Against the backdrop of a dusty chalkboard, British-American director, producer, and illustrator for the New York Evening World,
J. Stuart Blackton, uses stop-motion and cut-out animation techniques to bring to life a series of comical hand-drawn scenes. Considered to be the first animation picture recorded on standard film stock, Blackton's influential short which comes six years after the equally innovational,
The Enchanted Drawing (1900), mixes the graceful frolics of a happy circus clown and his playful French poodle, with the suffocating effects of cigar smoking. Sometimes, the artist's hand gets in the way; however, that, too, is part of the show. How many phases of funny faces can you count?
—Nick Riganas