Animated plasticine. Talking chickens. Dancing Cossacks. Plus old favourites bro'Town, Hairy Maclary and Footrot Flats. From Len Lye to Gollum, feast on the talents of Kiwi animators. In his backgrounder to the Animation Collection, NZ On Screen's Ian Pryor provides handy pathways through the frogs, dogs and stop motion shenanigans. 

NZ On Screen’s Top 10 most viewed titles of 2015 features two All Blacks, a pair of animated favourites, a number of guitars, the debut episode of Outrageous Fortune, and a documentary about moko. Check out the top 10 list below, and find out more about the top 10 here.   

Low-tech legend Chris Knox is an accomplished musician, cartoonist, critic, filmmaker, and jandal wearer. His particular genius takes flight in the DIY aesthetic of his music videos. “This is a unique and important collection of work perfectly illustrating what is possible with the barest of resources and a free-wheeling imagination”, Flying Nun founder, Roger Shepherd.

This Simmonds Brothers short zips through five generations of their family history, from Croatia to the Kapiti Coast, plus a shipwreck near Auckland. Described as a 'documation', the voices of yarning family members are married to their cartoon likenesses, to comic and ultimately moving effect. The film opens with Mariano and Elizabeth Vella's great great granddaughter and moves to a dramatic re-enactment of the Dalmatian settlers' so-called "very nice honeymoon" on the steamer SS Wairarapa, when it was wrecked off Great Barrier Island in 1894 (131 people died).

Made for TV2, The Adventures of Massey Ferguson aims to show children what life is like outside the big cities. In this episode the little farm near Kumara Cove — to a red tractor named Massey Ferguson, and his farm vehicle friends —has dried up in the summer heat. It is up to Massey to track down some water, with a little help from Gracie the quad bike and Beaut the Ute. Despite suggestions that it might be worth trying a Native American rain dance or water divining, Massey opts to set out and find the water himself. The fate of the farm rests on his wheels.

This family-friendly series from company Flux Animation follows the adventures of Tamatoa, a young Māori boy and his friends Moana, Manu (the moa), Moko (the tuatara) and Kereru (the kereru). Making clear director Brent Chambers’ lifelong love of American animation, the ten-minute episodes feature visual gags aplenty, most of them sold with a Kiwi twist. Set in pre-European times, the series features the voice talents of comedian Cal Wilson, Jason Hoyte (Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby) and Stephanie Tauevihi (Shortland Street).

With character names befitting an episode of Country Calendar, there’s something distinctly Kiwi about this animated children's show. This episode sees Murray the farmer take his friendly tractor Massey Ferguson out to the swamp for duck-hunting season. But things go awry when Massey backfires, scaring the ducks away. Back at the farm, Massey and his farm vehicle friends have to solve the problem. The culprit 's apology leads to another opportunity for Kiwi flavour. The apology: “Sorry mate”.

Wellington rockers Paselode certainly weren’t the first band to conquer, argue, then combust; but this film offers an unusual view on the group’s internal dynamics. Inspired by the legendary Creature Comforts films by Aardman Animation, The Paselode Story takes real-life interviews with bandmembers, and animates the results. Expect possibly tongue-in-cheek revelations of how singer Gerome Mills charmed — or bribed — his way into his brother’s band with his Dad’s help, before revealing his true colours. There are also live action scenes of Paselode in action.

On an evening stroll in 1996, two elderly Paekakariki twins suddenly encountered a ropey bull. Caught in an unexpected predicament, they tried patting it, praying, and holding onto its horns for dear life. Using an audio recording in which Pearl Mills matter-of-factly retells the experience, the Simmonds Brothers utilise colourful animation to bring the whole homely tale to life. Following on from their first film — based on interviews with people from Paekakariki township — this ‘documation’ short was again inspired by the stories of ‘ordinary’ people.

In this episode, the pint-sized Tamatoa sets off to rescue his talkative friend Moko the tuatara (Jason Hoyte), after Moko goes on an accidental kite journey and ends up in a swamp that is home to a brightly-coloured taniwha. Tamatoa has been warned that if he meets the taniwha, having a gift ready might help things along. The swamp is a place of many surprises: some of them with teeth, some with smiles. The light-hearted, colourfully-animated show was created by Kiwi company Flux Animation Studios.