Silent Cartoons

[Nelson]

Here's a really good poll to vote on...For die-hard cartoon fanatics, which of the following silent cartoon series would you want to see on TV or have in your video library.

[Nelson]

My vote was a very hard decision...But between Krazy Kat and Oswald The Lucky Rabbit, I went for "Oswald".The silent Oswald cartoons are the hardest to find anywhere on video, but Universal/MCA has restored many of the silent one reel Oswald shorts. Rergarding the silent Krazy Kat series, I don't know who the current copyright holder to these films are. But my grape vine has told me that many of the Krazy Kat cartoons do surive in some kind of form either in 35mm or 16mm.

[Joe Tully]

I go with Felix. I haven't seen a whole lot of those, but out of the ones I've seen, Felix is the best. Also, those cartoons were probably the most popular of the silent era, which has to stand for something. I just love the original, surreal qualities of Felix, which you really don't see in modern cartoons. I guess that when your subjects can't talk, you have to depend more on weird sight gags.

After Felix, I'd say Koko. The Fleischers did some beautiful work, and I'd love to see some of their earliest, and see how the studio started out. After Felix, probably the best known silent cartoon character. I'm assuming he is well remembered for a reason. From what I've read, these are pretty surreal too, not too surprising if you've seen Betty Boop M.D.

[Sinople]

Krazy Kat hands down. Great stuff needs to be seen.

[Nelson]

Amen on that one, Krazy Kat DOES need to be seen again along side with another famous rabbit.

[Andrew Gilmore]

Actually, the Krazy Kat cartoons are hella-lame compared to the comic-strip, among whose fans were Hemmingway, Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Einstein, e. e. cummings, Dorothy Parker, and even Jack Kerouac! They all loved it (as do I), while the general public (us average folks) scratched their heads and stroked their chins. That's the great thing about Krazy Kat: it's so subtle that George Herriman has left hundreds of priceless little comedic gifts behind for the select few who get it and knowingly chuckle, while the rest of us are left to say "huh?" :D The Krazy Kat comic-strip is considered the greatest comic-strip ever made. Therefore, needless to say, the animated incarnations failed miserably to capture the beautifully surreal, magical world that Mr. George Herriman created for 34 glorious years.

[Jack]

I agree, Krazy Kat was great. It's pretty funny once you understand who loves who and what is what.

From what I've seen of the animated cartoons, Krazy looks more a like round headed dog rather than his comic strip self.


Jack:D

[Andrew Gilmore]

And you know what? I went to great lengths to explain "who loves who and what is what" to an internet friend of mine, but his reaction ticked me off. He has only read about 6 strips and has already formed the permanent opinion, and I quote, "Krazy Kat sucks a--" Da noive of som pippils! Oy!