The Circus
About The Circus
Max Fleischer cannot finish his Out of the Inkwell cartoon, so he sends a drawing of the clown to the projectionist. On the screen the clown comes to life, draws a circus ring and a horse, and puts the horse through tricks. His horn turns into a gun. He shoots the horse. The horse's spirit goes up to Horse Heaven, drops its shoes on the clown, and is kicked back to earth by the gatekeeper. Revived, the horse kicks the clown into the inkwell. He blots the horse out and climbs back into the ink.
Cast & crew
More about The Circus
Dave Fleischer directed this Out of the Inkwell short for Max Fleischer, released through J. R. Bray's studio in 1920. It runs about four minutes and mixes a live-action drawing board with ink animation. Dave, who had worked as a clown at Coney Island, was the model for the clown later called Koko.
Themes
Making
The joke of the series is that the drawing will not stay on the page. Here the unfinished page is mailed to the projectionist, so the circus happens in the booth rather than on Max's desk.
Music
Silent.
Preservation
A print survives and has been shown from 16mm material.
Notes
- The series began with Max Fleischer's rotoscope tests, made between 1914 and 1916, a projector and an easel used to trace live movement.
- A note in the film says the cartoon was not finished on time, which is the excuse for sending a single drawing to the booth.
- The clown in this short is an early form of Koko, before that name was fixed.
Scenes
- The projectionist unrolls the drawing and the clown stands up on the page.
- The shot horse sheds its shoes on the way to Horse Heaven, and the gatekeeper kicks the spirit back down.
- The horse boots the clown into the inkwell, and he wipes the horse away with a blot.
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-the-circus)
