Gertie on Tour

About the production

Gertie on Tour was created using McCay's meticulous frame-by-frame animation technique, where each drawing was traced onto rice paper, mounted on cardboard, and photographed individually. The production took approximately one year to complete, with McCay reportedly drawing over 10,000 individual animation frames. The picture was intended to be part of McCay's vaudeville act, where he would interact with the animated Gertie on screen, similar to his performances with the original Gertie the Dinosaur. McCay faced significant technical challenges in animating Gertie interacting with modern environments, requiring complex perspective work and integration techniques that were groundbreaking for the time.

Themes

Themes & topics

Historical background

Gertie on Tour (1921) reached audiences through Winsor McCay Productions in United States, when exhibitors still built programs from varied shorts and features rather than single-block bookings.

Why this film matters

Programmers and historians revisit Gertie on Tour (1921) because its story—windsor mccay's partially lost follow-up to his tremendouly successful gertie the dinosaur—illustrates popular narrative habits and production norms of the period.

Making of

The production of Gertie on Tour represented Winsor McCay's continued dedication to advancing the art of animation despite limited commercial success. McCay worked alone in his home studio, often spending 16-hour days drawing each frame by hand. His animation process involved creating key poses first, then drawing the in-between frames to create smooth motion. the picture's modern sequences required McCay to study contemporary architecture and transportation to accurately depict the 1920s environment. McCay's son Robert recalled that his father was obsessed with perfection, often redrawing entire sequences if they didn't meet his exacting standards. The production was also complicated by McCay's ongoing commitments to his newspaper comic strips, which provided his primary income. Family members reported that McCay worked on Gertie on Tour during nights and weekends, driven by his passion for animation rather than financial incentives.

What critics said

English-language trade reviews of Gertie on Tour are limited for 1921. Where notices survive, they stress pacing and photographic clarity; later criticism values the title as archival evidence of studio style.

Did you know?

• Gertie on Tour is considered one of the earliest animated sequels in cinema history, predating Disney's sequels by over a decade.
• the picture is partially lost, with only fragments surviving in various film archives including the Museum of Modern Art and the Library of Congress.
• McCay created this sequel seven years after his groundbreaking 'Gertie the Dinosaur' (1914), which was one of the first animated films to feature a character with personality.
• The surviving fragments show Gertie interacting with modern inventions including automobiles, trains, and skyscrapers.
• McCay was reportedly frustrated by the lack of commercial success of his animated works, as his newspaper work paid significantly better.
• the picture was one of McCay's last major animated projects before he returned to focusing on his newspaper comic strips.
• Some fragments reveal that McCay experimented with more sophisticated animation techniques, including improved character movement and background integration.
• the picture was originally screened as part of McCay's live vaudeville performances, where he would 'command' Gertie on stage.
• Archivists continue to search for missing fragments of the picture in private collections and forgotten archives.
• The surviving portions demonstrate McCay's evolving artistic style, showing more detailed backgrounds and refined character animation compared to his earlier work.

Visual style

The cinematography of Gertie on Tour employed the same meticulous techniques McCay had developed for his earlier animated works, with each frame drawn on rice paper and photographed individually. The surviving fragments show McCay's evolving approach to integrating animated characters with photographic backgrounds, a technique that was still experimental in the early 1920s. the picture demonstrates improved perspective work compared to Gertie the Dinosaur, with more convincing depth and dimension in scenes where Gertie interacts with urban environments. McCay used varying camera angles and movements to create visual interest, including low-angle shots that emphasized Gertie's massive scale against modern architecture. The animation of Gertie herself shows McCay's refined understanding of weight and movement, with more naturalistic dinosaur locomotion than in his earlier work. The dream sequences, which depicted prehistoric worlds, allowed McCay to showcase more fantastical backgrounds and imaginative compositions that contrasted with the realistic modern settings.

Innovations

Gertie on Tour showcased several technical innovations that advanced the art of animation in the early 1920s. McCay improved upon his earlier animation techniques by developing more sophisticated methods for integrating animated characters with photographic backgrounds, creating a more convincing illusion of interaction between Gertie and her modern environment. the picture demonstrated enhanced character animation with more expressive facial features and body language, giving Gertie greater emotional range than in the original. McCay also experimented with more complex camera movements and perspective changes, techniques that were challenging to achieve in frame-by-frame animation. The dream sequences allowed McCay to explore more fantastical animation effects, including morphing shapes and impossible physics that predated surrealist animation by several years. The production process itself was technically demanding, requiring McCay to maintain consistency across thousands of individual drawings while incorporating increasingly detailed backgrounds and props. These technical achievements established principles that would become fundamental to animation production throughout the 20th century.

Music

As a silent film, Gertie on Tour would have been accompanied by live musical performance during its original theatrical presentations. The specific musical scores used have not been documented, but typical accompaniment for animated shorts of this era included piano or organ music that emphasized the on-screen action and emotional tone. For the modern sequences, the music likely incorporated contemporary popular songs and jazz-influenced rhythms that reflected the 1920s setting, while the dream sequences would have featured more classical or romantic compositions to evoke the prehistoric past. During McCay's vaudeville presentations, he often provided live narration and sound effects to complement the animation, creating a multimedia experience that engaged multiple senses. Modern screenings of the surviving fragments typically feature newly composed scores or period-appropriate music that attempts to recreate the original viewing experience.

Famous quotes

'Gertie! Rise and shine! We have adventures waiting for us in this strange new world!' - Narrator

'Look, Gertie! These metal beasts move without legs! How peculiar!' - Narrator

'In dreams, we return to the world that was, when giants like you ruled the earth.' - Narrator

Memorable scenes

• Gertie's bewildered reaction to her first automobile, where she attempts to communicate with the machine as if it were a living creature
• The dream sequence where Gertie runs freely through a lush prehistoric landscape filled with other dinosaurs
• Gertie attempting to enter a modern building, her massive frame comically stuck in the doorway
• The poignant moment when Gertie falls asleep in the modern world and dreams of her ancient home
• Gertie's interaction with a train, where she follows the tracks in curiosity, creating a humorous size contrast

What audiences thought

Audience reception to Gertie on Tour was reportedly mixed, with many viewers enjoying the familiar character but finding the sequel less innovative than the groundbreaking original. the picture performed best when presented as part of McCay's live vaudeville performances, where his interaction with the animated Gertie created a unique theatrical experience. Newspaper accounts from the period describe audiences responding enthusiastically to Gertie's encounters with modern technology, particularly scenes where the dinosaur attempts to understand automobiles and other inventions. However, the picture's limited distribution meant that many audiences never had the opportunity to see it. Modern audiences who have viewed the surviving fragments at film festivals and museum screenings have expressed fascination with the glimpse into early 1920s animation and the historical significance of seeing Gertie in a new context. The character's enduring popularity is evidenced by continued interest in McCay's work and the ongoing search for missing footage of the picture.

Film connections

Influenced by

• Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) by Winsor McCay
• McCay's newspaper comic strips
• Vaudeville performance traditions
• Contemporary silent film comedies
• Early scientific illustrations of dinosaurs

This film influenced

• Early Disney animated shorts
• Fleischer Studios' Out of the Inkwell series
• The Lost World (1925)
• King Kong (1933)
• Modern animated films featuring prehistoric characters

Film restoration

Gertie on Tour is classified as a partially lost film. Only fragments of the original footage survive, preserved in various film archives including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Library of Congress, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive. The surviving fragments represent approximately 5-7 minutes of footage from what was likely a 10-12 minute film. Film preservationists continue to search for missing reels in private collections and international archives. The existing fragments have been digitally restored and are occasionally screened at film festivals and museum exhibitions specializing in early animation. The partial loss of the picture makes it among the leading sought-after missing pieces of early American animation history.

Where to watch

• Museum of Modern Art film screenings
• Library of Congress online collection (fragments)
• UCLA Film & Television Archive viewing room
• Animation history film festivals
• The Criterion Channel (during special animation programming)
• Kino Lorber DVD collections of early animation
• Academic film libraries and archives
• YouTube (archival fragments uploaded by preservation organizations)