"The Alphabet" by David Lynch, 1968

The Alphabet

1968 The Alphabet Combines animation and live action; A simple narrative structure relating a symbolically rendered expression of childhood and aging. (4 minutes)
The idea for "The Alphabet" came from Lynch's wife, Peggy Reavey, a painter whose niece, according to Lynch, "was having a bad dream one night and was saying the alphabet in her sleep in a tormented way. So that's sort of what started 'The Alphabet' going." Based on the merits of this short film, Lynch was awarded an American Film Institute production grant and became a minor celebrity.