Best wordless picture books

Explore our selection of movies and TV shows best wordless picture books

poster Shadows

Shadows

Yen Sin, a humble Chinese, is washed ashore after a storm and finds himself an outsider in the deeply Christian fishing community of Urkey. Yen Sin elects to stay, despite his status as a despised 'heathe…

poster How the Office Boy Saw the Ball Game

How the Office Boy Saw the Ball Game

An office boy plays hooky from work so he can watch a ballgame perched high atop a telephone pole. Includes footage of an actual baseball game as if seen through a telescope.

poster Goode Knight

Goode Knight

8mn - Animation

The classic story of Robin Hood, with Brownie Bear as the prince of thieves.

poster Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

9mn - Adventure

An early hand-tinted adaptation of Ali Baba.

poster Living Flowers

Living Flowers

Gaston Velle's 'Les Fleurs Animées' was screened by the Australian-based Corrick Family Entertainers as part of their variety act. In their advertising the Corricks described the detailed, hand-coloured p…

poster Mary and Gretel

Mary and Gretel

7mn - Animation, Family, Fantasy

Alice in Wonderland meets the Garden of Eden in this surreal fable of a drunk rabbit, bowling dwarfs, and the two bewildered girls of the title.

poster Games of Youth

Games of Youth

1mn - Documentary

Compilation of two shorts also distributed independently: Cricket und Reifenspiel [Croquet and the Arc and Hook Game], and Springschnur und Amazonen [Jump Roping and the Amazons]. In a sunny day, on a law…

poster Ko-Ko's War Dogs

Ko-Ko's War Dogs

6mn - Animation

An animated film where Ko-Ko the clown becomes involved in a war.

poster Dream of a Rarebit Fiend

Dream of a Rarebit Fiend

7mn - Fantasy, Comedy

A live-action film adaptation of the comic strip Dream of the Rarebit Fiend by American cartoonist Winsor McCay. This silent short film follows the established theme: the “Rarebit Fiend” gorges himself o…

poster Upside Down; or, The Human Flies

Upside Down; or, The Human Flies

A magician performs tricks. First with a top hat, then with his audience.

poster The Ocean Hop

The Ocean Hop

6mn - Comedy, Animation

Oswald the Rabbit enters an airplane race with a makeshift aircraft and ends up riding a dachshund lifted into the air by balloons. Meanwhile, his peg-legged rival tries to cheat his way to victory.

poster Kino Eye

Kino Eye

78mn - Documentary

This documentary promoting the joys of life in a Soviet village centers on the activities of the Young Pioneers. These children are constantly busy, pasting propaganda posters on walls, distributing hand …

poster Felix All Puzzled

Felix All Puzzled

4mn - Animation

Felix is hungry, but his owner won't feed him until he's finished his crossword puzzle! Only one word left -- a 7-letter "chiefly found in Russia." Felix goes all the way to Russia to find the answer, but…

poster A Dog's Love

A Dog's Love

A lonely little girl is befriended by Shep, a neighbor's collie. The girl meets an untimely death, leaving Shep behind.

poster Japanese Butterflies

Japanese Butterflies

This early silent era film was released in France circa 1908 by Segundo de Chomón. It is partially hand coloured and shows several Japanese characters and eventually a worm change into a butterfly which w…

poster The Four Troublesome Heads

The Four Troublesome Heads

1mn - Comedy, Fantasy

One of the greatest of black art pictures. The conjurer appears before the audience, with his head in its proper place. He then removes his head, and throwing it in the air, it appears on the table opposi…

poster Scrooge; or Marley's Ghost

Scrooge; or Marley's Ghost

6mn - Drama, Fantasy

Filmed in 35mm and in black and white, this short silent film was produced by the English film pioneer R. W. Paul, and directed by Walter R. Booth and was filmed at Paul's Animatograph Works. It was relea…

poster Lightplay Opus II

Lightplay Opus II

4mn - Animation

An abstract animation from Walter Ruttmann.

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