Fleischer Cartoons: Silent Program 2

Film

No upcoming events

Held on Sun, Mar 10, 2024, 4:30 p.m.

With piano accompaniment from Ben Model

MoMA, Floor T2/T1, Theater 2

The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 2

Koko's Kozy Korner. 1928. Directed by Dave Fleischer, produced by Max Fleischer. Courtesy of FleischerToons.

Jumping Beans. 1922. DCP. 8 min.
Koko in 1999. 1927. DCP. 7 min.
Koko the Knight. 1927. DCP. 6 min.
Koko’s Kozy Korner. 1928. DCP. 6 min.
Koko It’s The Cats. 1926. DCP. 9 min.
Koko Beats Time. 1929. DCP. 7 min.
Noise Annoys Koko. 1929. DCP. 6 min.

As the KoKo films grew in popularity, they benefited greatly from the talents of experienced animator Dick Huemer, whose fine draftsmanship and knowledge of traditional techniques enhanced the Rotoscope process and allowed more characterization to flourish. By 1927, KoKo had become Ko-Ko (thanks to a contract dispute) and the cartoons had largely escaped the Max-at-the-drawing-board format to place the characters into elaborately rendered worlds of their own, as in Ko-Ko the Knight. Plotting tended toward the apocalyptic, with KoKo and his canine assistant Fitz accidentally releasing some dark force or another that leads to chaos and pandemonium. In the disturbing It’s the Cats, Koko and Fitz attempt to stage a vaudeville show for an audience of live-action felines, resulting in a massive assault of animated pre-Mickey mice.

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

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