Cool puzzle, I like that there are two "paths" towards the solution. That said, to me using animismus immediately seemed more promising as it allows you an extra piston. A quick solution using both ways confirmed it. After that I shaved 24 cycles and didn't bother to optimise further.

Oh and the solution looks like a giraffe - which is why the title is "long-necked" in Russian, which is a really funny word due to having 3 E's in a row. Pronounced "dlinno shay ye ye"