The Magic Brew

1915 Animation 3 minutes Directed by Victor Bergdahl

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About The Magic Brew

A bald elderly man sits with a cigar, a tumbler, and a bottle. Explosions break out in the cigar smoke and a small figure comes out of them. The drink sets off further changes of shape.

Cast & crew

More about The Magic Brew

Victor Bergdahl drew and directed this Swedish cartoon after seeing American animated imports. He made the drawings in 1912, and a distributor took it for a Stockholm premiere in 1915. The Swedish title is Trolldrycken, and his Kapten Grogg series began the next year.

Themes

  • A bottle and a cigar
  • Smoke that breaks open
  • Figures that change shape
  • animation
  • drink
  • cigar
  • metamorphosis
  • Bergdahl
  • Sweden

Notes

  • The Swedish Film Database calls it the first Swedish animated film.

Influenced by

  • Winsor McCay's Little Nemo (1911)

Also available

  • Wikimedia Commons (Trolldrycken (1915).webm)

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