John Henry and the Inky-Poo

I'm a huge fan of Pal's Puppetoons - they remain some of the most outstanding examples of animated films ever made. But this later work appears to have been done mainly to make amends for Pal's series of "Jasper" films, which feature such strong racial stereotypes it is impossible to show them on television today.

"John Henry," while presenting African-Americans in a more favorable light, displays little of the inventiveness and style of Pal's earlier works. Perhaps concerns about being offensive limited his artistic choices. Whatever the reason, this is not one of his better works. Check out his earlier films, made in Holland and England, for extraordinary flashes of brilliance.

The GREAT George pal reached his zenith with this stunning post-war short-subject Puppetoon based on the popular negro spiritual/fable. Although the african-american characters are so broadly drawn they could incite scorn, the sheer brilliance and fidelity of the animators to this moody tall-tale allow its acceptance. The intricacy of Pal's detail was never more evident, as he fills the screen with explosive color and propels this story of a 62 inch tall infant who grows to symbolize the limitations of man in an expanding industrial world and is allowed to be heroic in his martyrdom, sadly foreshadowing some of the leaders of the civil rights movement two short decades after this was released. One of the most terrifying shots in film history comes as John Henry's mother pushes away the crowd, screaming, and announces to the world that her son is dead, a victim of the Inky-Poo. Should be required viewing for all the worlds children and its message may be more apropos today than in 1946. A total gem.

George Pal created some incredible animation nd this is one of his best works. Nominated for an Academy Award, this works across the board. The choice of Rex Ingram as the voice was perfect, the script is marvelous and the detail in the puppets is meticulous, as always. Pal's creations are so perfect that they seem real! I'm glad that this is available on DVD. It's also on the old VHS version of The Puppetoon Movie, which is out-of-print but can be found used. Well worh the effort to see. Most highly Recommended

This is yet another black-themed and Oscar-nominated "Puppetoon": the premise involves a child who grows to adulthood – and gigantic size – in a matter of days! It does present a stereotyped view of the black community (the mother tells her boy "I is your maw" and railroad workers repeatedly mispronounce the word "engine"), but the mythic quality of the narrative makes up for this. The hero enthusiastically joins in the railway construction but, before long, the company decides to replace the labour force with a pressurized machine (the "Inky-Poo" of the title). He, however, is not about to give in so easily and challenges the contraption to a duel of strength. Using two hammers at once to lay the tracks at double the normal speed, he manages to win the contest against all odds…but this extraordinary effort puts a toll on John Henry's heart, who drops dead soon after from exhaustion! The 'boy' is thereafter revered by his people as an icon.

This film was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Short, though it lost to the MGM cartoon "The Cat Concerto". It also was named to the Library of Congresses list of films for preservation in 2015.

This version of "John Henry" was made with puppets by George Pal and is very good...as well as very odd. On the good side, the narration by Rex Ingram is lovely and it's nice to see this respected black actor get this opportunity. It's also nice to see a film where blacks are treated as normal folks...something very odd for the 1940s. On the other hand, the style film is pretty dated and assume most folks today would prefer the more conventional cartoon from Disney. It also features some odd content I didn't see in other versions--such as John Henry being some sort of magical being who was only a few weeks old when he went to work for the railroad driving spikes!

So is it worth seeing? Well, if you are a film historian or history lover, yes...by all means see it. But for the average person it will most likely be seen as pretty weird and pretty out of date.