The Tantalizing Fly

The above summary is because ccthemovieman-1 used the same summary--except he used 90 instead of 100 because his review came out in 2007.

Once again, we see in the Fleischer Brothers Koko cartoons a wonderful mix of live action and cartoon...something used very well in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" many decades later. Using their Rotoscope invention, Max was able to trace his brother, Dave, as he danced about and portrayed Koko...a process which made their cartoons much more fluid than their competitors and even today you have to be impressed with their work.

In "The Tantalizing Fly", a fly annoys Max as he's drawing Koko...and the fly begins to annoy Koko as well. It's all extremely funny...one of the best Koko films I've seen. However, sadly, it's also incredibly short...and is less than 4 minutes long.

This was a very interesting mix of live-action and animation, showing animator and writer Max Fleischer drawing a cartoon of a clown. The problem is a real-life fly is on the paper Max is using and the fly is a pest to both Max and the clown, both of whom try to get the insect. This is pretty clever material, especially when you consider this silent cartoon is almost 90 years old.

This is a tough cartoon to watch because you want to swat the fly yourself as the bug is in the clown's eyes, mouth, nose, etc. It also gives you the creeps watching this. (The clown isn't happy, either!)

This really gets clever when Max tries to swat the fly, knocks the animated clown temporarily out and then the clown asks for Max's pen with an idea how HE can get eliminate the fly. He winds up squirting his "creator" in the face with ink, and other gags ensue.

All of this - and there are several more "bits" with the clown and the artist - are a credit to the ingenuity of Fleischer. You have to see this cartoon to believe it. It was part of the Popeye The Sailor 1933-1938 DVD Package

Max Fleischer was responsible for many gems. Ones that were amusing and charming, though over-cuteness did come through in some efforts and the stories were always pretty thin, with appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques.

He may not be at his very best here, but 'The Tantalising Fly' lives up to its name and is among his better very early efforts. Love the character of the clown (an early version of one of the studio's better early recurring characters Ko-Ko), as well as the amusing fly and clever use of Max. The interaction between the clown and Max is a delight and very imaginative and clever.

Sure, there is not much special or anything much for that matter to the story, which is generally best to be forgotten.

Everything else though is done so brilliantly that any issues had with the story don't stay for long.

One expects the animation to be primitive and very low quality. While Fleischer became more refined and inventive later certainly, the animation is surprisingly pretty good with some nice visual wackiness and wit.

'The Tantalising Fly' is lively in pace and the bizarre and wild nature of the humour is done very imaginatively and never less than fun to watch.

Summing up, tantalising indeed. 9/10 Bethany Cox