Ko-Ko's Earth Control

A very imaginative cartoon from the silent era,produced by the most influential cartoon pioneer of all times, Max Fleischer, and directed by his talented brother Dave.The perfect mixture of different techniques and visual tricks ( ink drawing, stop-motion animation(animation frame by frame ),abstract images painted over glass, animated paper figures, crazy camera movements, the use of archive footage and transparencies ); the intelligent use of animation and living-action and the bizarre and surreal gags and logical and sarcastic invention places it as one of my favorites in cartoon history. The action succeed in calculated crescendo and the scene of the holocaust is a happy lesson of how to get an efficient film without expensive stuff.This cartoon was produced in 1928 by Fleishers' independent studio, and connects with the European vanguards sensibility like dadaism or surrealism in its revolt against social conventions and its interest for experimentation, technique and the suggestions of dreams .

I really enjoy these Inkwell productions with Ko-ko and Fritz. Here they are circumnavigating the globe when they come to a control center where the earth can be manipulated. One lever says if one pulls it, it will be the end of the world. Of course, it's going to be pulled. The result is a delightful cartoon from 1928 that works on all levels.

Dave 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.

Ko-Ko similarly was an always amiable character to watch and among the better recurring characters in Fleischer's early work. Likewise, his series of Out of the Inkwell cartoons were among the best early efforts of Fleischer and silent cartoons in general. 'Ko-Ko's Earth Control' has been described here as one of the best Ko-Ko cartoons, and cannot agree more with this sentiment. It is hugely enjoyable and deliciously wild, one can definitely see the appeal of Fleischer and the Out of the Inkwell series here.

The story, as can be expected, is slight but also boasts one of the most imaginative and oddball concepts of a Ko-Ko cartoon. Really though the criticisms are next to none.

Everything else though is done so brilliantly that any issues had with the story don't stay for long. The delight of the character interplay, the surrealism of some of the visuals and the wild fun are just a few things.

One expects the animation to be primitive and very low quality, judging by that it's the early 20s when animation techniques were not as many, as refined, as ambitious and in their infancy. While Fleischer became more refined and inventive later certainly, 'Ko-Ko's Earth Control' is one of the best-looking Ko-Ko cartoons with the surreal visuals being remarkably creative and one wishes there was a little more than there was.

Pacing is lively and the bizarre and wild nature of the humour is done very imaginatively and never less than fun to watch (mostly hilarious even), making the most of a strong concept. Ko-Ko as ever is very likeable and amusing and love his interaction with the every bit as strong a character that is Fitz.

In summary, great cartoon and one of Ko-Ko's best. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Reminds me of René Clair's surrealist short The Crazy Ray (a.k.a. Paris qui dort) which predates this by a few years. It uses the live action shots that the Fliescher's were known for extremely well, probably because they go beyond the simple inkwell creation/creator gag. Worth a look!

I had recently been reminded of Ko-Ko the clown when I saw him as a supporting character for Betty Boop and I had never really known that he and his dog Fitz were characters in their own right. Having enjoyed him in the cartoon Snow White I decided to give him a try here. The plot sees the two characters walking the Earth and finding a control room which turns on the rain, day to night etc – but Fitz seems more interested in a lever which warns that if pulled the world will come to an end. Despite Ko-Ko's efforts, how many seconds do you reckon it will be before the lever gets thrown?

The thing I loved about Ko-Ko in the recent Snow White was that his section was blessed with imaginative and creative imagery and I looked forward to the same here. This was not totally the case as I felt the short could have gone further with some of the animated images and done more of the surreal touches such as the moon and sun coming together etc. As it was, the move into live action made for a nice chance of tone but also made it a bit more "ordinary" as we see people fighting changes in gravity and also having some buildings collapse in a way that looks very much like the style of Monty Python (albeit several decades before they did it!).

Despite my reservations though I did enjoy the film. I much prefer Fitz to Ko-Ko as a character but both work well together and Fleischer's animation and style is a lot of fun – although I do wish it had gone further within the animated world before snapping out into the real world.