CARTOON EVOLUTION #6
To celebrate his centenary, I take a look at the 100 year history and evolution of FELIX THE CAT, the world's first cartoon superstar and the first licensed and mass-merchandised character in history.
Created by Australian cartoonist Pat Sullivan and artist Otto Messmer, Felix debuted in 1919 and quickly won world-wide acclaim, breaking ground as the first licensed and mass-merchandised character – thus becoming the debut cartoon superstar.
With almost 200 shorts to his name by the end of the 1920s, Felix fell out of audience favor with the arrival of a slew of revolutionary sound-and-colour characters, including Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse, and found himself struggling to reclaim his title. With numerous ‘reboots’ launching over the decades to varying degrees of success, it’s a struggle he still faces today.
I take a look at how Felix has evolved over hundreds of shorts and numerous television series and films, discussing the most important changes in his design and personality and in the stylistic and narrative structures of his productions prevalent across a century of media.
Here's my look at Felix the Cat through the years!
Felix Media discussed and featured:
CLASSIC FELIX SHORTS
Feline Follies
Felix Frolics at the Circus
Felix Saves the Day
Felix Turns the Tide
Felix Comes Back
Felix Gets Revenge
Felix Finds Out
Felix in Fairyland
Felix Tries For Treasure
Felix Monkeys With Magic
Felix Lends a Hand
Felix Dopes It Out
Felix Gets Broadcasted
Felix Goes A-Hunting
Felix Out Of Luck
The Oily Bird
Japanicky
Futurizity
Felix Pinches the Pole
Felix Finds ‘Em Fickle
Felix Follows the Swallows
Felix In Hollywood
Felix Doubles For Darwin
Two-Lip Time
Flim Flam Films
One Good Turn
Eskimotive
Arabiantics
False Vases
Romeeow
April Maze
Tee Time
Forty Winks
The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs
Neptune Nonsense
Bold King Cole
OTHER FELIX MEDIA
Felix the Cat: The Series (1959 - 1962)
Felix the Cat: The Movie
The Twisted Tales of Felix
Baby Felix (ベイビーフィリックス Beibī Firikkusu)
Felix Saves Christmas
OTHER ANIMATED SHORTS
Gertie the Dinosaur
Little Nemo
Colonel Heeza Liar st the Bat
Mutt and Jeff - Domestic Difficulties
Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the Circus
Out of the Inkwell - The Tantalizing Fly
Dud Leaves HomeHow Animated Cartoons Are Made
Raoul Barre’s Cartoons on Tour
Charlie Chaplin - Charley on the FarmCharlie Chaplin - Charlie in Turkey
Krazy Kat - Scents and Nonsense
Laugh-O-Grams - Puss In Boots
Mickey Mouse - Plane Crazy
Looney Tunes - Porky in Wackyland
Looney Tunes - Porky’s Duck Hunt
Fleischer’s Sound Car-Toon - My Old Kentucky Home
Mickey Mouse - Steamboat Willie
Silly Symphony - Flowers and Trees
Silly Symphony - The Three Little Pigs
Mickey / Donald / Goofy - Moving DayFILMS
D.W. Griffith’s Broken Blossoms
The Jazz Singer
DOCOS
John Canemaker’s Otto Messmer and Felix the Cat
#FelixTheCat #Felix #Cartoons #Cartoon #CartoonEvolution
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Logo by Sean Tayla: Visual Development & Design.
http://www.seantayla.com
Opening Music -
HYPERFUN Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) - other music featured in this video also by Kevin MacLeod.
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Between 2016/17, channel was previously: Disney Dave Down Under