The Mascot (1933)

A stuffed animal goes on a journey through frightening streets to get its kid an orange.

Director:

Wladyslaw Starewicz

Writer:

Wladyslaw Starewicz

Star:

Wladyslaw Starewicz

Cast

Credited cast:
Wladyslaw Starewicz	...	Police officer / Drunk

Storyline

A toy stuffed dog has just been sewn together when it hears a young child ask for an orange. The child's mother explains that they have no money, and so she cannot buy any oranges. The dog is then packed up along with a box full of other toys to be sold, but it soon winds up in the street. The dog picks up an orange from a curbside stand, and hopes to take it home to the child. But that night, before the dog can get back to the child's home, it must face a series of strange and frightening adventures.

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Plot Keywords:

box | romantic rivalry | rat | begging | thrown against a wall | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Horror

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Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Millennium: The Curse of Frank Black (1997)

User Reviews

Fascinating & Very Impressive

If any one feature demonstrates as far as possible Wladyslaw Starewicz's wide range of talents, this might be it. "The Mascot" seamlessly combines top-quality puppet animation with live action; it tells a tale with some humor, some horror, and some humanity; and it does it all with a vivid sense of imagination. At the height of the action, there is a constant succession of detailed images at the same time that the story reaches its peak of suspense.

The story follows a toy dog through an odyssey to fulfill a young child's request. The basic story line would be interesting enough, though now pretty familiar from many similar stories by lesser lights. But it is fleshed out by such an imaginative array of creatures and settings that the only possible way to appreciate it is to see it. The detail is extraordinary, especially since each detail in many of the frames had to be done carefully by hand. Many of the details are quite amusing, while others are sinister, bizarre, or just plain interesting. Nor does Starewicz resort to tired or obvious devices in order to impress - the closer you look, the more you see.

While this is certainly not a children's movie, in every other respect it is more impressive and more interesting than any of the animated features from the computer imagery era. For anyone who enjoys classic cinema, it's not to be missed.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stuffy's Errand of Mercy

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gelma-Films, Ladislas Starewitch

Technical Specs

Runtime:

26 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1