Accidentally Preserved: "Mechanical Doll" (1922) by Max and Dave Fleischer

MECHANICAL DOLL - with Koko the Clown. A rarely seen animated silent film by Max and Dave Fleischer. Visit www.accidentall... for film notes and DVD ordering info. Musical score © 2013 by Ben Model; all rights reserved. After drawing Koko, Max sends him via telephone wires to the movie theater where his own movie is playing. Once onscreen, Koko is smitten with the mechanical doll Max has drawn for him to dance with, but the projectionist spoils Koko's wedding plans.

[@gnikcohs]

AKA Dresden Doll. Apparently Max rotoscoped his daughter Ruth for the Doll in this weird, sad, complex cartoon that has a Hoffmannesque feel to it. It may be cheating a little but as Animation, this is, to me. the greatest sustained series ever made, though as Cartoons the title would have to go to Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies.

[@silentfilmmusic]

Glad you enjoyed this one. I enjoy telling people about Rotoscoping and the Fleischers, as it's a term still being used in computer animation and people who use it have no idea that it came from silent era cartoons.

[@gnikcohs]

silentfilmmusic Thanks for the info and the work you did. For some reason I did not read the "about" segment and did not realize that the great (and fitting) soundtrack was added (usually I don't listen to silent era soundtracks so I watched again). I also did not realize the KoKo was on his way to the theatre to star in his own film. Max was really the 20th century master of metafiction. And lastly I did not realize rotoscoping was so alive and well. I knew they used digital techniques etc, but in my mind rotoscoping itself was always associated with old cartoons. It certainly gave KoKo what at times was an almost uncanny fluidity.

[@WildBillCox13]

Note the dance step borrowed from Josephine Baker.

[@rbbonotto]

Goes a bit morbid at the end. But Fleischer's cartoons were always as much for adults as children, I think.

[@SpeegBJ]

Great early animation. The fluidity of Koko is captivating; and thanks to your conversation on Rotoscope in this comment thread I learned something new about the technology of early moving images.

[@ronevry2664]

How'd I miss this one? Maybe it never played in my neighborhood back in 1922...

[@farmbrough]

Thank you for doing this, I really appreciate your work on the film and the music.

[@jimstevens1726]

Theatre organ soundtrack!! I just checked your channel. A wealth of great stuff on there! I subscribed.

[@samieshoestring6332]

Love this.. Thank you for sharing

[@elbandito7504]

Love it Ben!

[@unmother]

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