This August, we're excited to introduce the 1986 animated film The Cosmic Eye. Directed by animator husband and wife duo Faith and John Hubley, featuring a sensuous soundtrack from jazz icon Dizzy Gillespie.
The Cosmic Eye follows a trio of otherworldly musicians who take a trip through the Milky Way. Having left Earth and transformed into celestial beings, they become homesick and decide to pay a visit, postulating human culture, music and history.
Drawing inspiration from Walt Disney's renowned Fantasia (1940), the film features largely improvised dialogue, but invites you to become part of the filmmaking process through creating scenes which represent the synthetic qualities of music in film. Blending the traditional with the contemporary, Gillespie's soundtrack also features 'interrupting' moments of electronic instruments.
Although the film has minimal narrative coherence, it is rich in symbolic and visual poetry, drawing on Indigenous American creation myths to Buddhist theology – echoing the likes of Joan Miró and Picasso.
The Hubleys' relationship with Gillespie pre-dates The Cosmic Eye. The trio collaborated on two shorts in the early 60s, and together their oeuvre spanned Date with Dizzy (1956), The Hat (1964) and The Hole (1963), which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film, and Voyage to Next (1974).
The marriage between their skilful animation and Gillespie's extraordinary trumpeting is unforgettable; but their artistic relationship was fundamentally informed by strong anti-war sentiment and shared nuclear anxieties. Their collaborative works both demonstrate not only the significance of music in film but also the importance of art as a means of resistance.
Animation was one of the earliest marvels of moving image, and whilst largely associated with children's audiences, the form proves time and time again that it can be enjoyed universally – a perfect summer holiday watch.
We are obsessed with the Hubley's filmography, and fortunately, most of their works are free to view via Youtube. We recommend the Oscar-winning Moonbird (1959) next!
Watch 'The Cosmic Eye' on Internet Archive – Best, Ula
