National Film Registry
Official Selection
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Little Nemo1911
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In a live-action prologue and epilogue, Winsor McCay wagers with friends (including cartoonist George McManus and actor John Bunny, a Vitagraph star) that he can make his drawings move. The film stars the cast from McCay's epic comic strip "Little Nemo in Slumberland." In an attempt to make the smooth animation appear even more life-like, McCay hand-colored each frame of the cartoon portion of the film.
What makes this film worth watching?
2 members like this review
In the history of cartoon animation, this is Kitty Hawk. The 4,000 hand-drawn, HAND-COLORED illustrations that bring Winsor McCay's characters to life don't actually appear until the final two minutes of the movie, but when they do, it's BLAST OFF! It's a breathtaking moment in the history of animation and cinema! Little Nemo lives!
top reviewer
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Member Reviews (4)
top reviewer
In the history of cartoon animation, this is Kitty Hawk. The 4,000 hand-drawn, HAND-COLORED illustrations that bring Winsor McCay's characters to life don't actually appear until the final two minutes of the movie, but when they do, it's BLAST OFF! It's a breathtaking moment in the history of animation and cinema! Little Nemo lives!
2 members like this review
Fascinating contrast between the black and white film and the colorized animation. Little Nemo has always been a favorite comic of mine. This is such a treat!
Brilliant. How little we have progressed imaginatively since 1911.
As to the black meta-african figure, i don't think that figure is racist; the cartoonist is making fun of cigar smokers as well as anybody else. "Racism is not something you say, but something you do"... Louis CK. The caricatures in these cartoons make fun of everybody, including dragons.
The way this animation is presented is quite interesting. The painstakingly hand draw frames gave the impression of third dimensional space. Some beautiful animation, but also some unexpectedly racist themes.