How a 26-year-old German woman made the world’s oldest animated feature film

Indeed, once Reiniger accepted the proposition, she took on just a handful of staff. This included a few animators, an assistant to track the frames shot, and Reiniger’s husband, who controlled the camera. As well as directing, Reiniger constructed the silhouette puppets herself, cutting characters from cardboard and lead, before fixing their joints with wire hinges. She also devised the film’s scenario, combining several Middle Eastern fairy tales into one story, The Adventures of Prince of Achmed.