"The Cameraman's Revenge" (1912) by Wladyslaw Starewicz

Wladyslaw Starewicz (1882–1965) was born in Moscow but became Director of the Museum of Natural History in Kaunas, Lithuania from 1910. There he experimented with live-action short films to augment the museum collection. His attempts to record a battle between stag beetles ended in their deaths due to the powerful lighting rig. So instead he created miniature puppets from insect parts, animating a minute-long film using stop-motion. Lucanus Cervus (1910) is now lost. 

After moving back to Moscow, Starewicz became a full-time film-maker, eventually directing over sixty live action titles. After World War I he fled to Paris, continuing to make animated films. 

His second and third films, "The Beautiful Leukanida" (1912) and "The Cameraman's Revenge" (1912) are incredible for their technical artistry and storytelling.

Alice (dir. Jan Švankmajer, 1988)

Original Czech film with Polish subtitles. But since you already know the story, the visuals can can seen for their incredible artistry.

Švankmajer (1934-) studied at the College of Applied Arts in Prague, later specialising in puppetry. Of his many films, Alice (Neco z Alenky) was his first of seven feature-length productions. His dark and disturbing interpretations resulted in many films being banned by the communist authorities. Despite this, he has been an enormous influence on animation, particularly reflected in the work of Terry Gilliam and the Brothers Quay.

Brothers Quay videos for His Name Is Alive

Twin brothers Stephen and Timothy Quay (1947-) were born in the USA but have lived and worked in London since 1969. As the Brothers Quay they have created forty animated films, including two features and a handful of music videos. The two videos for Livonia, Michigan group His Name Is Alive are perhaps the most distilled examples of their craft. In the Quay's own mythology these are titled "Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married?" (1991) and "Stille Nacht IV: Can't Go Wrong Without You" (1993), hence part of a larger series.