''Out of the Inkwell'' is an American major animated series of the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

produced by

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he becam ...

from 1918 to 1929.

History

The series was the result of three short experimental films that Max Fleischer independently produced from 1914 to 1916 to demonstrate his invention, the rotoscope, a device consisting of a film projector and easel used to achieve realistic movement for animated cartoons. The rotoscope projected motion picture film through an opening in the easel, covered by a glass pane serving as a drawing surface. The image on the projected film was traced onto paper, advancing the film one frame at a time as each drawing was made. Fleischer's younger brother

Dave Fleischer Dave Fleischer (; July 14, 1894 – June 25, 1979) was an American film director and producer, best known as a co-owner of Fleischer Studios with his older brother Max Fleischer. He was a native of New York City. Biography Fleischer was the ...

, who was working as a clown at Coney Island, served as the model for their first famous character, eventually known as

Koko the Clown Koko the Clown is an animated character created by Max Fleischer. He first appeared as the main protagonist in '' Out of the Inkwell'' (1918-1929), a major animated series of the silent era. Throughout the series, he goes on many adventures with ...

. ''Out of the Inkwell'' began at the Bray Studio as a monthly entry in ''The Bray Pictograph Screen Magazine'' produced for Paramount from 1918, and later for Goldwyn Pictures from 1919 to 1921. In that same year, The Fleischer brothers started their own studio, and in 1923, the clown who previously had no name came to be known as Koko when animation veteran

Dick Huemer Richard Huemer (January 2, 1898 – November 30, 1979) was an American animator in the Golden Age of American animation, Golden Age of Animation. Career While as an artist-illustrator living in the Bronx, New York City, Huemer first began his ...

became the new director of animation. Huemer, who began his animation career with the ''

Mutt and Jeff ''Mutt and Jeff'' was a long-running and widely popular American newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Bud Fisher in 1907 about "two mismatched tinhorns". It is commonly regarded as the first daily comic strip. The concept of a newspape ...

'' cartoons in 1916, brought the influence of the short and tall companions to ''Out of the Inkwell'' with the creation of a small canine companion named Fitz, who later evolved into

Bimbo Bimbo is slang for a conventionally attractive, sexualized, naive, and unintelligent woman. The term was originally used in the United States as early as 1919 for an unintelligent or brutish man. As of the early 21st century, the "stereotypic ...

in the sound era. Huemer redesigned the clown for animation, which reduced Fleischer's dependency on the Rotoscope for fluid animation. He also defined the drawing style with his distinctive inking quality that the series was famous for. But it was the interaction of the live-action sequences with the artist/creator, Max Fleischer, and his pen and ink creations that were the foundation of the series. Typically, the cartoons start with live-action showing Max drawing the characters on paper, or opening the inkwell to release the characters into "reality." Out of the Inkwell advertisement in The Film Daily, Jan-Jun 1926 (page 1265 crop)

Out of the Inkwell advertisement in The Film Daily, Jan-Jun 1926 (page 1265 crop)

The ''Out of the Inkwell'' series ran from 1918 to mid 1927, and was renamed ''The Inkwell Imps'' for Paramount, continuing until 1929. In all, 62 ''Out of the Inkwell'' and 56 ''Inkwell Imps'' films were produced in eleven years. ''The Inkwell Imps'' series was replaced by the "Talkartoons" in 1929, and Koko was retired until 1931, appearing as a supporting character with Bimbo and

Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleisc ...

. Koko's last theatrical appearance was in the Betty Boop cartoon ''Ha-Ha-Ha'' (1934), a remake of the silent ''Out of the Inkwell'' film ''The Cure'' (1924). Koko had a brief cameo in his only color theatrical appearance in the ''Screen Song'' entry ''Toys will be Toys'' (1949). In 1950, Stuart Productions released a number of the Inkwell Studios ''Out of the Inkwell'' cartoons, and a selection of the Paramount ''Inkwell Imps'' cartoons to television. In 1955, the ''Inkwell Imps'', along with 2,500 pre-October 1950 Paramount shorts and cartoons were sold to television packagers, the majority acquired by U.M. & M. TV Corporation. In 1958, Max Fleischer revived his studio in a partnership with Hal Seeger, and in 1960 produced a series of one hundred ''Out Of The Inkwell'' five-minute cartoons. In the new color series, Koko had a clown girlfriend named Kokette, a pal named Kokonut, and a villain named Mean Moe. Larry Storch provided the voice for Koko and all of the supporting characters. Many of the shorts in the original series are now in the public domain. One short in the series, 1922's ''The Hypnotist'', was preserved by the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

in 2010.

Filmography

The following is an attempt to list the complete filmography of the ''Out of the Inkwell/Inkwell Imps'' shorts, assembled from the best surviving documentation.

The Bray Studio Years (1918–1921)

Inkwell Studio: ''Out of The Inkwell'' years 1921–1926

''Inkwell Imps'' (1927–1929)

References

External links

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Max Fleischer's Famous ''Out of the Inkwell'', Inkwell Images
{{DEFAULTSORT:Out Of The Inkwell Film series introduced in 1918 1918 films Mass media franchises introduced in 1918 Animated film series 1910s animated short films 1920s animated short films Fleischer Studios short films American black-and-white films Television series by U.M. & M. TV Corporation American silent short films Rotoscoped films Articles containing video clips Short film series Comedy films about clowns Bray Productions film series Animated films without speech 1910s American films Silent American comedy films