I wasn't aware that Warner Brothers/Vitagraph had released any animation before Leon Schlesinger used his connections to broker a deal between them and Warner Brothers to become producer Merrie Melodies. Then I found this stop-motion piece, produced by Howard S. Moss (whom had never heard of), animated by Charles Bennes (who has no other credits) on YouTube. It even lacked a soundtrack, to the poster had added a violin version of the title song.
A couple of boy dolls -- one in civilian clothes, one in a sailor suit -- are waiting outside Dolly's home, while she dresses -- her silhouette is visible through the shade. Eventually, the civilian takes her on a drive, running over a Black boy doll, pursued by the sailor, who also runs over the Black.
Having described that, the piece's obscurity is understandable. Animation has long been the most expensive form of cinema, because it is so labor-intensive, and stop-motion has never had the cost-saving methods developed that drawn animation did -- the Bray-Hurd Patents. Yet it is probably just because they are so difficult and demanding and so close to being a one-man job that is has attracted so many finicky artisans with a peculiar vision, from Lotte Reiniger and Willis O'Brien through Ray Harryhausen and Henry Sellick, and such fierce fans.
And here is another. Shorn of its rightful voice, an unknown orphan. I shake my head and wish I could tell you who its parents are, even though, if you saw it, you'd say it should wind up with the Censored Eleven Cartoons; yeah, adults nowadays interested in the history of animation really should look at these, but kids? No.
A couple of boy dolls -- one in civilian clothes, one in a sailor suit -- are waiting outside Dolly's home, while she dresses -- her silhouette is visible through the shade. Eventually, the civilian takes her on a drive, running over a Black boy doll, pursued by the sailor, who also runs over the Black.
Having described that, the piece's obscurity is understandable. Animation has long been the most expensive form of cinema, because it is so labor-intensive, and stop-motion has never had the cost-saving methods developed that drawn animation did -- the Bray-Hurd Patents. Yet it is probably just because they are so difficult and demanding and so close to being a one-man job that is has attracted so many finicky artisans with a peculiar vision, from Lotte Reiniger and Willis O'Brien through Ray Harryhausen and Henry Sellick, and such fierce fans.
And here is another. Shorn of its rightful voice, an unknown orphan. I shake my head and wish I could tell you who its parents are, even though, if you saw it, you'd say it should wind up with the Censored Eleven Cartoons; yeah, adults nowadays interested in the history of animation really should look at these, but kids? No.
