Peludópolis (Lost 1931 Animated Movie)

Quirino Cristiani was an Argentine born animator and director, best known for his political satires and his unique animation style, usting cardboard cutouts instead of hand drawn animation. Cristiani made three animated films, all of which are lost (one of the, El Apostol, is already detailed on this wiki), but perhaps hist most noteable lost film was his last, Peludopolis.

The original plot for Peludopolis was another political satire for Cristiani: it revolved around then Argentine president, Hipolito Yrigoyen, floating around his boat Peludo City (which represented Argentina) while constatly being harassed by hungry sharks (the Radicals). However, a year into production for the film, president Yrigoyen was ousted by a military coup d'etat, and production on the film halted.

Still wanting this film to see the light of day, Critiani began de-emphasize Yrigoyen and the sharks and started adding in the generals that overthrew Yrigoyen as the heroes. During this time, Cristiani added an everyman character named Juan Pueblo to act as the moral center of the film. After the delay and plot rearrangement, Peludopolis was finally released on September 16, 1931.

The single most noteable feature of Peludopolis was the fact that it was the first animated film to be released with sound. Cristiani added this feature part way through production, before the plot had been rearranged, using a second disk to record the sound that was to play alongside the movie. While sound on film systems did exist at the time, Argentine theaters were unable to support the system at that time. Peludopolis included multiple songs during the film, none of which sadly are known.

In both 1957 and 1961, fires broke out where the now retired Cristiani stored his films, destroying most if not all of his work. Among the lost materials included the only prints of Peludopolis left in existance, meaning that it is highly unlikely, if not impossible, we will ever see this revolutionary film again. A making-of feature of the film however, along with several screenshots and the poster for the film, still survive.