Before Walt & the Silent Era

[Jack G.]

I've watched some of Mr Pointer's Before Walt DVD (I'll watch the rest this weekend). My first impression has to do with the sound effects; I was quite suprised to hear them. I've watched both cartoons and live action films from the silent era and I've never heard more than music on the soundtracks - usually piano or organ.

So were sound effects used in theaters for silents? I must say the effects add punch to the cartoons.

[Tom Stathes]

I've watched some of Mr Pointer's Before Walt DVD (I'll watch the rest this weekend). My first impression has to do with the sound effects; I was quite suprised to hear them. I've watched both cartoons and live action films from the silent era and I've never heard more than music on the soundtracks - usually piano or organ.

So were sound effects used in theaters for silents? I must say the effects add punch to the cartoons.
You really haven't seen silent cartoons with SFX added? This was done as early as '29-'30 and was especially common in TV packages of the late 40s-60s.
-Tom

[Nelson]

I received my copy of "BEFORE WALT" yesterday and I found this disc to be very informative and very entertaining of extremely rare silent cartoons from the earliest days of animation.Inkwell Images profiles of the true pioneers of animation from J.Stuart Blackton, Emile Cohl, Winsor McCay, John R.Bray, Earl Hurd, Max Fleischer, Otto Messemer, Walt Disney and Paul Terry, that samples all of their great work in clips and majority of shorts in their entire form.

The really enjoyable aspect of the collection is the selection of ragtime music and sound effects that makes the shorts even funnier.Some of the best shorts featured on this disc includes, Cohl's "Fanasmagorie"(07), Fleischer's "The Circus"(20)that features Dave Fleischer as a projectionist, Terry's "Barnyard Olympcis(24) with some great Frank Moser animation and possibly one of the earliest storylines of the famous Tortioise and the Hare with the ending of a different twist and the big surprise of Sullivan's "Felix All Puzzled"(24) in it's original complete format.

Other notible shorts features popular silent toon star, Col.Heezaliar in "Col.Heezaliar At The Bat"(17) which is a funny WW1 short, a Bobby Bumps one reeler and a very early Paul Terry politcally incorrect Farmer Al Falfa short, that Terry made at the Bray Studios.The disc also includes a couple of early Disney cartoons, a rare 1950s Max Flesicher film and a wonder poster gallery of silent theatrical cartoon posters ranging from Col.Heezalair, Gertie The Dinosaur, Krazy Kat, Oswald The Lucky Rabbit and so much more.

There is a lot of execellent stuff that Ray Pointer put together on this disc and I highly recomend all fans pick up this re-release of Before Walt , if you love the rare cartoons, then this collection is perfect.:)

[Lynn]

I can only echo the above comments. "Before Walt "was worth the wait. I am looking forward to the revised "Alice Comedies".

[Nelson]

The great thing, I forgot to add in my last post,was that all of the film prints, looks great and a thumbs up for Ray on this collection.

[rkish]

I guess my mail must be slow. :( I'm expecting to see it in the mail today. It will be hard to add much to the sterling review that Nelson has already given us, but I will certainly try.

Ray always frustrates us with long waiting periods in between his DVD releases, but as Lynn stated earlier, the wait is ALWAYS worth it! :p

Stay tuned...I'll be camped out at my mailbox waiting today. ;)

[David Gerstein]

I'm waiting, too (but I'll be waiting awhile... I let this one sneak up on me, and forgot to order it until I heard others talking about it!).
I'm particularly looking forward to the complete version of FELIX ALL PUZZLED, a rarity that I've never seen.

[Ray Pointer]

I've watched some of Mr Pointer's Before Walt DVD (I'll watch the rest this weekend). My first impression has to do with the sound effects; I was quite suprised to hear them. I've watched both cartoons and live action films from the silent era and I've never heard more than music on the soundtracks - usually piano or organ.

So were sound effects used in theaters for silents? I must say the effects add punch to the cartoons.

In the larger first run theaters in big cities, there was an orchestra performing with the films. Many times sound effects were administered from the percussion section. In the case of cartoons, many novelty sounds taken from vaudeville and circuses were incorporated. This became the standard when sound films came in, epecially when silent cartoons were reissued as sound releases. This is what I kept in mind when I created these soundtracks. In the process, many of the gaga are complimented or given further definition because of sound without violating the original integrity.

The use of music has always been an area sensitive to me since the majority of contemporary releases of silent films and cartoons are inconsistent in their use and selection of music, while ends to be too shrill, unplanned, or boring. These uses of music seem to be nothing more than a filling of the air air" without attention to mood, pacing, comedy, and action. And while the selection process is challenging, I find it to be exciting to find just the right music that compliments the cartoons. In the process, the final result seems as if it had been originally done for the cartoon, or that this was the result of a sound reissue from the period. That is my intention, and it is gratifying to know that this work is being appreciated.

[Nelson]

I'm particularly looking forward to the complete version of FELIX ALL PUZZLED, a rarity that I've never seen.

I having never seen "FELIX ALL PUZZLED" until the first time the other day, I find this Felix short to be right up there with the other great Felix cartoons from the silent era and you'll love this short, David.:felix:

[David Gerstein]

Only got a moment right now, but— I got the disc, and it's all that it's cracked up to be and then some. Ray's pulled another winner out of his hat; and from what I've managed to watch thus far, the stuff is magnificently chosen and very nicely restored.
Re: FELIX ALL PUZZLED— the half-length condensed version was already one of my favorite Felix shorts. At full length, it might possibly be my favorite, period (though it's still got stiff competition). Great music and SFX too... do I hear a Jack Mercer sound-alike laughing as Felix?
Great job, Ray.

[Jack G.]

In the larger first run theaters in big cities, there was an orchestra performing with the films. Many times sound effects were administered from the percussion section. In the case of cartoons, many novelty sounds taken from vaudeville and circuses were incorporated.I was thinking that might be the case.

I find it to be exciting to find just the right music that compliments the cartoons. In the process, the final result seems as if it had been originally done for the cartoon, or that this was the result of a sound reissue from the period. That is my intention, and it is gratifying to know that this work is being appreciated.You've done a great job with them. It's been the best presentation of silent cartoons I've seen.
Kudos to you Ray! :felix: (can someone create a Ko Ko smile?)

The history of what came before motion pictures was very interesting. I wasn't aware that the Egyptians had a concept of creating motion, or the cave paintings that appeared to move with the flickering of flame.

As for the cartoon selections, standouts for me are Felix All Puzzeled, and especially The Circus- I enjoyed the gags a lot.
The movent of the clown (he wasn't dubbed Ko Ko yet, right?) was very fluid and natural. I assume it's all rotoscoped.

The only thing that puzzels me is the inclusion of Imagine That. I'm not sure how this fits into the concept.

All in all, I'd say it's a great overview and presentation of the silent era of animation.

[Ray Pointer]

I was thinking that might be the case.

You've done a great job with them. It's been the best presentation of silent cartoons I've seen.
Kudos to you Ray! :felix: (can someone create a Ko Ko smile?)
The history of what came before motion pictures was very interesting. I wasn't aware that the Egyptians had a concept of creating motion, or the cave paintings that appeared to move with the flickering of flame.
As for the cartoon selections, standouts for me are Felix All Puzzeled, and especially The Circus- I enjoyed the gags a lot.
The movent of the clown (he wasn't dubbed Ko Ko yet, right?) was very fluid and natural. I assume it's all rotoscoped.

The only thing that puzzels me is the inclusion of Imagine That. I'm not sure how this fits into the concept. All in all, I'd say it's a great overview and presentation of the silent era of animation.

Thanks for the compliments. FELIX ALL PUZZLED and THE CIRCUS are among my favorites, too. Some of the clown action was Rotoscoped, while other scenes were animated by hand by Max Fleischer and Doc Crandal. The reason for IMAGINE THAT in the profiles section is partially explained in the
profile. While Max Fleischer is best known for his comedy cartoons with surrealistic concepts, he was also a producer of scientific and industrial films.
Among his earliest scientific works are RELATIVITY (1923) and EVOLUTION (1923). My reason for including IMAGINE THAT! is because it represents a work from the end of his career done entirely by him as an unaired television pilot. The fact that is has never been seen before makes this extremely unique among all the other Fleischer titles that have been floating around the past 80 years. It is not OUT OF THE INKWELL, it is not BETTY BOOP, it is not POPEYE, or SUPERMAN. It's very title, IMAGINE THAT is in keeping with the concept of animation, which is the process of "imagining".

[Nelson]

My personal favorites on the BW disc has to go to "Felix All Puzzled" and "Barnyard Olympics", as these two shorts are so damn funny.

Ray, you have put an excellent collection of rare cartoons for everyone to enjoy...Keep up the great work my friend.;)

[Jack G.]

... other scenes were animated by hand by Max Fleischer and Doc Crandal.
Max Fleischer actually could animate? I never picked up on that in the books I've read. Did his brother Dave do any animating when he joined Max? I'm curious because of the way Dave directed, the head animator was in charge of laying things out.

[Ray Pointer]

Max Fleischer actually could animate? I never picked up on that in the books I've read. Did his brother Dave do any animating when he joined Max? I'm curious because of the way Dave directed, the head animator was in charge of laying things out.

Of course Max could animate. Before OUT OF THE INKWELL got started, Max animated on some of the first COLONEL HEEZA LIAR cartoons according to his late son Richard. Max was hired by John Bray as Production Manager in 1915. He initially hired Doc Crandal, and when the OUT OF THE INKWELL series was launched after WWI, he and Crandal animated the non-Rotoscoped scenes in the first OUT OF THE INKWELL cartoons from 1919 to 1921. The earlier entries from 1918 were done by Max, and the three Experiements" were assisted by his brothers Joe and Dave.

A lot of Max's animation tended to reflect his interest in technical things, and usually was in the special effects area. Max had a form of a Mutoscope device where he would mount drawings and turn a crank to check the flow of action. (See illustration below.) While a similar concept is seen in the live action prolog to McCay's GERTIE THE DINOSAUR, Max's concept was more mechanical and used a rotating shutter in much the same way of a projecter shutter. This is how he tested the animation, and corrected some of it without using pencil tests. In fact pencil tests were never used at Fleischer Studios until they started making the features in Miami.

While Dave's role was a sort of supervisior of production, he pitched in on the animating to a degree when the studio began with just Max, Charlie Schlettler, Doc Crandal, and himself. Others came in soon after. He went through a "learning curve" at first, and was not really responsible for "directing" in the very beginning. This was subtantiated in an interview with Berny Wolf who came there after having worked on KRAZY KAT as an inker.
Max hired Berny as an Inbetweener, and according to Berny, all of the animators reffered to Max then. It wasn't until Dick Huemer came to Fleischer's Inkwell Studio that Dave got his "sea legs," and started to hit his stride, This is when the clown became more defined in design and the comedy became greater.

But Dave could draw to a degree. According to his nephew, Berny Fleischer, Dave could animate rather well for the type of animation being done in those days. He showed me a concept drawing of a character called "Eager Beaver," which was a 1930s style design, though a bit shaky in execution considering it may have been done at advanced age--he was in his 80s when I visted him in 1976. But Dave was not active in the actual animation once the studio kicked into full force. He was in charge of over all studio operations as "Director General" which was his official title. Later in life, he worked in the Special Effects Department at Universal. Dave's Special Effects Animation is seen in a scene of Pat Morita's glasses fogging over and cracking in THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE (1968).

[rkish]

I'm posting this review here, in the event that anyone missed it.

Thanks! :)


BEFORE WALT

by Ray Pointer – Inkwell Images
http://www.inkwellimagesink.com (http://www.inkwellimagesink.com/)

It’s always hard to write a review of any Ray Pointer DVD and to keep it brief. There is so much time and effort that goes into each DVD, and it shows. The wait has certainly been worth it, as this DVD may possibly be his best yet. As usual, the cover art and back jacket “biography” are insightful, relevant, and eye-catching. There is a four-page insert that comes with the DVD, that is a variation on Ray’s posted article on “The Centennial of American Animation” complete with pictures. The DVD itself was mastered/replicated on the new scratch- resistant TDK Armor disc. So Ray is keeping up with the advancing technology, which adds to the excitement. The presentation, like his other projects, is what would be called a “docu-tainment movie”, as Ray has mixed documentary narration and historical film clips with full-length cartoons. He has done a terrific job narrating this DVD, and uses original linking animation sequences that keep the material entertaining, as well as educational. The transfer and mastering of the vintage films is superior, yet challenging since he was cursed with an amount of deteriorated source material in some cases. He has once again taken silent cartoons and created authentic period-sounding tracks with music and sound effects that enhance the cartoons to the degree that they seem as if they had been a part of the original.

BEFORE WALT covers the history of animation from its Stone Age birth with cave drawings that would “animate” by the flicker of a campfire, to the concept of "The Persistence of Vision” applied by the Egyptians in The Temple of Isis; and the invention of the projector in 1840--all taking place in the “Pre-photographic Days". The development of photography leads through the experiments of Eadweard Muybridge, to James Stuart Blackton and his work with Thomas Edison, then Windsor McCay, Max Fleischer, and Walt Disney, who were considered to be the most important figures in animation of the 20th Century. In addition to the chronological order of development, BEFORE WALT contains examples that clearly illustrate the early influences on Walt Disney. Seeing this program, it becomes clear that Disney derived his boy and girl characters in PUSS IN BOOTS (1922) from the work of Wallace Carlson's DUD LEAVES HOME (1919). In addition, it appears that many of these cartoons have their original title art restored, which enhances their beauty and helps retain their "original quality."

The main program is about 60 minutes, but there are extras, that add to a solid 105 minutes with all menus working with ease. And what DVD would be complete without the “extras”? There is a Poster Gallery that includes a nice assortment of promotional art for various silent cartoons. There is also a “Profiles” section, which gives us an biographical write up on the various “fathers of early animation” done in encyclopedia style, with complete examples works by Paul Terry, Earl Hurd and John Randolph Bray. Two of these include audio commentary by Blackton and a clip from a 1967 interview with Terry. The menus navigate very well, with the bonus cartoons seen with the profiles or separately. Lastly, there is a very nice promo for Ray’s “Animation Anthologies”, and seeing it, viewers will want to purchase the rest of this wonderful series.

Ray Pointer has delivered a full-bodied look at the history of early animation, and has done it in an entertaining way that pays a respectful tribute to the 100th birthday of American Animation. This DVD is a must buy, not just for the animation enthusiast, but, for teachers, students, and those who are merely curious about the roots of animation.

[Jack G.]

Of course Max could animate.:shame:
Well, I guess I need to read my books again. I read them at a pretty young age and hadn't even seen any of the cartoons besides Popeye at that point. Need to brush up on my knowledge I guess. I was leafing through Carbarga's book last night and spotted info on Max animating.

[Ray Pointer]

One thing that THE FLEISCHER STORY lacks is examples of Max's own art. This is most important to see in order to understand the man and truly appreciate his importance in the pioneering of animated cartoons. Below is a political cartoon by Max Fleischer in his early career.

[Jack G.]

Thanks for posting that. Interesting image.

My initial impression of the Fleischer brothers was that they were coming at animation more from the side of being people who liked to tinker, invent and work with mechanical things, not as cartoonists or artists. I don't know, but that was always the impression I got in the past from various writings out there. But maybe that not fair to them.

[Ray Pointer]

Thanks for posting that. Interesting image.

My initial impression of the Fleischer brothers was that they were coming at animation more from the side of being people who liked to tinker, invent and work with mechanical things, not as cartoonists or artists. I don't know, but that was always the impression I got in the past from various writings out there. But maybe that not fair to them.

One of Max Fleischer's quotes was "Mechanics is the art of the 20th Century."
In this respect your impression is correct. While this was their strength, it was also their weakness in that they were too focused on the technical aspects and not enough on the artisitic advancement of animation in the sense of Walt Disney.