Oct 19, 2017 a version of gertie the dinosaur released in late 1914 still exists and is known as the first animated film to not only feature a dinosaur but also a character that exhibited diverse emotions. One of canemakers favorites from life, and mine as well and harvey. May 06, 2014 gertie the dinosaur was drawn with black ink on white rice paper like much of early animation. Mccay was one of those enormously important innovators who create whole new art forms. In 1991, gertie the dinosaur was one of 25 films added by the library of congress national film preservation board to the national film registry. Wiam gertie the dinosaur winsor mccay 1914 on vimeo. Winsor mccay and gertie the dinosaur little nemo in slumberland, history of. Lastly, there is a stills gallery, also compiled by canemaker. Gertie the dinosaur, winsor mccay s gertie, winsor mccay americas greatest cartoonist and gertie. In 1911, he began presenting animated films on stage, first an animation of little nemo in slumberland.
Gertie the dinosaur, one of the earliest animations. Little nemo 1911 how a mosquito operates 1912 gertie the dinosaur 1914 the sinking of the lusitania 1918 bug vaudeville 1921 the pet 1921 the flying house 1921 the centaurs 1921 gertie on tour 1921 flips circus 1921 this was actually just the first part of a night of animation on tcm, which included compilations of cartoons from the. Mccay began painting signs and posters in chicago, later. Winsor would stand on stage in front of a screen as a huge, gertie was projected behind him and the duo performed a trained animal circus act together. It was not the first cinematic effort of comicstrip artist winsor mckay, whod previously produced little nemo and the story of the mosquito, and it was not made in 1909, though even by the standards of 1914, its actual release date, it was quite an astounding. Nov 07, 2014 gertie the dinosaur is 100 years young. Mccay would enter the stage, cracking a whip, and calling forth gertie.
Winsor mccay 1906 but the father of them all, and a man who deserves to be known as the father of american animation, is winsor mccay, whose creation gertie the dinosaur was the very first dinosaur to be on the big screen. This cartoon is considered to be the first to feature a cartoon character a character that displays its own personality. Other articles where gertie the dinosaur is discussed. Gertie the dinosaur 1914 gertie the dinosaur is a 1914 american animated short film by winsor mccay. Mccay first used the film before live audiences as an interactive part of his vaudeville act. The making and remaking of winsor mccays gertie 1914 david. Elenco winsor mccay george mcmanus roy mccardell max fleischer. Sometimes called the worlds oldest cartoon erroneously, it is still the first to be created using keyframe animation. Jun 25, 2012 it was gertie the trained dinosaur who was developed by winsor mccay. Dinosaur gerties ice cream of extinction was built as a tribute to gertie the dinosaur, one of the first wellknown animated cartoon stars. Gertie gertie the dinosaur, winsor mccays gertie 1914. Although not the first animated film, as is sometimes thought, it was the first cartoon to feature a character with an appealing personality. Gertie the dinosaur 1914 12 out of 4 this winsor mccay film starts off very much like his first as mccay and a friend are inside a dinosaur exhibit when the artist says he could make them walk. And the beautiful, breathtaking sinking of the lusitania is worth two times the price of the dvd.
Winsor would stand on stage in front of a screen as a huge, gertie was projected behind him and the duo performed a. In november of that year, gertie the dinosaur was released to theaters, and the whole country had the opportunity to be amazed at mccay s inventiveness and craftsmanship. Mar 03, 2015 gertie the dinosaur 1914 worlds 1st keyframe animation cartoon winsor mccay online video cutter duration. If you are wandering along the twisty paths of yesteryear in disneys hollywood studios, youll be hard pressed to miss the giant green dinosaur adorning a little ice cream shop known as dinosaur gerties ice cream of extinction. Mccay started performing chalk talks on vaudeville in 1906, as a sideline to his regular newspaper cartooning. Winsor mccay gertie the dinosaur production drawing. Gertie was originally created for winsor mccays vaudeville act, and later this film was made, which took the cartoon and put in live action bookends to the cartoon. His gertie 1914 was the first american masterpiece of animated film. Fitzsimmons, had the task of retracing the background for each and every one. Gertie the dinosaur winsor mccay cartooning pioneer.
Winsor mccays gertie the dinosaur was the first animated cartoon created by the selfdescribed originator and inventor of animated cartoons. Jun 30, 2017 mccay gave gertie a series of commands, which she then performed inscreen. The setup to the cartoon, is that there is a bet on whether or not mccay can make a dinosaur come to life. Gertie the dinosaur, winsor mccays gertie, winsor mccay americas greatest cartoonist and gertie. It still wasnt until two years later, at the age of 38, that he started the little nemo sunday comic strip. John canemaker presents animated masterworks by winsor mccay. Gertie the dinosaur winsor mccay, gertie was hollywoods first cartoon star. Gertie the dinosaur is a cartoon character created by winsor mccay. Mccay, winsor article about mccay, winsor by the free.
Gertie the dinosaur was winsor mccays third animation film, and it certainly is his most famous one, still capable of entertaining new audiences. Other special features include canemakers 1978 documentary remembering winsor mccay, consisting mainly of an interview with john fitzsimmons, who worked as an assistant to mccay and bore the tedious task of drawing all the backgrounds for gertie the dinosaur. For wider distribution, mccay turned his gertie the dinosaur into a onereel film which frames the animated sequence with a liveaction story. Winsor mccay artwork for sale winsor mccay art value price guide.
When windsor mccay drew gertie the dinosaur for an animated short in 1914, he had little idea that it would capture the publics imagination, make gertie a star, and give birth to an entire industry. The film was composed of more than 10,000 drawings. Winsor mccay, 1914 2 rare and historical production drawings from winsor. Used in production for the 1914 cartoon gertie the dinosaur, art shows gertie in profile, wher head hidden as she drinks from lake.
Jun 21, 2010 gertie the dinosaur was winsor mccays third animation film, and it certainly is his most famous one, still capable of entertaining new audiences. Gertie the dinosaur was drawn with black ink on white rice paper like much of early animation. Gertie grew so popular that, later in 1914, mccay made it into a motion picture, shown above. Winsor mccay s first film was made in 1906 and called dreams of a rarebit fiend. A version of gertie the dinosaur released in late 1914 still exists and is known as the first animated film to not only feature a dinosaur but also a. Gertie the dinosaur at disneys hollywood studios world of walt. Mccay bets a dinner he can make a dinosaur live again by a series of handdrawn. Winsor mccay had made two animated films before gertie. The cartoons of windsor mckay on tcm steve hoffman.
Gertie the dinosaur winsor mccay cartooning pioneer 1914. Released as onereel film in 1914, though the character was created and seen in a short cartoon in mccays vaudeville act circa 1909. With these new tools and fitzsimmons, mccay was able to create gertie the dinosaur, his most innovative, interactive, and enduring cartoon. Mccay said it took around 10,000 drawings, although the figure may be closer to 6,000 an art student, john a. The short cartoon i want to tell you about tonight was called gertie, and it was made in 1911. Gertie was the first featured character created specifically for the new medium. Mccay s employer, william randolph hearst, was displeased with. Mccay appeared on the vaudeville stage with an animated dinosaur. In his very excellent winsor mccay his life and art, john canemaker chronicles his. Animation historian and academy awardwinning filmmaker john canemaker presents four groundbreaking animated films by winsor mccay. Released as onereel film in 1914, though the character was created and seen in a short cartoon in mccay s vaudeville act circa 1909. There were animated features before gertie, but gertie was the considered to be the first animated character to have a personality a development beyond the simple tricks on film that made up most early animation. The cartoon would then roll, and mccay would put gertie through her various tricks as if she were real and he was her trainer. There were rockin clubs and cafes with cool jukeboxes, teen poolside parties with local bands, sometimes it was a seedy bar with a sleazy torch singer, a beatnik coffeehouse, maybe dancing somewhere in.
Horror, science fiction, fantasy, spy, superhero, jd, thriller and noir films, thats what we like, and a recurring theme in a lot of those kinds of movies has always been music. Fall in love with the worlds first animated dinosaur atlas. Play games, watch videos, and support our kickstarter campaign for a feature film with a fun tshirt, plush toy, art print or other collectible from our gertie the dinostore. Pioneer cartoonist winsor mccay created the animated dinosaur as part of his vaudeville act.
Gertie the dinosaur, one of the earliest animations, turns. Gertie the dinosaur 1914 worlds 1st keyframe animation cartoon winsor mccay online video cutter duration. It is the earliest animated film to feature a dinosaur. The cartoonist, winsor mccay, brings the dinosaurus back to life in the figure of his latest creation, gertie the dinosaur. Sheet bears india ink original art of mccay s famous sauropod, gertie. Gertie, the worlds first animated dinosaur, made her screen debut at chicagos palace theater on 8 february 1914, one hundred years ago today. Gertie the dinosaur 1914 by popegrutch after the sophistication of how a mosquito operates, i was a bit disappointed that winsor mccay s next animation film started off with another liveaction wraparound story, which is essentially the same as that for little nemo. Mccay bets another cartoonist that he can animate a dinosaur. That distinction goes to emile cohl and his 76second long fantasmagorie 1908. Gertie the dinosaur, professor balthazar retooned post. Sweet, mischievous gertie, with her ready tears, excitable nature, and complete inability to miss a chance to get herself in trouble, is widely credited as the first character created specifically for animation, and the first to demonstrate a personality all of her own. Gertie the dinosaur was originally a travelling vaudeville performance created by the famous political cartoonist, winsor mccay, in 1914. The film follows a same story idea similar to that of little nemo.
For starters, mccay was born in 1867 the same year as frank brangwyn, arthur rackham and sidney sime and had an eccentric and checkered career behind him when he moved to new york in 1903. Although not the first featurelength animated film, as is sometimes thought, it was the first cartoon to feature a character with an appealing personality. The appearance of a true character distinguished it from earlier animated trick films, such as those of blackton and cohl, and makes it the predecessor to later popular cartoons such as those by walt disney. Mar 25, 20 gertie is a dinosaur based on the brontosaurus nowadays known as apatosaurus skeleton in the american museum of natural history. Hakes gertie the dinosaur animation original art by. Winsor mccays gertie, the wonderfully trained dinosaurus. Gertie the dinosaur 1914 1st keyframe animation cartoon.
Fall in love with the worlds first animated dinosaur. First off, let us establish what gertie the dinosaur was not. Long before any princesses wandered across the screen, canemaker observes, animations first female personality was spunky gertie the. Sheet bears india ink original art of mccays famous sauropod, gertie. This is wiam gertie the dinosaur winsor mccay 1914 by rob angiello on vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. In 1991, gertie the dinosaur was one of 25 films added by the library of congress national.
Mccay gave gertie a series of commands, which she then performed inscreen. Gertie the dinosaur is a 1914 animated short film by american cartoonist and animator winsor mccay. Turns out, this awesome looking set piece actually has a pretty important story behind it. Gertie is a dinosaur based on the brontosaurus nowadays known as apatosaurus skeleton in the american museum of natural history. The friend and others at a local club laugh at him so he makes a bet that he can bring a dinosaur to life. But the father of them all, and a man who deserves to be known as the father of american animation, is winsor mccay, whose creation gertie the dinosaur was the very first dinosaur to be on the big screen. In november of that year, gertie the dinosaur was released to theaters, and the whole country had the opportunity to be amazed at mccays inventiveness and craftsmanship. It was not the first cinematic effort of comicstrip artist winsor mckay, whod previously produced little nemo and the story of the mosquito, and it was not made in 1909, though even by the standards of 1914, its actual release date, it was quite an astounding achievement. This is the giants shoulders that disney and todays animators stand upon. Long before any princesses wandered across the screen, canemaker observes, animations. In 1989, walt disney imagineers honored gertie and the role she played in the history of animated film by constructing this oversized tribute to her at disneys hollywood studios, a theme park that serves as the ultimate tribute to movie history.
Each piece of paper was only a little larger than a 5 x 7 photo. At the beginning of the show, a tuxedoed mccay would stand on stage with a whip and other props and. Most cartoon characters of the early 20th century had their origins in newspaper comic strips. In the liveaction portion, mccay accepts a bet from fellow cartoonist george mcmanus that he can make the dinosaur come to life. Mccay bets a dinner he can make a dinosaur live again by a. On february 8, 1914, the world was first introduced to gertie the dinosaur, a lovable if mildly mischievous brontosaurus created by cartoonist winsor mccay. So he draws a big friendly herbivore called gertie. Official website of gertie the dinosaur the worlds first cartoon star. So grateful these beautiful films are restored and available. Gertie the dinosaur was originally created to be used in mccays vaudeville performances. But mckay, who was also the author of the popular weekly little nemo comic strips, made a contribution to cartoons that is arguably even more important.
His first animated film was the selfexplanatory winsor mccay, the famous cartoonist of the n. By the early 1920s, he had turned his attention elsewhere. Winsor mccay, cartoonist and director of this 1reel 20minute 1914 film, piles out of a car with cartoonist george mcmanus and humorist roy mccardell in front of a natural history museum, where a 70x20 dinosaurus skeleton is on display. Gertie first amazed vaudeville audiences in 1914 when she was projected life size onto a screen and shared the same stage with her. Little nemo 1911 how a mosquito operates 1912 gertie the dinosaur 1914 the sinking of the lusitania 1918 bug vaudeville 1921 the pet 1921 the flying house 1921 the centaurs 1921 gertie on tour 1921 flips circus 1921 this was actually just the first part of a night of animation on tcm, which included compilations of cartoons from the bray and van beuren studios, the german. Mccays employer, william randolph hearst, was displeased. Mccay made a few more animated films, including a 1918 documentary on the sinking of the lusitania. A brief history of gertie the dinosaur although there is no art from gertie the dinosaur available on our website, we can often source pieces from the film that are available. Gertie the dinosaur was originally created to be used in mccay s vaudeville performances. Gertie walks through the picture, eats a tree, meets her creator, and takes him carefully on her back for a ride.