cut-out animation

Cut-out animation is one of the oldest forms of animation and in pre computer days, probably the easiest to create. As its name implies, cut-out animation involves moving cut-out shapes in small steps and taking a picture at each stage, this is a lot less work than having to draw every single frame of the animation.

http://www.aifweb.com/animation/cutout_anim/cutout_animation.html