Animated Genesis (1952)

"In the beginning, the world with was without form... then came the atom and..." This is an engagingly constructed semi-scientific and occasionally live-action animation that starts with the principle of the single cell and then, augmented by the increasingly effective score, takes us on a journey through evolution that presents us with water and thence all that emanates from it. Cells grow into more complex organisms and then even more sophisticated entities. The constantly moving drawings, sometimes random and sometimes symmetrically more structured quite cleverly take us on a living history of developing life on Earth - and not just the benign aspects, either. I did like the menacing spider, nature's first experimentation with flight before finally, it introduces the elements of mankind, agriculture, cultivation and then - technology (in all its guises). This is an imaginatively created animation that demonstrates the synergies of nature quite neatly before also emphasising the impact on the planet made by us and our contraptions. The use of a spider's web throughout is a clever device to show the interconnectivity of everything - even time, and I did find it quite enjoyable.