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Stop Motion "Anomalisa" Is A Hit With Audiences, Critics Alike

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - From the creator of the hit films "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation" comes a quirky new, unique dark comedy that's visually very different from most other animated films.

Now out in theaters, "Anomalisa" tells the story of a self-help author who lives a very mundane life. He sees no way out of the doldrums until he meets a woman named Lisa, who may or may not be the love of his life.

The film has a distinct feel for it's audience. It's done in stop-motion animation, paying special attention to costume and hair design.

CBS4's Lisa Petrillo sat down with the makers of the film to discuss what makes it a standout.

"They are puppets that exist in a real three dimensional space and all the sets, and all the details, props, and everything that you see is fabricated and built, set up on a stage, and it's lit and there are many stages going simultaneously," said animator Duke Johnson. "The way that it literally works is that these puppets are posed and a still frame is taken and they're moved again, and a still frame is taken and over the sequence of 24 still frames a second it creates the illusion of movement."

"For me as an audience member, there is sort of a fun in the sense of pride in realizing something that I'm not hit over the head with," Anomalisa's writer and director Charlie Kaufmann.

The film, which took three years to make, has been a huge hit with critics and has received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for best animated film.

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