Gertie the Dinosaur (1914)

Director:

Winsor McCay

Writer:

Winsor McCay (writer)

Release Date:

15 September 1914 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Short | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

Gertie: she's a scream. She eats, drinks and breathes! She laughs and cries. Dances the tango, answers questions and obeys every command! Yet, she lived millions of years before man inhabited this earth and has never been seen since!!

Plot:

The cartoonist, Winsor McCay, brings the Dinosaurus back to life in the figure of his latest creation, Gertie the Dinosaur.

Plot Keywords:

Dinosaur | Bet | Drawing | Museum | Pumpkin

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Winsor McCay	...	Winsor McCay
George McManus	...	George McManus
Roy L. McCardell	...	Roy McCardell

Also Known As:

Gertie (USA) (alternative title)
Gertie the Trained Dinosaur

Runtime:

12 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

McCay

Trivia:

This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1991.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Gentleman: We've got a puncture. Let's go into the museum while he fixes it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Behind the Tunes: Tish Tash - The Animated World of Frank Tashlin (2005) (V)

Almost 90 years later, it still works.

Winsor McCay did a great many things of which he could be justifiably proud, but I think Gertie the Dinosaur ranks at the top of that lengthy list of accomplishments and I suspect McCay may have felt the same way, for it is still remarkable all these years later. Gertie is more life-like than some people I know! Funny, believable, touching and fascinating, sometimes all at once. This is one of the cornerstones of modern animation and also succeeds on its own terms and merits as both art and entertainment. Winsor McCay grew unhappy and somewhat disgruntled and disillusioned as animation became, in his eyes, more commercial and less artistically inclined. I've often wondered what McCay would have made of the independents, such as Will Vinton and Bill Plympton, among others, and the different forms, like Claymation and the stop-motion work of George Pal and others. I hope he would be pleased with at least some of the work done in the last 90 or so years. An absolute gem. If you haven't seen Gertie, I envy you for the treat you have in store. She's a delight. Well worth getting. Most highly recommended.