Back in 1974 Terry Gilliam made this tutorial film for the BBC about how he created the cut-out animations for Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

The whole point of animation to me is to tell a story, make a joke, express an idea. The technique itself doesn’t really matter. Whatever works is the thing to use. That’s why I use cut-out; it’s the quickest, easiest form of animation that I know.

[via sfist]