Fleischer Cartoons: Silent Program 1

Film

No upcoming events

Held on Fri, Mar 8, 2024, 4:30 p.m.

With piano accompaniment from Ben Model

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

The Runaway. 1924. Directed by Dave Fleischer, produced by Max Fleischer. Courtesy of FleischerToons.

The Clown’s Little Brother. 1920. 5 mins. DCP.
Boxing Kangaroo. 1920. 6 mins. DCP.
The Runaway. 1924. 8 mins. DCP.
The Cartoon Factory. 1924. 8 mins. DCP.
Koko’s Kane. 1927. 6 mins. DCP.
The Fadeaway. 1926. 8 mins. DCP.
Koko Plays Pool. 1927. 7 mins. DCP.

This selection of newly restored, early works traces the development of Max Fleischer’s revolutionary Rotoscope technique. Developed by Fleischer in his Brooklyn apartment in 1915, Rotoscoping involved tracing over live-action footage to create a smoother, more lifelike motion than other early animators were able to achieve. Using footage of his brother Dave in a clown suit, Fleischer developed an initially nameless character whose interactions with his creator (Max in live-action footage) became increasingly fraught and antagonistic. The Runaway (1924) introduces a whole new level of dark fantasy and dreamlike imagery, as KoKo, as the character is now called, escapes from Max’s drawing board only to plunge down a crack in the New York pavement that leads straight to an inferno presided over by a lounge-lizard Satan.

This film accompanies Fleischer Cartoons: The Art and Inventions of Max Fleischer.

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