Felix in Hollywood

A clever black and white Felix the Cat cartoon from 1923. While things are minimalist, the drawing is excellent. Felix is a versatile character. He is able to adapt to anything. He is with a movie director who is broke. Felix uses his wit to help ad depressed shoe store owner get his shop back. Later, in Hollywood, he works like crazy to get a role in the movies. We meet some of the stars of the silent screen at the time. Felix generally finds himself in a world that is unfair. When he tries to do good, he isn't respected. Here, he does battle with mosquitos. Once again, his ingenuity and self reliance reign supreme. I think the pen and ink drawing here is really startlingly bright and works quite well. Being a black and white cat helps Felix pull it off.

When Leonard Maltin's book, "Of Mice and Magic" which was about the production of theatrical movie cartoons from the silent era to around the '60s, came out, during the chapter on silent cartoons, he especially wrote about the first animated star, Felix the Cat, and especially about this very short I'm reviewing right now. In this one, he helps an actor friend to go to Hollywood by trying to make money selling shoes for a bankrupt proprietor of such a store. Once they're there, Felix goes on his own encountering caricatures of various Hollywood celebs of which one of whom is Charlie Chaplin who says something amusing to Felix. I'll just now say that Felix in Hollywood is quite a funny cartoon that I recommend to any animation fans out there.

A so-so Felix the Cat cartoon which is primarily of interest for the parodies of stars of the day such as Charlie Chaplin and Ben Turpin rather than its humour.

This short is one of the best of all time and is proof (just like most of Charlie Chaplin's work) that sound and color are not requirements for quality work. In fact, this cartoon uses (and may have started) some of the gags and devices that became standard in animation in later years, like caricatures of celebrities (including the afore-mentioned Chaplin. While the characters are silent, they do "speak", by use of word balloons, just like in the comics. Given that Felix started out in newspapers as a comic strip, this device is a natural. The atmosphere and style of the short is completely harmonious with that of the comic strip while adding another dimension (literally and figuratively) and makes this short a delight to watch. Well worth taking the time and effort to get. Most highly recommended.

Felix in Hollywood is a great film. The version I viewed was very well restored, which is sometimes a problem with these silent era animated films. It has some of Hollywood's most famous stars making cameo animated appearances. A must for any silent film or animation enthusiast.