Classic 1920's Animation

Though i've never had a particularly great interest in animation or the origins of the 'cartoon', since learning of the Felix the Cat cartoons' existence i've been meaning to blog about them, but never got round to it until now. Felix the Cat is a often overlooked animation series that began in the 1920's and has been running off and on in various forms since then (apparently due to make a comeback sometime in the near future, having all but disappeared for the last few decades).

It marked the start of the popularity of animated characters in the silent film era of the early decades of the 20th century, and actually existed a fair few years before Disney began their Mickey Mouse cartoons, arguably making it responsible for Disney's success with the character (whose shorts marked the start of specifically recorded soundtracks in animation).

The animations are brilliantly executed considering the limitations the artists had at the time, with a lot of care and attention put into the themes, art direction, and cultural relevance. The character Felix himself shares a lot of similarities in fact with Mickey Mouse, so it's sad that the character that inspired Disney's breakthrough animations was in the end killed off by them, since Felix's popularity dropped as audiences preferred Disney's non-silent style of film.

Part of what I thought makes the 1920's/1930's Felix films great is the offbeat, surreal nature of the animation and storylines. Below is the 'Woos Whoopee' film from 1928 (during the 'Prohibition' period in the USA), in which Felix goes to an illegal 'speakeasy' club to get wasted, which US audiences lapped up at the time. It's strange and fascinating to see this sort of cartoon art style mixed up with controversial and 'adult' themes, but for me these films seem to have a lot more personality and charm than a lot of modern-day equivalents, and it's a shame the character never really got the widespread recognition he deserved.



One of the greatest things about this particular film is the timeless nature of it. Audiences today (at least those that drink) can relate to it, even nearly a century later and in completely different societies/cultures. Who can honestly say that when drunk they've never danced on top of a table, or stolen someone's drink, or got completely lost on the walk home and ended up getting back at 6AM? Though i'm not so sure about being chased by elephants or following walking lamposts...