Back about 1919, Max and Dave Fleischer came up with a terrific cartoon character, Koko the Clown. Dave would dress up as the character and they would film him doing all sorts of shenanigans....and using their invention, the Rotoscope, Max would draw the character on top of this film. It made animation much easier and allowed for more fluid movements. And, for about a decade, they made a ton of these very entertaining films and audiences loved them. Fortunately, many of the old Koko silent cartoons are available on YouTube. But don't mix him up with the Koko of the sound era, as now Koko was much more conventional and was, briefly, a sidekick for Betty Boop and her boyfriend, Bimbo.
"Koko's Kane" is a most enjoyable outing. Max has invented a combination cane and umbrella. However, as is usually the case, Koko (along with his dog, Fitz) show up and ruin everything. In this case, they climb inside the cane and the results are quite funny.
As you watch this and other Koko films, you can't help but see how the idea for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was born. And, despite being made decades earlier, this Fleischer Brothers cartoon holds up well. However, I have no idea if this cartoon originally had sound effects or they were added later into the sound era...something that occurred with many silent cartoons to make them more relevant for audiences now used to sound movies and cartoons.
"Koko's Kane" is a most enjoyable outing. Max has invented a combination cane and umbrella. However, as is usually the case, Koko (along with his dog, Fitz) show up and ruin everything. In this case, they climb inside the cane and the results are quite funny.
As you watch this and other Koko films, you can't help but see how the idea for "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was born. And, despite being made decades earlier, this Fleischer Brothers cartoon holds up well. However, I have no idea if this cartoon originally had sound effects or they were added later into the sound era...something that occurred with many silent cartoons to make them more relevant for audiences now used to sound movies and cartoons.