Stop-motion pioneer George Pal was a legend among sci-fi and fantasy film buffs, and this enjoyable documentary features archival interviews with the Oscar-winning producer-director, clips from his half-century career and testimonials from such colleagues and admirers as Ray Harryhausen, Gene Roddenberry and Tony Curtis.

George Pal’s pioneering shorts of the 1930s and ’40s influenced legions of stop-motion animators, so it’s only fitting that Art Clokey’s Gumby serves as host to this loving tribute to the master, including several of Pal’s Oscar-nominated Puppetoons in their entirety.