Adam Elliot is an Australian director and filmmaker known for his claymation shorts and movies. Through his claymation films, Elliot uniquely and accurately focuses on the realistic fictional lives of ordinary people. Elliot researches the disabilities he portrays in his works so he can portray the diversity of disability correctly.
Elliot’s works feature great storytelling and amazing perspectives, as he tells stories of everyday people from many different walks of life: those with disabilities, and challenges, and those who have lived through tragedies. His films immerse me in the world of characters. These investing storylines keep my attention, like in Mary and Max (2009). What’s great about that movie is how deeply it explores the lives of two completely different people at different times, yet somehow their stories fit together. His short film Brother (2000) was an eight-minute emotional roller coaster, where Elliot talks about the childhood struggle he endured with his brother growing up in suburban Australia.
Another thing I admire about Elliot is his craftsmanship. His stop-motion clay figures are smooth liquid shapes, but you can see his thumb imprinted on the clay, showing his handywork. The short film Harvey Krumpet (2003) won an Academy Award, with over a hundred other awards for his works. I would say that he is one of the best workers in claymation from this century. Harvie Krumpet is about a man who, despite many obstacles like a tragic childhood and Tourette syndrome, finds his way to have a positive life by finding joy in the small things.
Elliot tells the story of people living with challenges like autism, Tourette syndrome, cerebral palsy, and more through the characters in his films. This medium is cool to observe because it’s rare to see disability portrayed correctly and well in art. His family has a variety of disabilities like autism, cerebral palsy, and tremors, so he can understand how to represent them. You can also see by watching their patterns of behavior and the way they deal with their disability that he studies these disabilities thoroughly so he knows how to write them into his characters correctly.
Elliot has a very experienced past in schooling for the arts. He went to Victorian Arts College which is known for its arts program. This education is shown through many of his old works like Uncle (1996), which is wonderful. I can see his fresh ideas in his new art, noticing improvement.
If you like claymation and stop-motion or are interested in diversity in storytelling, you will enjoy Adam Elliot Films. His full-feature films are available for purchase on Amazon Prime or YouTube TV, and his short films are also available on YouTube.
