Animation Legend: Winsor Mccay [Import]

This collection is essential for fans of animation. Not only are these THE first animated cartoons ever made, but they have never been surpassed in their visual quality, not even by the Fleischers. The only reason why I take away one star is because there is very little storytelling and a great deal of repetition within most of the cartoons. This might be an unfair way to judge such pioneering work, but those problems do make the cartoons harder to sit through.

The first two cartoons in the collection begin with film footage of McCay betting others that he can make moving cartoons (this is based upon real events) then end with him winning the bet, with the actual cartoons shown in the middle consisting of little more than McCay showing off what he can do. These two cartoons are visually impressive, but are especially repetetive. Most of the other cartoons are a bit better, but tend to consist of only one idea done to death (e.g. dancing bugs), but they are still miles ahead of any of Disney's old musical cartoons, are stunning to look at, and often have a surreal quality which can at times be a bit disturbing vs. just cutesy.

The cartoons which do the best job at telling actual stories are "The Sinking of the Lusitania" and "The Pet". "The Sinking of the Lusitania" is outright propaganda which gives a naive perspective on a deliberately staged tragedy -- the ship was filled with weaponry bound for England and they were repeatedly warned by the Germans that they would be sunk if they continued with their mission despite their use of human shields, and Europeans on both sides were involved in colonial expansion at the time (which is why WWI is so different than WWII) so its attempts to paint Germans as "evil" are highly arbitrary and hypocritical. Of course, its one-sidedness, near-racist attitudes, and blatant attempts to exploit tragedy to mobilize the population into violent reaction against "evil" Germans are to be expected, but is still distateful. It is nevertheless an interesting historical artifact.

This is the third time around for the animated shorts of Winsor McCay on video and this is the best version by far. Those of you familiar with the previous Lumivision and Slingshot editions will find the same films as before only this time the source prints are better (for the most part), the piano music by Gabriel Thibaudeaux suits the material better, and the optional commentary from animator John Canemaker gives the necessary background on McCay and his films. For those of you not familiar with Winsor McCay (1867-1934), he was a celebrated comic strip artist whose principal strips LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND and DREAMS OF THE RAREBIT FIEND (that's Welsh Rarebit) were mainstays in the Hearst papers during the first decade of the 20th Century. The astonishing quality of the artwork and the imaginative scenarios employed were and still are a marvel to behold. Between 1911 and 1921 McCay made a series of animated shorts almost entirely drawn by him. The most famous is GERTIE THE DINOSAUR from 1914 presented here for the first time in a copy made from a 35mm print. The initial offering LITTLE NEMO from 1911 was not only drawn by McCay (on rice paper!) but hand-colored by him as well. The propaganda film THE SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA (1918) remains one of the great achievements in animation history. While the quality of the animation is beyond reproach, some people may be surprised by the dark and disturbing nature of the Rarebit shorts THE PET and THE FLYING HOUSE (both 1921) and HOW A MOSQUITO OPERATES (1912). McCay saw animation as an artform and not as a vehicle for popular entertainment. This ultimately forced him to give it up once the likes of FELIX THE CAT took over in the early 20's. As such these are not cartoons for children but serious films made with adults in mind and they still play better to them today (although my children were quite taken with them). If you have the previous editions you will want to acquire this one for the quality of the prints and the bonus materials. If you don't have them then buy this DVD now and introduce yourself to a true original whose influence on those who followed (especially Walt Disney) can be seen to this day. Winsor McCay was much more than a comic strip creator and an animation pioneer. He was truly a one-of-a-kind artist whose works like those of any great artist will continue to be an endless source of fascination for generations to come. If you get the chance, check out John Canemaker's coffee table book on McCay or any book that reproduces some of his comic strips. They will help to give you a more fully rounded picture of this unique talent.

I remember reading LITTLE NEMO IN SLUMBERLAND from a big book of early turn of the century comics. I was fascinated by the sheer amount of detail that the strip had... its vision... and its sense of wonder.

With 'Animation Legend', I now know a great deal more about McCay. The animation given the period is truly inspiring. Thankfully, most of the transfers, where possible, have utilized 35mm prints. Unfortunately, some of these have been lost to the ravages of time, and in their places we have been given 16mm prints... and I guess I would rather watch these than have nothing at all.

There are ten shorts included in this DVD, and fragments of one of them in a 35mm version (you can see the difference easily). They are in chronological order, so you can feel the way that his animation evolved. One short, 'Centaurs', only exists in fragments... which is sad, because it looks very beautiful. McCay even tackles newsworthy pieces, such as 'The Sinking of the Lusitania'. Very powerful stuff, indeed.

Anyone who is interested in the pioneers of early cinema, and especially animation, will enjoy this DVD.