US Fellers: Dud Leaves Home. (1919)
**** (out of 4)
Wonderful animated short has Dudley wanting to buy a girl an ice cream so he rushes home and breaks his coin break. The only thing this does is cause his mother to spank him and send him to bed without dinner. Later that night he decides to run away where he fantasizes about what his mom is going to do.
I was really surprised at how wonderful this film was and it's really too bad that it doesn't have a better reputation among film buffs. Heck, I doubt very many know about the movie so it's too bad that more people haven't even heard of it. At just five minutes the pacing is wonderful but what makes the film so great is that it's just so charming. I really loved the stuff in the woods as the kid and his dog sit there imagining about how worried and regretful his mom is going to be when she realizes that he ran away. I won't spoil what happens but it's delightful.
There are plenty of nice laughs throughout the short and the Dudley character was a very likable one. I'd also add that the animation was terrific and especially all of the attention to details. Just check out the nighttime scenes where the kid and dog are running back home. Everything just looks wonderful.