The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer

In Prague, a professorial puppet with metal pincers for hands and an open book for a hat takes a boy as a pupil. The professor begins by removing fluff and toys from the child's head, leaving him without the top of his head for most of the film. The professor then teaches the boy about illusions and perspectives, including the pursuit of an object through a bank of drawers, divining an object, and the migration of forms. The child later presents a box containing a tarantula; the professor inserts his "hands" into the box and describes what he feels. The boy receives a final lesson on animation and filmmaking, after which the professor gives him a brain and his own open-book hat.