A Fantasy

Even if it wasn't rightly famous for being the world's first animated film, Fantasmagorie would still stand out as an eye-popping piece of entertainment.

There isn't any story to speak of, and most of it seems to be a kind of stream-of-consciousness, free-form flow of ideas that borders on the surreal. Its use of a human hand to show the initial creation of the drawing brings to mind the much earlier work of J. Stuart Blackton. It might seem a little primitive by today's standards, but this little film is one of the landmarks of cinematic history.

The film can be found on the internet on Youtube or DailyMotion and is worth two minutes of anybody's time.

A few years ago I had a real passion for short films, seeking them out at festivals and on television, trying to see those considered as established and also those from first time or local artists. This fell off for some reason and I found myself watching more television which is not a problem but I did decide recently I should take the time to watch short films when I have the chance. Fantasmagorie was the one of the shorts I decided to watch, partly for the historical value but also for the good things I heard about it generally.

Watching it once was not enough though, because it is very short but also moves with real speed and energy. The animation consists of chalk drawings on a black background and without any narrative context they flow across the screen, seamlessly turning from one thing into another but making a sort of sense while doing so. Every second of it is creative and clever and engaging and, most importantly, a real joy to watch. The age of the film shows in the quality of the picture (or at least it did in the version I saw) but nowhere else. There is a real pleasure to it, a sense of wonder and excitement in the animation that has stayed with it for over a century.

A great little animation; it has historical value but you will only think of that afterwards because during your several viewings I suspect you'll be too busy keeping up and enjoying the passion and flow that the images have.

This is a pretty neat little film. It appears to be chalk on a blackboard. It has a little plot with a man trying to watch a movie when a woman with a huge hat sits in front of him. But there are other things that help make the two minutes memorable.

What a film this is! The film is under two minutes, and I can't remember half of it. I seem to remember a woman with a very large hat getting it pulled off, pants turning into umbrellas, men getting stabbed an dismembered, but still walking around, houses turning into elephants, and many other images. Cohl seemed to want to include every image he could think of in the film. I'm sure he had no idea of the legacy he would leave. In fact, judging by the showoffy nature of the film, it's almost as if, at the time, Cohl thought he might be one of the only people on the planet who would ever be able to make drawings move like that. Even today, with all the technological advances in the field of animation, "Fantasmagorie" is entertaining. Despite the fact that it has no plot or real point except to show off what animation can do, and despite the relative crudeness of the drawings, its relentless, violent energy, and short running time make it a joy to watch. I wouldn't expect non-animation buffs to care much about it however. They'd probably enjoy it, but would have hard time understanding the fuss.

If you are a lover of the history of cinema, then FANTASMAGORIE is an absolute must--particularly if you are interested in animation. That's because this short little film is the first animated film and considering everything, it's a darn good one.

Instead of the usual structure, style and narrative, this film is rather unique and free-flowing. A series of drawings morph and change with no apparent rhyme or reason. In many ways, it's more like a work of art than a traditional cartoon and it's all done in black and white.

It must have taken a very, very long time to make and for 1908, it's an incredible little film. Sure, films made just a few years later would make this seem obsolete, but given the context, it's a grand little film.