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Walt Disney helped shape the animation industry as it is known today, but the art of animation has roots that go back much further than the time of Mickey Mouse and Snow White. And likely, the first character to start this influential medium was a small clown wearing a cigar.
In 1911, the cartoonist Winsor McCay produced the animated short film “Little Nemo,” inspired by his imaginative 1905 comic strip series titled “Little Nemo in Slumberland.” The movie mainly features live action, with McCay joined by other performers of that era, including actor John Bunny and fellow cartoonist George McManus, as he makes a bet that he can create 4,000 drawings that move within a month. Although others were skeptical, McCay manages to complete his task, and the last two minutes of the film show the “Nemo” characters coming to life through animation, starting with the clown Flip smoking a cigar.
Although films like J. Stuart Blackton’s 1906 “Humorous Phases of Funny Faces” and Émile Cohl’s 1908 “Fantasmagorie” came before it, “Little Nemo” represented a significant advancement in character animation. Despite not having the anatomical detail found in Disney’s productions, the characters still manage to combine their distinct and expressive movements with unusual actions that effectively convey the surreal nature of McCay’s comic.
At the time, “Little Nemo” was unlike anything viewers had encountered before, even inspiring Walt Disney during his initial years. Little did they realize, this was just the beginning of McCay’s many animated accomplishments.
Read more: 65 Greatest Animated Characters of All Time, Ranked
Gertie was among the earliest dinosaurs to achieve stardom in films.
Long before the era of “Jurassic Park,” Winsor McCay showcased his animated talent by creating one of the most memorable cartoons ever made, “Gertie the Dinosaur” from 1914. Similar to “Little Nemo,” the short film opens with live-action McCay making a bet that he can animate a dinosaur while at a museum alongside some friends. He then displays his creation during a dinner, where the main character, an Apatosaurus, follows instructions from an off-screen McCay and gets into various playful situations.
Presented as a vaudeville performance where the real McCay interacted with his animated character on stage, “Gertie the Dinosaur” was a pioneering accomplishment in its era. Gertie is not only recognized as the first cinematic dinosaur, solidifying prehistoric creatures as iconic figures in film, but also the technique used to animate the creature pushed the boundaries of the medium. This process was particularly time-consuming. Although McCay employed key and looping animation methods that helped save time, he and art student John A. Fitzsimmons had to trace the background in every frame.
It all proved worthwhile, as McCay gave Gertie a more realistic sense of weight and physics compared to his earlier characters, while also maintaining her humorous nature. In 1994, “Gertie the Dinosaur” was recognized by 1,000 industry experts as the sixth best cartoon ever in the book “50 Greatest Cartoons.” Even many years later, Winsor McCay’s works continue to be celebrated in various ways.
Other adaptations of Little Nemo exist…including one featuring Jason Momoa.
Winsor McCay’s artistic approach experienced significant advancements after 1911’s “Little Nemo.” However, the film and the comic series it was adapted from continue to be McCay’s most notable achievement even more than a century later. A portion of McCay’s lasting influence is the variety of film adaptations that sought to revitalize his creative universe.
The first release was in 1989, featuring the American-Japanese animated collaboration “Little Nemo in Slumberland.” Similar to the comic, it depicts Nemo traveling to the magical realm of Slumberland, although this version also introduces the terrifying Nightmare King, who aims to create disorder within the imaginative world. The film had a notoriously difficult production process, involving notable figures like Hayao Miyazaki, Brad Bird, Ray Bradbury, and even George Lucas in some capacity. Despite this, the movie struggled at the box office and garnered mixed reactions from critics.
In 2022, viewers were introduced to anotherLittle Nemo” adaptation featuring Netflix’s “Slumberland.The movie loosely follows the comic, featuring a female Nemo (Marlow Barkley) who sets out on a quest to reunite with her long-lost father along with Flip (Jason Mamoa), here depicted as a goat-human swindler, in contrast to the clown from the original comic. Directed by Francis Lawerence, who also directed “I Am Legend,” the movie currently has a 40% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, with numerous critics pointing out its excessive focus on visual effects.
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