Nukufilm Studio at Lisbon´s Puppet Museum

Nukufilm is the oldest still-running stop-motion animation company in the world, established in 1957 and based in Tallinn, Estonia. Its origins trace back to Elbert Tuganov, a pioneering figure considered the father of Estonian animation, whose first production — Little Peter's Dream — became the studio's debut film. In 1993, the studio separated from the broader Tallinnfilm organization to operate independently. Over its seven-decade history, Nukufilm has produced over 200 films and works across a wide range of stop-motion techniques, including puppet, cut-out, object, and clay animation, as well as pixilation, 2D animation, and mixed techniques. Today, Nukufilm is the largest stop-motion animation studio in Northern Europe. Its films have been showcased at all the major animation festivals around the world, earning more than 250 awards. The studio functions primarily as an art house, producing animated shorts alongside children's series, family films, and commissioned works. Its reputation has grown to the point that animation schools and universities in Norway, Finland, Sweden, England, and the United States send students to Estonia to study and train under its animators.