Hello again my friends. Today Felix the Cat (that wonderful wonderful cat) turns 100 years old. As such there is no other option but to dedicate this whole Saturday morning cartoons post to Felix himself.
Since we are celebrating his birthday, I felt the best way to start off this post was his first cartoon, Feline Follies (1919). In this cartoon, Felix had not yet been given the name Felix instead he is called Master Tom. Even in this early appearance, there is a type of gag that would become extremely common in Felix cartoons. This is when Felix (or Master Tom) uses musical notes and turns them into objects for his own amusement. The fact that Felix cartoons were originally meant for all audiences, not just kids becomes immediately apparent watching this film. The film is a romantic farce and the ending is a very dark gag. This cartoon was brought to us by director and animator Otto Messmer and producer Pat Sullivan, who would bring us all of the great silent era Felix cartoons.
Next comes a typically great and very creative Felix cartoon from the silent era, Felix Turns the Tide (1922). This version of the cartoon is a TV print that is retitled The Inventor despite that title not fitting at all. The music comes from the Van Beuren Rainbow parade cartoons.
Next is another classic silent Felix cartoon, Eskimotive (1928).
The Van Beuren cartoon studio made many very enjoyable cartoons, yet it always struggled to create memorable characters. Tom and Jerry (human characters completely unrelated to the famous cat and mouse), Cubby Bear, Molly Moo Cow and some very obvious Mickey and Minnie rip offs left very little of an impression on audiences, despite the fact that their cartoons were and are still a lot of fun, because their personalities were rarely anything more than just pleasant. With this it should come as no surprise that in the mid-1930's the studio purchased the rights to Felix. They would make three color cartoons with Felix, the best of which, Bold King Cole (1936) is up next. This cartoon has a very clever story, a good amount of imagination and a very appealing look. However it is worth noting that it is lacking in the laughs that the silent Felix films offered. A review in The Philadelphia Exhibitor stated, "Net result is a fair entrant." A review in The Motion Picture Daily stated "Plenty of tricks and dramatic lighting, plus some effective and novel situations should make this a highly entertaining color cartoon." An exhibitors review in The Motion Picture Herald stated "Poor cartoon. Terrifying for children; fantastic and uninteresting for adults." Another exhibitors review disagreed saying "A very funny color cartoon."
Felix would have a rebirth of life due to an animated TV show simply called Felix the Cat (1959-1960). This show introduced many elements people associate with Felix today such as his bag of tricks and his way too catchy theme song. In this series Felix would be voiced by Jack Mercer, most famous for voicing Popeye. Felix's voice greatly resembles the character Swat from the feature film, Mr. Bug Goes to Town (1941). This is no coincidence as that character was also voiced by Jack Mercer. The show also introduced many new characters to Felix's world such as the Professor, Point Dexter and the villainous Master Cylinder. Unlike the theatrical shorts this TV show was mostly aimed at a younger audience. This doesn't meant that this series doesn't still have its charm. I for one enjoy it very much. Next is a typical episode of the show, Venus and the Master Cylinder (1959). This episode served as the season finale of the first season.
Felix was easily the most popular cartoon character during the silent era, and therefore it should come as no surprise that a really popular jazz band would record a song about Felix in 1928. This band was Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra and the song was simply titled Felix the Cat. Enjoy.
Thanks for joining me come back next week for more cartoon treasures. And remember to wish Felix a happy birthday.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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