How did Dada and Surrealism influence experimental animated films in France?

In the post-World War I era, the avant-garde movements of Dada and Surrealism significantly shaped experimental filmmaking in France. Artists associated with these movements—including Fernand Léger, Marcel Duchamp, René Clair, and Man Ray—utilized the medium to create abstract and nonnarrative works, often incorporating animation techniques.1

The influence of these movements was rooted in their shared preoccupation with the irrational, the bizarre, and the fantastic. While Dadaists used these elements to challenge rational thought and mock traditional artistic conventions, Surrealists—influenced by the psychoanalytical theories of Sigmund Freud—sought to merge the realms of dream and reality into an absolute "surreality".234

This artistic philosophy encouraged filmmakers to explore beyond mainstream narrative structures. A notable example of this influence is the Surrealist film Un Chien andalou (1929), created in Paris by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, which remains one of the most famous avant-garde works of the era. By prioritizing the unconscious and the power of chance, these movements provided a conceptual framework that allowed experimental animators to push the boundaries of film as a medium.132