The Birthday (1922) User Reviews

birthday hats

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 4 October 2022]

It's Max Fleischer's Out of the Inkwell. First, Max is trying out different hats on Koko, the Inkwell Clown. Koko is not happy. Then, there is some fireworks fun and a shower. Meanwhile, the guys are doing some minor construction work in the real world.

There isn't that much birthday stuff in this. When the short is titled birthday, it should be all about birthday. At least, there should be birthday cake. WTF. This is way too random. If it wants to be about hats, they should make one about hats. I can see Koko throwing out those hats and they come out of the page. That could be fun. I do love Koko, and it's fine even when it's not.

Not among Koko's best.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 30 September 2022]

In the 1920s, Koko the Clown was one of the most popular cartoon characters. And, when you see most of the Koko films today, you can certainly understand his popularity, as the films are extremely clever and funny. Unfortunately, of the several dozen Koko films I've seen, this is one of the weaker ones...though it's still funny and well worth seeing.

Unlike most other Koko shorts, Koko himself is not a mischievous jerk. Instead, most of the cartoon consists of Max (Max Fleischer, the director of the cartoons) messing with his character. First, he draws all sorts of silly hats on Koko, then his introduces fireworks! Eventually, Koko is so flustered he leaves the drawing and eventually runs back to his inkwell.

I think the best Koko films have a great give and take between the cartoon character and his animator. Here, however, Koko always seems to be on the receiving end and as a result, it's a bit flat by comparison.

By the way, the version I saw was the 1930 reissue which included music and sound effects...a common practice in the early days of sound.

Old Hat

[boblipton · 6/10 · 30 September 2022]

Koko wants a new hat, so Max draws him several until the clown settles on a stovepipe. Max asks why he wants a new hat. Koko says it's his birthday. Max draws him some fireworks.

The first half of this OUT OF THE INKWELL cartoon is as good as any. In the final sequence, however, there's a falling off in quality as it turns into a series of chases; while they are imaginatively run, the basic format was old hat. The net effect is a superior cartoon for the 1920s, or indeed, any era. The Koko cartoons competed with the Felix the Cat cartoons as the best of the era, when the rules of animation -- the cartoon laws of physics -- were still being shaped. They retains their freshness a century later.