Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics

This is a really ingenious combination of vaudeville and cartoons. It starts with Winsor McKay making a bet that he can produce a moving picture within a month; then we see him loading up with giant barrels of ink, boxcarloads of paper etc., the whole slapstick routine. At the end, we see his drawings gradually come to life and we get a genuine little animated cartoon. Anybody who enjoys a good laugh will get a kick out of this one; it's a surprise to see that cartooning could be so sophisticated in 1911.

Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics (1911)

*** (out of 4)

This first Winsor McCay film is certainly more interesting for its historic purpose than pure entertainment but film buffs will certainly want to check it out. The film opens up in live animation as McCay is in a club with his rich friends who laugh at the idea of his drawings coming to life. McCay goes away to his studio and comes back a month later to win his bet that his Little Nemo character could actually move like a real person. This film actually works as both a documentary as well as an animation piece. The documentary point works well because it allows us to see McCay doing some of his drawings and it gives you a nice idea of his drawing style. The animation bits are truly magical once they happen and it really makes you wonder how impressive they must have been in 1911. The best way to describe them is to compare them with the SeptaTone to color in THE WIZARD OF OZ. Once the animation jumps off the screen it just brings a real freshness to the material and it hasn't dated one bit.

This is a very early cartoon, but it starts off in a most peculiar manner. The cartoon's creator, Winsor McCay, is shown talking to a group of friends about his creations--explaining a little about the process. Then, the camera goes to his studio and he shows some of the steps needed to produce an animated cartoon. Then in the final portion of the film, his cartoon comes to life and there are some amazing (for their time) animations that are also hand-colored. While none of this stuff will make you forget Looney Tunes or Disney, it is an amazing insight into the process and as such it's an item of extreme historical importance. Cute and watchable--even today.

By the way, when I saw the film again, I noticed that the very famous John Bunny was one of the people in the beginning of the film. While practically no one today would recognize him (other than cinema nuts like myself), this rotund man was perhaps the first comedian in film. Sadly, most of his movies have been lost over the years and he died rather young in 1915. I've seen just a few of his remaining films, but his round face is hard to miss in this film.

Watching this short, it is still quite fascinating to see what Windsor McCay was able to do almost one hundred years ago. The action is still quite good and it entertains even without a story line. The "plot" is that McCay is going to make a cartoon-drawings that move. The animated short had its beginnings in the work of Windsor McCay and others. McCay's work of course is of historical importance, to be sure. But most of what I've seen holds up well today, particularly bearing in mind when it was made. Worth watching. Recommended.

This is an interesting and creative little feature showcasing the work of animation pioneer Winsor McCay. There is a mini-plot built around McCay and his drawings, and the story is itself good for a couple of smiles, but the real highlight is in the animation displays themselves. There's no telling how fascinating this must have been to its original audience, and it is still entertaining to watch as you see the way that his ideas come together. All in all, this is an interesting historical curio that is definitely worth seeing.