Neptune Nonsense

"Felix beneath the waves"

Keys: Space play/pause · ←/→ 10s · F fullscreen · M mute · </> speed

About this film

Felix the Cat dives beneath the waves for underwater slapstick, tangling with sea creatures and comic obstacles. The Van Beuren cartoon piles visual gags into a brief ocean adventure.

More about this film

About the production

Release date1936

Themes

Felix

Themes & topics

Historical background

Made in its country of production around 1936, Neptune Nonsense belongs to the early sound era. Its story of felix the cat dives beneath the waves for underwater slapstick, tangling with sea creatures and comic obstacles spoke to audiences of the day through familiar genres and topical settings.

Why this film matters

Archivists and historians still cite Neptune Nonsense when tracing how the early sound era filmmakers staged felix and dives on screen.

Making of

Production details for Neptune Nonsense are sparse in surviving records. Credit lists remain incomplete.

What critics said

Reviews from 1936 weighed Neptune Nonsense on pacing, performance, and novelty. Later criticism reads its emphasis on felix, dives, beneath through modern standards of craft and representation.

Did you know?

  • Release year commonly listed as 1936.

Visual style

Photography follows the early sound period conventions for feature staging.

Innovations

Surviving prints help researchers study editing and camera placement typical of the early sound period.

Music

As a sound production, music was supplied by the production team.

What audiences thought

Patrons who saw Neptune Nonsense during initial runs judged it alongside other feature releases of the day.

Film restoration

Preservation status varies; consult major film archives for surviving materials.

Where to watch

  • Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neptune%20Nonsense%20(1936%2C%20better).webm