Claude

Animation Workshop Color UCLA Student Film, Preserved by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. A hand-drawn animation. Claude is a small and silent boy who carries around a box to which he keeps adding dials, antenna, etc. His parents are extremely rich, throughout the film Calude’s father keeps telling his son: “Claude, you’ll never amount to anything.” Mother several times exasperatedly asks him: “Can’t you do anything, Claude?”. Claude says nothing but, in the end, he has the last act: he twiddles the dials on his completed box and vaporizes both parents.

Directed by Dan McLaughlin, Claude leans on a strong ensemble — Jon Drury, Jeanne Cagney — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about animation titles of 1965.