Cartoon Factory

Cartoon Factory 1924

7.00

Koko the Clown discovers a machine that can make cartoons.

1924

The Dresden Doll

The Dresden Doll 1922

5.00

In this one, Max has run low on ink, so Ko-Ko finishes drawing himself and then heads over to the camera room, where he creates his own characters, a mechanical dancing Dresden doll with whom he falls in love and a couple of automaton musicians. He gets rid of the musicians, but, alas, the projectionist gets oil onto Ko-Ko's soon-to-be bride, melting her.

1922

Trip to Mars

Trip to Mars 1924

7.00

Dave Fleischer sends Koko to Mars.

1924

Invisible Ink

Invisible Ink 1921

6.90

Koko The Clown continually interrupts an animator, who turns his attention to trapping the clown.

1921

The Einstein Theory of Relativity

The Einstein Theory of Relativity 1923

5.50

"The Einstein Theory of Relativity" is the short version (587 m) of the lost American long version (1219 m) of Hanns Walter Kornblum's original German feature "Die Grundlagen der Einsteinschen Relativitäts-Theorie" from 1922 that is also lost.

1923

Margie

Margie 1926

1

Out of the Inkwell Films delivers the song "Margie".

1926

Inklings No. 10

Inklings No. 10 1928

1

Lighting Sketches of US Presidents and world locations.

1928

Modeling

Modeling 1921

6.70

A man with a huge hooked nose enters the Fleischer studios to have his bust sculpted. Meanwhile, across the studio, Max is animating Koko. When he's called over to consult on the too-accurate bust, Koko gets mischievous and creates his own drawings. He then escapes and crawls inside the clay bust, eventually wriggling off like an inchworm. He gets into a fight with the man being modelled, both of them flinging wads of clay.

1921

Oh Mabel

Oh Mabel 1924

1

A Dave Fleischer Cartoon

1924

Surprise

Surprise 1923

4.00

Koko is trying to rescue his sweetheart, who is trapped atop a rugged mountain. However, when Max Fleischer runs out of ink, how will he draw the ladder for Koko to climb?

1923

Fishing

Fishing 1921

5.00

Max is too rushed to do a thorough job of drawing Koko this morning. Max is going fishing. However, to amuse the clown, he draws a fishing pole and a pond before he goes.

1921

Ko-Ko's Hot Dog

Ko-Ko's Hot Dog 1928

1

Max and Dave Fliescher are eating hot dogs in their animation studio and begin drawing. The hot dog becomes a "real" dog, and it and Ko-Ko the Clown alarmingly end up inside a Gas Chamber.

1928

Tramp, Tramp, Tramp the Boys Are Marching

Tramp, Tramp, Tramp the Boys Are Marching 1926

6.00

“Tramp, Tramp, Tramp the Boys Are Marching” features a song that dates back to the Civil War, one which was still familiar to audiences of the 1920s. The cartoon begins as Koko the Clown emerges from an inkwell-- an iconic image for animation buffs --and then steps over to a chalkboard to draw an orchestra. The band, “Koko's Glee Club,” marches to a nearby cinema (accompanied by a dog who beats cymbals with his tail) where they lead the audience in the title song.

1926

Jumping Beans

Jumping Beans 1922

7.50

Max tricks Koko with a jumping bean. Koko finds a way to duplicate himself to get his revenge.

1922

Bubbles

Bubbles 1922

6.00

Max and Koko The Clown bet who can blow the biggest soap bubble.

1922

Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?

Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly? 1926

1

The Fleischer Studio's ever popular Follow-the-Bouncing-Ball series began in the early 1920s when studio boss Max Fleischer was approached by songwriter Charles K. Harris (best known for "After the Ball") who wondered whether audiences could be inspired to sing along with an animated cartoon.

1926

Fadeaway

Fadeaway 1926

1

This fascinating series features Max himself, filmed in live action, sitting at a drawing board and concocting adventures for his star performer Ko-Ko the Clown. Max is supposedly the guy in charge, and he takes sadistic glee in putting Ko-Ko through various forms of hell, but the clown usually fights back and sometimes gets the best of his Uncle Max. FADEAWAY elevates this charged relationship to new heights (or depths?) of nightmarish surrealism; it's also one of the most enjoyable Inkwell cartoons I've seen to date, packing lots of imaginative, unpredictable twists and turns into an eight minute running time.

1926

The Cure

The Cure 1924

1

Max has a toothache, and it's up to The Clown and a bespectacled rabbit to pull out the aching tooth.

1924

Trapped

Trapped 1923

7.00

In 'Trapped', we see the cartoonist's hands as still photograph cut-outs, manipulated in front of the camera to look like live-action movie footage. The hands sketch a small black dot and ink it in. Then the dot proceeds to bounce across the cartoonist's easel, until the hands finally catch it and unfold it into Ko-Ko the Clown. There's a mouse in Max's studio, and Ko-Ko wants to catch him.

1923