sound that was to play alongside the film. While sound-on-film systems did exist at the time, Argentine theaters were simply unable to support the system. ''Peludópolis'' included multiple songs during the film, none of which are known to exist. Instead of drawing on

cel A cel, short for '' celluloid'', is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid (consisting of cellulose nitrate and camphor) was used during the first half of the 20th cent ...

s which would then be laid over a background, the drawings were made on

cardboard Cardboard is a generic term for heavy paper-based products. Their construction can range from a thick paper known as paperboard to corrugated fiberboard, made of multiple plies of material. Natural cardboards can range from grey to light brown ...

, a technique Cristiani by then had perfected, and then cut out and laid over the background in the same way as with cels.Quirino Cristiani: "Making Peludopolis" (1930)
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Preservation

In both 1957 and 1961, fires broke out where the then-retired Cristiani stored his films, destroying most, if not all, of his work. Among the lost materials included the only prints of ''Peludópolis'' left in existence, as well as the soundtrack, making it a lost film. A making-of feature of the film, along with several stills and posters for the film, are still in existence.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peludopolis 1931 animated films 1931 films Animated feature films Argentine animated films Argentine satirical films Political satire films Films directed by Quirino Cristiani Lost animated films 1930s Spanish-language films Animation based on real people Cultural depictions of politicians Cultural depictions of presidents Cultural depictions of Argentine people Argentine black-and-white films 1931 lost films Lost Argentine films 1930s Argentine films

Plot

Production

Preservation

See also

References

External links