Cartoon Rarities of the 1920s

Description

TANKS (1917): The earliest cartoon on this collection, created by animation pioneer and inventor of the 'cell system,' Earl Hurd. KO-KO IN TOYLAND (1925): A great "Out Of The Inkwell" cartoon from the Fleischer Studios. The Fleischers inked many of the characters in these films on paper, and overlaid backgrounds painted on animation cells. MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME (1926): Quite possibly the first 'sound cartoon,' produced by the Fleischer studio. A LAD AND HIS LAMP (1929): Another Van Beuren Aesop's Fables cartoon with a soundtrack added in the late 1940s. KNIGHTHOOD (1927): A rare cartoon produced by the Bray studio, directed by Walter Lantz. Colonel Heeza Liar is one of the earliest cartoon characters, dating back to 1913. MECHANICAL COW (1927): An "Oswald The Lucky Rabbit" cartoon from the Walt Disney Studio. Although the studio created the character, producer Charles Mintz pulled the series from Disney, prompting the studio to create Mickey Mouse. ROMEOW (1928, 1930): Pat Sullivan Studios created Felix The Cat, the most popular cartoon character of the 1920s. Although Sullivan's name was at the forefront of all publicity, Otto Mesmer and a small crew of animators were the true masterminds behind these films. SWEET ADELINE (1926): This film was part of the Song Cartune series, produced by the New York based Max Fleischer Studio. The Fleischers partnered with sound pioneer Dr. Lee Deforest, utilizing his 'Phonofilm' optical sound system to produce these films, made well before Disney's first sound cartoon, "Steamboat Willie" (1928). FOUR MUSICIANS OF BREMEN (1923): One of the first Disney cartoon shorts, produced by his newly formed 'Laugh O' Grams' studio. ALICE RATTLED BY RATS (1925): An entry in the Alice In Cartoonland series, also by Disney, featuring live action actress Margie Gay in a cartoon world. The series ran through 1927. RED HOT RAILS (1926): A Life cartoon comedy by John McCrory. McCrory produced this series through the late 1920s. THE HUNT (1927): Starring Dinky Doodle, this short series was created by Walter Lantz while at the Bray Studio, before starting his own studio in 1929. ONE MAN DOG (1927): A really strange Aesop's Fables cartoon, produced by Van Beuren and Paul Terry. Review: They don't make them like this any more - OK, I'll admit it. I am a cartoon collector and this program, despite being from Alpha Video, was something I had to have due to the titles it contains. Too many times I have been disappointed with products from Alpha Video as they often have poor video quality. In this case, however, these cartoons look quite good despite their age. Being examples from the 1920s they were all, mostly, silent. In this program, however, musical accompaniment is included for all of them. Just know that the music you hear is probably not what theater audiences heard when these films played the local theaters. Notice I said "mostly" in that last sentence. Two of the films in this set are pioneering examples of adding sound to cartoons. There's even one where lip synced dialog is tried. All of these cartoons were made well before the movie industry developed and enforced a self-censorship code so expect to see some ribald humor here and there and ethnic stereotyping that is no longer considered acceptable. This set makes it clear that during the early days of cartooning the intended audience was adults, not children. Review: You Won't Believe Your Eyes! - The earliest cartoon on this disk is from 1917! It has the first cartoon with actual spoken words made by Max Fleischer and Dr. Lee DeForest. "My Old Kentucky Home" may appear a little racist, but it's all in good fun! Early works of animator Walt Disney are featured here as well, "Mechanical Cow", (an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon), and "The 4 Musicians of Bremen"...wonderful music here, but no dialogue...This disk delivers what it says - actual early cartoons from the twenties, uncensored, full of crazy characters not found anywhere anymore!