The Enchanted Drawing

It's a cute idea that could be boring. However! The cartoonist is so joyful and exuberant that it draws you in and is quite engaging. I liked it.

While one may think it is difficult to review a short that lasts only two minutes, no matter how much of a cinephile you are, the fact that you may witness the beginnings of animation in this art, is a reason enough to be "passionate" about the challenge.

The short uses precise (though somewhat obvious) camera cuts to give the illusion of drawings being taken off and returned to the canvas by the artist. This could be considered as an early use of special effects that combine two-dimensional drawings with real people and objects, a clear precedent of what we would later see in films like Roger Rabbit and Space Jam. In its time I'm sure it must have surprised audiences. It is not a minor detail, therefore, that one of the people responsible for this little gem is James Stuart Blackton, a major producer and director of that time, who is also considered as "The Father of Animation", and plays the drawer. I highlight his name, since he was a pioneer that worked with revolutionary techniques, and gave birth to one of the most important and popular genres of cinema (despite this work not being completely animated, like his "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces" from 1907, considered the first film almost entirely drawn that was shown in cinemas).

With a sense of humor present throughout the very brief footage, and a good use of special methods, one can't help but feel enchanted (no pun intended) to this little, but remarkable gem.

"The Enchanted Drawing" is an early use of camera tricks. The artist in this short drew the face of a man, then above the face he drew a wine bottle and a wine glass. Then, he seemed to snatch the wine bottle and glass right from the paper as if by magic he made the drawings real.

"The Enchanted Drawing" is a 1900 silent film directed by J. Stuart Blackton. It is best known for containing the first animated sequences recorded on standard picture film, which has led Blackton to be considered the father of American animation. The short was produced by a man who needs no introduction: Thomas Edison.

Viewed on YouTube.

Enchanted Drawing, The (1900)

*** (out of 4)

Early attempt at animation is also another take on the work of Georges Melies. A cartoonist walks onto a stage with a large sheet of paper. He then begins to draw various items, which seems to come to life (this trick down with the editing). It's hard to be too hard on a film this early and running just over a minutes so I won't even try. This is a pretty fun little movie even with the various flaws. I found the cartoonist to be pretty entertaining and the drawings are quite nice. The "magic" tricks aren't that believable and are miles below the work of Melies but they're still mildly charming.

While Winsor McCay is often treated as the father of animated film, others like Emile Cohl (working for a studio, unlike McCay) and Stuart Blackton definitely were on the scene before. Their styles are all very different (especially Cohl's), but Blackton does wonderful things with the medium of animation, which are, in spirit, much the same as the animation films and episodes we come to know and love. My rating is not only for its inventiveness, but historical significance, as it belongs to a style, genre, and era that is often undertreated in film history (often getting a page or two mention in film history books). But thanks to the likes of John Canemaker and Donald Crafton, animation is increasingly well-canonized and game for consideration.