Bed Time (1923) User Reviews

Not quite as good as the average Koko short...but still awfully good.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 11 May 2020]

During the 1920s, one of the best cartoon characters was Koko the Clown. Not only were the cartoons fun and innovative, they hold up very well when you watch them today...providing silent movies CAN be terrific entertainment.

In these cartoon shorts, Dave Fleischer dressed up as Koko and his movements were Rotoscoped...meaning that animator Max Fleischer (Dave's brother) would trace the footage...giving Koko much more fluid and realistic movements. Nearly all of the shorts began with Koko climbing out of an inkwell or being drawn onto art board by Max...and the two would soon begin interacting.

"Bed Time" is a good film...though compared to many other Koko films it's a tiny bit of a disappointment. This is because what happens during most of the cartoon just seems very random and you do later discover why this is the case....but it also makes for a cartoon that is fun but with less lasting impact than other Koko shorts. Still, slightly subpar Koko is still much better than nearly any other silent cartoon of the era.

One wild bedtime

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 5 March 2018]

Dave Fleischer was responsible for many gems. Ones that were amusing and charming, though over-cuteness did come through in some efforts and the stories were always pretty thin, with appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques.

Ko-Ko similarly was an always amiable character to watch and among the better recurring characters in Fleischer's early work. Likewise, his series of Out of the Inkwell cartoons were among the best early efforts of Fleischer and silent cartoons in general. Fleischer may not be at his very finest and there are other cartoons of his that fit the word gem more. It is impossible to dislike 'Bed Time' however as it is so enjoyable to watch and really put a smile on my face and provided plenty of laughs, a perfect antidote for when you're in a not so good mood.

Actually can find very little to fault 'Bed Time'. As said many times in other Ko-Ko cartoons, the story is slight and it can get slightly erratic on occasions.

Everything else though is done so brilliantly that any issues had with the story don't stay for long. The delight of the character interplay and how well the animation and live action is handled so seamlessly for so early on, the wild fun and the live action interplay are just a few things to like.

One expects the animation to be primitive and very low quality, judging by that it's the early 20s when animation techniques were not as many, as refined, as ambitious and in their infancy. While Fleischer became more refined and inventive later certainly, the animation is surprisingly good with some nice visual wackiness and wit.

Pacing is lively and the bizarre and wild nature of the humour is done very imaginatively and never less than fun to watch, making the most of a strong concept. Koko as ever is very likeable and amusing and love his interaction with Max and Max's inspired role.

Overall, very good and wild cartoon. 8/10 Bethany Cox

A dream within another's dream?

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 7/10 · 18 December 2017]

Silent films and short films such as this are so old that they almost feel like little windows into a different time. I love seeing Max Fleischer himself in the short looking so young, and basically playing himself as an aspiring animator who loses control of his latest cartoon creation. What you see in this short is very raw and basic, but to me there's a certain artistic purity to the animation and you can really see the still evolving genius of Max Fleischer's wonderful techniques at work in it. It is certainly an inventive little short and works hard to keep your attention and does offer a few surprises. I really did not see that double-twist ending coming! Everything that happened was merely the dreams of a truly brilliant creative mind at work, but just to play it safe, Max hurries over to the drawing of Koko the Clown on the board and scoops up the mischievous toon and pours him back into the inkwell with the cap firmly screwed on. I love everything with the animated Koko interacting with the live-action objects, for the time the effect is impressively well pulled off. The funnest part is the sequence that leads up to the ending where Koko hops off the paper and grows to giant size and chases Max through the city before catching and squeezing him with his big freaky white clown gloves. That part was entertaining stuff, as well as a little scary! I mean a giant clown with a leering devil face? What's not scary about that! It's cleverly put together this short, in the way that it works around the extreme technological limitations of the time and still comes out as an interesting and fun animation. It's strange to watch a Fleischer animation that's completely silent, but I'm pretty sure that when the cartoons like this were shown in the old time movie theatres to scores of amazed children they'd be accompanied by someone playing along on a piano to help bring it all a little more to life through the music. Genuinely good short, and it comes from the time before cartoons were strictly cartoons as such, before the greater animating methods came along and opened up new kinds of ever more wild and crazy adventures and gave way to more beloved and enduring characters. Recommended viewing for both Fleischer fans and very vintage animation enthusiasts alike. Classic animation from the past x

More Insanity From Koko and Max!

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 10 October 2007]

"For the love of Mike, why don't you go to sleep," an annoyed Max Fleischer asks Koko the clown, which is a kind of strange since Max just drew the character a few minutes early. Why draw him and then go right to bed, and then complain when the clown makes noise? It doesn't make sense, but sets up the gag for the nine-minute silent cartoon: Max doing what he has to, in trying to get some sleep

First, Max, in his pajamas, gets back up and draws an isolated mountain area and puts Koko on top of a steep mountain. "That will keep you busy for the night," says the real-life somewhat nasty cartoonist to his subject.

The cartoon really gets wild from that point with guest appearances from Mutt and Jeff, and other "stars" of the day as Koko experiences one adventure after another.from the "Cave Of The Winds" to Goliath chasing him all over.

This insane cartoon was one of the "From the vault" extra features from disc 3 on the "Popeye The Sailor Man Volume One DVD set. Those who enjoy something different are advised to check this out.