Japanese shadow puppetry

Shadow puppetry is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat cut-out figures to create the impression of moving humans and other three-dimensional objects. Shadow puppets are cut-out figures which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen. A talented puppeteer can make the figures appear to walk, dance, fight, nod and laugh. They normally tell a folk tale that may have a moral message too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_puppet

Used in Tim Burtons, “Lemony Snicket’s a series of unfortunate events” title sequence.
http://www.artofthetitle.com/title/lemony-snickets-a-series-of-unfortunate-events/