ANTEDILUVIAN. Animated Short Film

ANTEDILUVIAN: Classic Paleoart in Movement
The XIX century supposed a proggessive yet traumatic transition from the Old Regime to Modernity. Social movements, Technology, Literature, Art and Science were all at once changing how Humans perceive the world they lived in for ever.
The very song that leads this motion picture was itself a game changer for music composition, just as the scientific discoveries that were happening at the time challenged society's world viewing. It was the begining of Paleontology .
William Buckland notoriously tried to make sense of the Biblical dogma to the new scientific revelations. He theorized that the Antediluvian creatures that Mary Anning and Gideon Mantell were unearthing were probably punnished by God in a series of catastrophes, due to their apparent grotesque and violent nature, the Deluge being the ultimate one.
The first dinosaur was formally described in 1824, exactly two centuries ago. Since then our perception of Megalosaurus has quite changed, and that's a reminder of how science progresses. This animated short is a commemorative homage to the pioneers who dared to stand for the truth they started to discover, considered 'outcasts' at the time; and the artists who for the first time imagined an entire different past of our planet.
___
Instagram: @mariolanzarensis
Prints, T-Shirts and more merch at:
www.redbubble....
___
Music: ¨Tristan und Isolde¨ by Richard Wagner.
This mix combined the performances of Ilumina Fesival, Sâo Paulo and
Frankfurt Radio Symphony dir. by Andrés Orozco-Estrada
__
FEATURED TAXA:
Hynerpeton, Pterodactylus, Belemnites, Ammonites, Osteopygis, Dicynodont, Iguanodon, Labyrinthodon, Hylaeosaurus, Megalosaurus, Teleosaurus, Dimorphodon, Simosaurus, Dryptosaurus, Ichthyosaurus, Plesiosaurus, Nothosaurus, Elasmosaurus, Mosasaurus (corpse)
*note: Some names are now outdated or assigned to other taxa, and some depictions are now hardly recognizable

[@MarioLanzas.]

At last! this is the animated short I've been working on for almost two years! A commemorative homage to classic Paleoart and early Paleontologists in the form of traditional animation. In general YT tends to disregard when I do somethig slightly different, so your support is highly appreaciated! I really hope you enjoy it, especially those who patiently waited for this particular project to be finally released😉 A version in color and maybe some out takes will be released if this video does well

[@ruannjovinski7735]

Outstanding work as usual my friend! You really outdid yourself with this one!

[@MarshalMarrs-eu9yh]

I want to see the next age of paleontology!

[@germanomagnone]

Good work! (Onest bit cruel for me)

[@SAGOTO2006]

This is simply a painting in motion 🤩🤩! Wonderful. How did you manage to make this beautiful animation?

[@NoaCharpentier-et8fv]

Realy nice animation

[@arthur___mz-0]

You know you are a true paleoart fan when you can identifie from which old painting each design and segment on this animation is based on

[@graphite2786]

I was rapt to see the ammonites in their fabled " Sail boat" configuration ( Cassell's Natural History 1881)

[@rafaelcastro8070]

I am proud of myself for identifiyng each one

[@dianamations9371]

Y’all are the goats fr

[@РопенЛестер]

​@@rafaelcastro8070tell me please who is who

[@ilonaramazanova6940]

i did.

[@Goober353]

Vintage dinosaurs always have this raw, primordial aura to them that I can’t explain. Putting them all together like this just emphasizes it

[@jungleblazers1249]

It's a feeling that's hard to put into words, but Mario Lanzas understood this perfectly and put this feeling into his animation. The chaotic horror of monsters living in a godless world. Gosh it's beautiful to look at!

[@MrKoobuh]

It's a depiction of life that is nothing like the animals we have today, they may as well have been monsters outside of nature.

[@Bluecho4]

"Primordial" is such a perfect word for it.

[@luis-sophus-8227]

@@jungleblazers1249 Doesn't feel too different from our modern world

[@bnamsrom2]

That was wonderful. I have the piece of art that inspired this on my desktop.

[@RANDOMstuffanimation]

A real love letter to paleontology. We spend so much time focusing on the inaccuracies of old Paleo depiction but often forget to appreciate the fact that they actually tried.

[@thenoblepoptart]

And their old vision has real artistry as well

[@lobomella]

"Surely you must be mistaken," I cried. "No: the first of those monsters has a porpoise's snout, a lizard's head, a crocodile's teeth; and hence our mistake. It is the ichthyosaurus (the fish lizard), the most terrible of the ancient monsters of the deep." "And the other?" "The other is a plesiosaurus (almost lizard), a serpent, armoured with the carapace and the paddles of a turtle; he is the dreadful enemy of the other." Journey to the Center of the Earth, Chapter XXXIII - Jules Verne.

[@tahutoa]

What a cool thing for the animator to reference

[@giantlactismid5704]

I knew the battle was a reference to the book, i think the plesiosaurus gets decapitated at the end too

[@adammoll1689]

Before there was time, before there was anything, there was nothing. And before there was nothing, there were monsters.- The Lich.

[@Shrekbeliever]

Why does this fit so well?

[@gabrielgiorgio-dormon8495]

That’s supposed to be true?

[@Diego_Xavier-08]

Adventure Time

[@deadpoolrlz9685]

here's your gold star - The Lich.

[@moemuxhagi]

Before time... there was... the *Cube*

[@FettMaster8]

I'd watch a full-length film done just like this. No dialogue. No narration. Just this.

[@ivanlol7153]

Fantasia does something similar, tho not as long as a movie

[@n0isyturtle]

You may enjoy the works of Ricardo Delgado

[@FettMaster8]

@@n0isyturtle Way ahead of you. Age of Reptiles rocks

[@floridaflamingogirl3119]

Some films that scratch a similar itch to this: Fantastic Planet Angel's Egg Allegro Non Troppo A lot of films by Karel Zeman (Baron Munchausen, Journey to the Beginning of Time, Invention for Destruction)

[@floridaflamingogirl3119]

@@ivanlol7153 Allegro Non Troppo also

[@gergokun7154]

Usually i complain first about inaccurate dinosaurs, but vintage depictions will allways have a special place in my heart. They just have an unmatched vibe to them. All of those illustrations had such an exciting and misterious aura. This short film was brilliant, exactly the kind of stuff i like!

[@kennethsatria6607]

That is kind of the point of vintage paleoart in modern day, its not about accuracy or anyone being superior its just vibing in an older era that was more horrific and fantastical than the known world of the present

[@lorencalfe6446]

when it becomes extremely inaccurate theres a certain charm to it.

[@Shrekbeliever]

@@gergokun7154 inaccurate Paleo art aura 💀

[@Kyoryu_Unshaken]

i just like dinosaurs lol accurate or not i love all of them

[@walrusArmageddon]

It always reminds me of medieval artwork depicting biblical monsters, I love it

[@RichardJohnson-m1k]

Please PLEASE let works of art like this continue to be created by people who truly understand and appreciate the craft of animation created by real artists, we need animated media like this now more than ever

[@ianwheeler8764]

I think one could draw strong parallels between this film and the current direction of humanity. We can only tear at each other for so long before ultimately all are destroyed. "Every kingdom divided against itself will be brought to destruction, and a house divided against itself will not stand." - Jesus

[@douglasgorde5823]

Stuff like this makes me wonder what it was like being one of the first real paleontologists. Imagine what it was like realizing gargantuan monsters lived so deep in time we couldn't even fathom it. It must have been cosmically terrifying. It must have been beautiful.

[@MarioLanzas.]

This is precisely why Im obsessed with this period. The 1810s-1860s is my Roman empire hahah

[@arieljacobsegal]

@@MarioLanzas.to quote Rev. Buckland, “Persons to whom this subject may now be presented for the first time, will receive, with much surprise, perhaps almost with incredulity, such statements as are here advanced. It must be admitted, that they at first seem much more like the dreams of fiction and romance, than the sober results of calm and deliberate investigation; but to those who will examine the evidence of facts upon which our conclusions rest, there can remain no more reasonable doubt of the former existence of these strange and curious creatures, in the times and places we assign to them; than is felt by the antiquary, who, finding the catacombs of Egypt stored with the mummies of Men, and Apes, and Crocodiles, concludes them to be the remains of mammalia and reptiles, that have formed part of an ancient population on the banks of the Nile.”

[@ErlangShenlo]

@@MarioLanzas. What is the name of those two predators that were fighting each other in the sea. 1 had a long neck

[@SlenderTroll]

@@ErlangShenlo​​⁠One was a giant ichthyosaur the other was a large plesiosaur.

[@ErlangShenlo]

@@SlenderTroll ive seen these two before and they always fight each other

[@johnmiller-purrenhage3790]

I've seen people praising the accuracy of the art, and rightfully so, but the behavior is what really fascinates me. This is a really faithful depiction of how people used to think about prehistoric life: nasty, brutish, sluggish, stupid animals that ripped each other to pieces and were then ripped to pieces themselves. I LOVE the poem choice at the beginning for this exact reason. The animals are at once terrifying and pathetic. Violence and death are commonplace, and the environment itself seems eager to kill the wretched things. This is a depiction that understands the old attitude towards ancient life. You can almost feel God's hatred. In case it needs to be said, this is obviously not how we feel about things today. Animals are not monsters, no matter what era they come from, and life was much more complicated than we used to believe.

[@Star-pl1xs]

perfectly put

[@MarioLanzas.]

Thank you for this beautiful comment! It's so satisfying when people understand my work so well 🙌

[@thealmightyaku-4153]

"You can almost feel God's hatred" - Wonderfully put.

[@tempestvenator9809]

"You can almost feel God's hatred." I've been getting the same vibe as well, especially with the ending with its obvious flood allusions. Like in a way the Dinosaurs reflect antedilluvian man and how all their ways were violent, and how it led to their destruction.

[@Maggot-Milk]

Man you said it all 🫡

[@G0at_man]

Just the word "antediluvian" awakens in me a feeling of mysticism and some fear. It makes me wonder what the world might have been like before a cataclysmic event like that, and what might have lived there.

[@eduardogomez2232]

I see some bible reference there. Before the flood, men were just making war, destroying themselves, until the flood came and killed em all, except for the ones in the ark. I feel like they tried to show a paralelism with the dinosaurs. Like, what if the dinosaur's meteor was a flood for punish their evil?

[@Radioactive-Cactus]

​@@catpoke9557seems more like he was speaking metaphorically and not literally.

[@angelarroyo8729]

Antediluvian also gives me a mystical feeling but I have gotten too into ttrpgs and it just reminds me of Vampire: The Masquerade with very old and powerful vampires that can take several nukes before going down

[@di3727]

Search for Sumerian and Babylonian myths, they were written around the Flood and what was before it, it will truly transport you across 8000 years of written records.

[@jugg9140]

watch jurassic park

[@Saint_Strawberry]

As a paleo-nerd, this short film is gorgeous! The outdated depictions of dinosaurs remind me of old classic films where dinosaurs were drawn to be more reptilian than bird-like. Also, I love the hidden signatures scattered in every scene, it feels like a moving Shaun Tan book!

[@Fact-fiend_1000ASMR.]

A world of gods and monsters, of Lovecraftian abominations forever at war with each other. Almost beautiful in its savagery. Good work. One of my favorite niche areas of study is early 20th century Germanic Occultism. One such text, which is infamous even among its peers, was Theozoology. This world that you made might have resembled the world the author could have envisioned as once existing. There are even strange dinosaur theories in the treatise. Like the spikes on a stegosaurus were electrically conductive. It was published in 1905 and so, it's not PC in any regard, even by the standards of the time.

[@Replicaate]

That actually sounds completely insane and fascinating to read in the best way, is there a digital copy of it I could get my hands on? I think I can brace myself for non-PC early 20th century language.

[@Fact-fiend_1000ASMR.]

@@Replicaate It's on the Archive.

[@kronoskarmas4148]

It's incredible how in the past, dinosaurs were represented as monsters and that their world was pure violence, and not as animals But how can we blame the artists of that time? Everything has a beginning Incredible animation

[@matthewkrulitski8788]

I think this was a time when science was trying to fit the square peg of new discoveries with the round hole of a very traditional mythology of Biblical history.

[@kronoskarmas4148]

@@matthewkrulitski8788 Wow, I hadn't thought about that, how mythology could be a basis for how they thought dinosaurs were, it's as if suddenly, the myths of dragons and giant sea monsters made sense, also, many must have thought "ohhhh, so that's where the dragon myths come from"

[@alexandrbatora9674]

A side note: I'm writing an adventure book about late-Permian animals, more particularly gorgonopsids, and I try all my best to AVOID exactly this: they weren't senseless brutes, or at least they were more than that! Btw, you may be interested in Secret Social Lives of Reptiles, really amazing book on reptiles and (more than just) their psychology! Well worth the read!

[@mushr--m]

​@@alexandrbatora9674 a late-permian adventure book? dude godspeed and best of luck to you because i would buy the hell out of that

[@alexandrbatora9674]

@@mushr--m Thanks a lot, I really enjoy the work, eventhough it's pretty hard - I'm a layman, yet I still want it to be as true to the facts as possible, so I got aLOT to learn. Also, it'll be in Czech, but maybe if I'll become a new JRRT, someone may translate it to English.

[@rl9217]

“Oh, this. This is beautiful!” -Grunkle Stan

[@phamnam8282]

@@rl9217 flying car they said

[@EzeICE]

"Damn right it is!" -Myself 😂

[@Grace-g8k2x]

This comment takes the cake! 🤣

[@bestuan]

Corny ass soy comment

[@CryptidMech]

19th century Retrosaurs are so underappreciated and have a vibe like no other. You superbly brought them to life here

[@The_Darke_Lorde]

No thoughts, no nature, just rip and tear

[@forsomereason3713]

Please tell me "retrosaurs" are a thing. Heading out to Google it now.

[@selwynmaan]

Bedankt

[@MarioLanzas.]

Dank JE wel!!! :)

[@jorgeroaro]

A beautiful work, completely filled with nostalgia for the nineteenth-century aesthetic and the poetic force of biblical drama. The idea of ​​the extinction of the dinosaurs due to God's punishment is truly terrifying, and the combination of image and music is masterful. A genuine homage to the beginnings of paleontology, full of dramatic force and plastic beauty. And I loved the heraldic emblem that appears at the end of the credits, a perfect personal coat of arms for Mario Lanzas, with the Megalosaurus and the Plesiosaurus holding the spears (lanzas).

[@FunkySpaceCat]

I can't describe how this video made me feel. It reminds me so much of Fantasia, and how dramatic and awe inspiring. This animation was so smooth it felt like a high end production. I absolutely adore this video.

[@yeaho.k83]

That’s exactly what I thought , too- fantasia!

[@germanomagnone]

@@yeaho.k83 I would say that it is a mix between "The Land Before Time" created by Don Bluth in 1988 a bit of the fantasy "The Rite of Spring" and a "sprinkle" of a cartoon about Noas ark in black and white.

[@muslimwoolfy-winterequestr4344]

Yeah Fantasia-like

[@Tekyng_of_Baregan]

​@@muslimwoolfy-winterequestr4344I think the correct term is Fantasiacal:)

[@Rolfhn]

I just made a comment about how this short reminds me of fantasia!! I must say this short is so perfect that I would totally believe It was made by the old Disney great animators!

[@RickRaptor105]

You could tell someone this is some previously lost movie of the silent film era and they would believe it

[@gisforgrievous8859]

Rick?! It’s been forever since I’ve seen a video from you,nice to see you’re active!

[@IaMaPh1991]

It says a lot that I find a comment from you out in the wild and I immediately read it out loud in your distinctive vocal delivery. Miss your stuff my guy, it never failed to cheer me up and allow me to share a laugh with my fellow compatriots

[@ItsAaronInDaHouse]

Didn’t think to see you here

[@CadaverousCanine]

I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a magnificent depiction of vintage paleoart. You brought these creatures to life. Absolutely stunning.

[@MarioLanzas.]

Thank you so much!!

[@juliantotriwijaya9208]

The way the biblical-type extinction level great flood's wave was drawn with a pen, you just see these big dinosaur creatures and compare it to the incoming wave/change, chef kiss 🤌. The way the sky opens up and pours *torrents* of water from above with the hellish image of the animals tearing each other apart below. The composition, stuff like this make artist like me cry, 10/10, *AI could never* XD lol

[@ingwersengrady]

I am quite enamored with the image of a barren muddy tidal region covered with...hulking cold-blooded masses punctuated by a single snake like tendril terminating with a grotesque snap-trap of gnarled fangs and two sinister beady glowing eyes.

[@snapshacks9226]

Glorious. The depiction of the older model of the megalosaur was marvelous .As well as the references to Jules Verne's work. I tip my hat to you, sir.

[@Pridd100]

Yeah. The fight between the plesiosaurus and the ichthyosaurus is straight out of Jule Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth".

[@Gasmaskmax]

Edouard Riou, the artist who did the lithographs printed in Journey and Twenty Thousand Leagues, has a few paintings very explicitly homaged here. I teared up a little seeing this, its such a pure, beautifully done tribute.

[@germanomagnone]

really, i totally agree! even though it is actually an ichthyosaur, not a mosasaur.

[@AmorrSummerstorm]

​@@Pridd100 aaaaaa, no wonder it felt familiar

[@megabigdump]

This is awesome. This is what Lovecraft would imagine when imagining prehistoric earth.

[@Replicaate]

"The hellish Valusia of primal myth", indeed!

[@anastasia_852]

This ironicly has that old 2000s cartoon vibe to it, except this time it's black and white horror with dinosaurs and sea creatures. I hope this gets more attention because it DESERVES IT, it seriously looks incredible

[@MarioLanzas.]

Thank you!!

[@germanomagnone]

I would call it an "ANTEDILUVIAN park"

[@matthewnegre8736]

What? You mean like the Looney Tunes from the 60s? 2000s cartoons was like KND and Johnny Bravo lol

[@REAPER3fitty]

How the fuck is it "ironic"?

[@volactic5240]

​@@matthewnegre8736You mean 1940s fantasia

[@SpookeyGael]

I love how you managed to capture the gloomy, surreal, and grotesque atmosphere of old paleoart while incorporating more modern ideas and interpretations.

[@evodolka]

This is just STUNNING you nailed the entire vibe, even the music is on point, the visuals here are crazy too it almost makes me think if a depiction of hell, just a waste land filled with monsters

[@romancirigliano1210]

This is not only a love letter to vintage paleoart and paleontology, but to vintage animation as well, if you told me this was a recovered movie from the mid 1920's i would fully belive you, your skill is amazing, and the last minute felt almost biblical.

[@redgrinner297]

interesting that you say that, seeing as the word means "of or belonging to the time before the biblical flood*

[@Wanten-the-stormtrooper]

Wow, this animation is both fascinating and pretty haunting. Seeing all the old school designs of these creatures in movement is a delight, but the whole bit where they all violently turn on each other right before the apocalypse is what gets me. It's so haunting to see all these animals start madly slaughtering each other as the waves start building up, as if God is driving them to kill each other to speed up him wiping them all out with the wave.

[@cygnusprime6728]

Yes, it's animated so well, but has so much tension and then becomes absolutely horrifying 0-100.

[@hondaaccord1399]

It's got this weird sort of whimsical nihilism that astounds and transfixes me. You can see all of human history in just this short, and I imagine the world 19th century paleontologists likely first imagined was much more telling of mindsets at the time than any sort of reasoning

[@Mikailodon]

This, this is just, absolutely perfect. As someone who loves vintage, antique paleoart as much as I do with modern, All Yesterdays-style paleoart, always fascinated buy the strange view he once had of paleontology, this has to be my favourite work you've ever done, watching you for four years. It's like the Rite of Spring from Disney's Fantasia if it was made in the 19th century, and it's equally beautiful. I also love how that once scene with the breaching ichthyosaur and plesiosaur references Edouard Riou's terrific illustration in Louis Figure's La terre avant le deluge. Fabulously detailed work, Mario. This makes me want to waddle like an elephantine lizard up Holborn Hill.

[@strobo308]

Oh this scratched my biggest itch, seeing gigantic creatures, in general. The skeleton, the mosnters at the end, tearing eachother apart, it's just a work of pure art.

[@tigerdude90]

These are some of the most breathtaking visuals I've seen in a long, long time. The music fits the images beautifully in a manner that perfectly emphasizes the film's drama. This is a truly amazing piece of work!

[@MarioLanzas.]

Thank you so much!!

[@ДмитрийД-в9ы]

Потрясающе, просто потрясающе. Я думаю, никто и никогда не делал анимацию по мотивам ранних представлений в палеонтологии

[@theabstractguy411]

Fucking awesome. Modern paleoart is awesome, but vintage paleoart will never cease to be stunningly terryfying.

[@Zの黙示録]

こういう昔の本とかの挿絵みたいな古風なイラストの古生物がめちゃくちゃ好きだったな この動画を子供の頃の自分に魅せたい

[@uncualquiera3635]

Excelente trabajo, me trae recuerdos de mi infancia, de aquellas mañanas solitarias de ver documentales de dinosaurios y aquellos buenos tiempos, a pesar de que quizás nunca pueda cumplir mi sueño de ser paleontologo me siento bien y ver esto ahora que estoy pasando por un momento difícil, junto con la excelente música de fondo me hace sentir bien ❤️‍🩹

[@MarioLanzas.]

Muchas gracias! espero que todo te mejore pronto :)

[@AverageRocirusEnjoyer]

Every frame is like a painting on its own!

[@Octopugilist]

Incredible work. It really brings to mind the "world of ceaseless violence and hunger" William Buckland and Jules Verne imagined. This is right up there with Fantasia's Rite Of Spring and Peter Jackson's King Kong when it comes to delicious anachronism Great work!

[@pestiforousalt]

This makes me think of old film in the most essential and beautiful way. You captured history PERFECTLY.

[@brianlevine871]

This was a beautiful video based on early Paleoart. The details in each drawing, and especially each animal, was gorgeous. It really gave me 'Rite of Spring' Fantasia vibes with the eerie and ominous tone.

[@Draconyx13]

Bringing anachronisms to life like this strikes a very particular chord with me. Whenever I saw examples of early paleoart as a child, be they in books or documentaries, I would always stop and pore over them in utter fascination. The sparse landscapes, the impossibly slick, "curly" anatomy of the creatures being depicted and the oftentimes biblical perspective provided an enamouring window into the imaginations of people from a similarly bygone, _alien_ world. Thank you so much for your hard work in putting these monsters in motion, and sending me on a trip down memory lane in the process!

[@marcleewinser8534]

Man, this is how People of the Victorian Age must have envisioned the Past - with all the Glory of Lithography and Copper Gravings in all it's Jules-Vernian Grandeur...

[@Decepticon17]

Its very haunting to see these reconstructions in motion, especially coupled with the monstrous violence that was always featured in the original art. If that was what I believed the time of reptiles had been like, I likely would have avoided the museums for fear of nightmares!

[@MissPumpkinJuice]

Animation quality is modern, yet animation vibe is old. It feels like it was made during the USSR era. I love this. It's a time machine in many ways. 2 years of making... worth it. You're a legend.

[@naturalistwarrior]

This is my belated birthday gift!

[@derekng7803]

Happy birthday🎉

[@MarioLanzas.]

Happy birthday!!!!!🥳🥳

[@germanomagnone]

next year maybe you will have a "fossil cake" with "lavatic cream"🙄🙄

[@QuintenWhyte]

happy belated birthday

[@sensui0]

🎂

[@TheJandJgames]

This is amazing, the classic otherworldly quality of classic depictions of prehistory will never be matched. These creatures depictions are as much a thing of a romantasised past as the bones of their actual original forms. Beautiful.

[@joaocardoletto]

In an attempt to visualize real biology, early paleo art ended up capturing images of our most primal fears. This animation perfectly describes that essence. Best thing I watched this year. Congratulations!!!!

[@Starbright_]

This seriously needs more attention. The way you brought these vintage pieces of paleoart to life, just, wow.

[@chriscooper654]

Loving tribute to artists and scientists who should not be forgotten. Thank you.

[@absentfish1706]

In my preschool years, I had a book about ancient marine reptiles. It had the vintage illustration of the Ichthyosaur and plesiosaurs (1858 illustration of marine monsters by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins Plate 23). I was captivated by it, endlessly redrawing it and reenacting this scene with my toys. Now, almost 20 years later, seeing this entrancingly beautiful animation brings back the dreams and nightmares from the primordial chasms of my memory. Thank you for this stunning work!

[@thewolfpoet]

2:14 That sequence is going to live rent-free in my mind for the rest of my life. Thank you

[@Vredood]

It’s an absolute crime that you don’t have more recognition on this platform. You’re probably one of the most talented artists to ever walk this planet.

[@BrianEnghArt]

It's so refreshing to see emotionally accurate depictions of prehistoric life and the unsettling and uncertain depths of deep time.

[@MarioLanzas.]

I love "emotionally accurate" as a concept! Thank you so much legend! Your appreciation means a lot😉

[@theangrysuchomimus5163]

What do you mean by "emotionally accurate"? Is it nostalgia?

[@BrianEnghArt]

@@theangrysuchomimus5163 I mean that art can capture feelings, and this art captures very real feelings about ancient life, the unknown, and the immense abyss of time. This animation wouldn't capture those same feelings in quite the same way if everything was "up to date" and "scientifically accurate" by modern standards. Depicting antiquated depictions of prehistoric creatures adds to the unsettling nature of the film by reminding us that extinct creatures now only live in our imaginations, and our ideas about them have consistently changed for nearly 2 centuries. How archaic will our current ideas about prehistoric creatures seem in another 2 centuries??

[@anatolevilbois9210]

Simply mesmerizing. It reminds me of a cartoon adaptation of Jules Verne's "Voyage au Centre de la Terre" that I used to watch religiously as a kid. It wasn't nearly as well animated as what you did, but I was always transfixed by the formidable world, grotesque and colossal in both its beauty and its violence, that it offered before my eyes.

[@MrAgamble]

This feels like it should have always existed. Everything about it seems right and awe inspiring. All these beautiful, almost sad illustrations from the 1800s finally have a place where they can live.

[@firytwig]

I love how well this captures the art style, even animation wise. Animated films obviously wouldn’t show up for nearly a century but it feels like what animation would’ve looked like in that time period. I haven’t seen anyone try and recreate that particular style. The closest is something like cuphead but that’s clearly a much more cartoon asthetic vs the more realistic animations at the time.

[@josephforjoseph]

Yes! Oh my god this was incredible. The diversity in what is shown here is outstanding and so beautifully captured. Thank you for sharing this

[@imagueitor1374]

I know we'll probably never know what the creatures that were long extinct really looked like, both in appearance and behavior, but seeing these "original forms" of these beings always fascinated me, wondering how they moved, how they fed, the sounds they made, how they behaved..... It was so magical! Of course, nowadays these visuals are only seen as relics of a bygone time in Paleontology, but for me the fact that they are no longer "true" only makes them even more amazing to me, because in the end they will always be like this.

[@spongebombepicpants1073]

Also the exact age of the earth and the fossils is a very complex topic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJaaZnqkq5drqbcsi=WtZ26KAA6xRo-25K

[@schrodingergont6]

@@spongebombepicpants1073It’s really not lol, not in the way this video implies

[@majingojira]

That you go the extra mile and credit the artist and scientists who inspired this piece makes it truly exquisite. I wish I could name all of the various animals in this piece -- but they've changed so much with our greater understanding it's quite tricky! (the saurian with the raising fin is giving me a particular itch) Well done! Haunting! Beautiful! And evocative!

[@MarioLanzas.]

The one with the fin on the back is Simosaurus. Completely irrecognizable 😅 at some point i want to make an explanatory video to show all the references and data

[@majingojira]

@@MarioLanzas. Oh please do! If only to show how far things have changed!

[@gojiberrii1261]

This animation has a retro speculative evolution feel to it and it's tickling my brain in all the right ways. Absolute art right here!

[@briz3950]

Im sorry but i feel this needs to be either a special on a discovery/ national geographic channel or a full length documentary/ movie. The style and the animation is crazy. You nailed everything soo perfectly. Im gonna obsessed with this forever😭💙

[@MorphologyofWonder]

This is absolutely magnificent! Loved the historic depictions of extinct life, with all the references to original 19th century sources (such as the Crystal Palace-style dinosaurs etc.), as well as the meticulous eye to historical concepts of morphology. It is as though this came from a happy alternate reality in which Mary Anning. Gideon Mantell, a very much personality-reformed Richard Owen, Thomas Huxley, and Jules Verne all got together as friends and decided to make a moving picture about ancient animals. Brilliant work, would love to see more.

[@MarioLanzas.]

Thank you very much!!

[@ZetaPrime77]

I'm absolutely obsessed with the vibe this gives off. It's so primal and raw

[@lead.farmer]

Forget about the 41st Millennium, this is truly grimdark at its finest.

[@kaya_leo_lou]

This short film is a huge love letter to every old paleo-arts, inaccurate but with a mysterious atmosphere. Huge job man, this is amazing !

[@gronoursanimations4735]

Époustouflant ! Un véritable chef-d'œuvre ! Je ne suis pas spécialiste, mais je pense avoir reconnu l'iguanodon (avec la corne sur le nez), le mégalosaure, le labyrinthodon, le dimétrodon, l'ichtyosaure et le plésiosaure. Et, bien sûr, différents ptérosaures. Mes compliments pour votre travail. Du grand art !

[@MarioLanzas.]

merci beaucup!

[@TheHallow31]

This is absolutely tremendous! I love vintage paleoart media.

[@nanotyrannusisnotvalid4820]

THIS was worth the wait, the style was Beautiful, the attention to detail was amazing, the background was interesting and alive but almost dead at the same time, the Victorian style of Paleoart was perfect. Every scene was an absolute masterpiece, my favorite was definitively the Ammonite part. I also just noticed the end of the credits had an alternate United Kingdom coat of arms. the Unicorn being replaced with a Plesiosaur was very fitting (A reference to Nessy I think). And the Lion being replaced with what I believe to be a Megalosaurus.

[@MarioLanzas.]

Thank you!! it's an ichthyosaur and plesiosaur in the coat of arms ;)

[@VentSaviour]

Love it. Depictions like this would’ve scared me as a child, bloodthirsty monsters ripping each other apart. But as you grow up and learn about the works of early paleo-artists, palaeontologists, archeologists, and scientists. How they learned so much from just bones, seeing how they fit together, how it allowed the creature to move, how it’s teeth showed how and what it ate, etc. And as we learn more, the depictions of these creatures change and evolve, it really puts into perspective for me, that dinosaurs aren’t bloodthirsty monsters which attacked anything on sight, but instead, they were animals just like a bear or lion or giraffe, just animals trying to eek out a living in a harsh environment.

[@timy.9512]

Just like the birds of today - trying to live well the lives that were handed to them.

[@invisiblejaguar1]

I never in all my life thought I would see this old style depiction of late Jurassic life in motion. I've seen the pictures and you have translated those still images perfectly to movement. Bravo!

[@PlagueCrow1]

I am being serious when I say this, this is the best animation I have ever seen. The style is absolutely perfect & gives the atmosphere so much personality. The designs inspired by old paleo art are gorgeous & the animation is just absolutely breath-taking to watch in awe. I love this animation SO much.

[@MarioLanzas.]

Thank you so much!! :)

[@PlagueCrow1]

@@MarioLanzas. No worries at all!! I inspire to make animations this good one day :))

[@kshitijsrivastava6440]

This is BEAUTIFUL! The black and white makes it even more haunting

[@jahadoom666]

3 minutos 3 minutos maravillosos que he disfrutado por la enorme calidad de este corto Por el amor de Dios es cine! Amo las representaciones antiguas de estas hermosas bestias prehistóricas que habitaronnuna vez en nuestro planeta

[@mattfrank85]

Okay, that was REALLY effective and truly nightmarish. I loved the choice of music too, major Fantasia "Rite of Spring" vibes. There's a brutal beauty in the constant carnivorous orgy presented here. I think you've pretty much captured the Antediluvian aesthetic perfectly.

[@germanomagnone]

really!, I totally agree! after igor stravinsky's "the rite of spring" i could call this "the madness of the primordials"

[@exodus9001]

Truly wonderful. Takes me back to the days of Fantasia. Great to see people with true craftsmanship dedicated to making great things

[@guilleku]

impresionante! hermoso trabajo de verdad. No puedo creer que se vea algo así en esta época, muchas gracias por ponerle tanto amor.

[@МарьянаЖигун]

This is stuff of nightmares... and im absolutely mesmerized by it! Such incredible artwork, attention to details - i have no words! Certainly will rewatch it...

[@charlotteforte91]

I'm writing my master's dissertation on paleoart and gosh, I so enjoyed catching all the little references to specific pieces! This is extraordinary, and so original! The music is also very fitting. A great short, congrats on all your hard work!

[@Nazrigar]

Beautiful yet haunting. Perfectly captures what folks probably thoguht of the earliest fossils and their creatures. Amazing work!

[@BTNMNKI]

What if the "Rite of Spring" section from Fantasia was made in the 20s and also really, really dark? Asked and answered. Cool short!

[@ОлегЕршов-м3с]

This is so brilliant. Vintage paleo art is precious and should be preserved, even if it's not scientifically accurate at all or even close to modern pop-culture idea of dinosaurs. And the certain dark aspect of it, as if the first artists drew inspiration from the Divine Comedy and Paradise List, translated perfectly into that beautiful animation.

[@NetheriteGuy14-vs7ne]

This film completely captures a world that we thought once was. It also captures how breathtaking it is how far paleontology has come since the early 19th century. The care and research that went into this is outstanding.

[@a52productions]

this is beautiful and haunting. the intense lines, the flowing animation, the the ghostly eyes and teeth, the black and white colors... it's gonna stick with me for a long time

[@Nalrats]

The depiction of the plesiosaurus in this with its piercing white eyes is absolutely terrifying. I love it!

[@gravel9270]

Love how you made an animation capturing what people in the past think how dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals look like, what they think those were, and how they relate those to their beliefs.

[@DisasterLord]

It has been a long time since something took my breath away, seeing these old paleo art pieces come to life is like seeing them in books when I was a child, simply majestic.

[@kylereece5511]

I unironically think a lot of these early depictions of dinosaurs would make for cool fantasy creature designs.

[@SaurianStudios1207]

This was a fascinating short film that showed us how prehistory and ancient life was envisioned in the 19th century, such as people like Mary Anning, were beginning to understand. The art style and grim aesthetics gives it that haunting, foreboding tone that give these creatures a monstrous feeling to them.

[@dathanreyes4456]

Ong.

[@TheMegAxolatl4836]

I guess that’s because of they thought they were giant biblical monsters taken out by the great flood

[@StudioRoosterE.A]

2 Years paid off Man, This is some 10/10 Stuff, right here, gives me Vibes of The Rite of Spring Short from Disney's Fantasia

[@MarioLanzas.]

Thank you!!

[@OrbitZombie]

Absolutely beautiful and haunting! There was always a surreal, nightmarish beauty to the early paleoart. And you have captured that feeling perfectly!

[@Oradorus]

I have seen every drawing that this film is based off of in my illustrated books when I was a kid, and I vividly remember wishing I could see those prints moving and animated like the dinosaurs in Disney's Fantasia. You made something that I have unconsciously been looking forward to for almost my entire life. Thank you so much, this is exactly what I was hoping it to look like.

[@marxmatter]

Came here to watch this again and man, you've captured vintage paleo art so well, and the chosen music just adds so much to it for me, it's great and so chilling, specially at the end.

[@thecandlemaker1329]

These waves are just sublime. I can't imagine how much effort went into them, but it was all worth it.

[@rubenskiii]

What an 18th century kid’s daydream would look like. Thinking about those terribly fascinating terror reptiles from primordial times, swept away by the great flood of Biblical fame.

[@MissingExhibits-rd3dw]

Truly a beautiful short film. Although these old paleo-art-images were very inaccurate by todays standards, there was a certain charm to them. These people had very little to work with, a tooth, a jaw, and they had to make their best educated guess about how the creatures looked. It was amazing to see these in motion.

[@et.greentea]

Beautiful work! I can’t help but feel at a time where humans’ machinations and bickering sends our planet hurtling towards our doom, this feels particularly poignant. Love the care and passion put into the Dino’s and the time period. Again great work Mario, can’t wait for more!

[@backonja7255]

In last few years, there have been more then just a few occasions where I would come across piece of media that makes me think: "Man, how come I didn't think of that?!",...BUT THIS,... this is on another level... I don't know where to begin when praising something like this. Influence of Disney's 1940 Fantasia (The Extinction segment to be exact) is undeniable. Art style taken directly from earliest paleoart sketches and paintings from 1800's is transitioned into motion perfectly. It's simultaneously fluid enough to look alive, but choppy enough to capture the slight unholiness they're designed to represent, as well as stillness that naturally comes with sketches. Creatures being portrayed as vicious beasts also falls in line with the way people understood them at the time, something we're trying to venture away from only in resent decade. the Author could've just left it there, being already astonishing all on it's own. Instead, they choose to end it in a best way possible; With the flood. It not only furthers Fantasia's presents when it comes to their thought process, but it also elevates everything to a biblical level, going back to one of the first theories explaining why these creatures aren't with us no longer: they were simply those Noah left out when boarding the Ark. All and all, more then amazing piece of work that's probably gonna haunt my imagination for months, maybe years. I'm taking my hat and bowing to everyone involved in this. Thank you for being amazing!