Gertie the Dinosaur

Probably the first cartoon featuring a dinosaur - a hand-drawn depiction of Gertie, a brontosaur brought to life by animation .

A harmless and adorable dinosaur, perfect to introduce kids to the world of dinosaurs.

Grade A

The cartoonist, Winsor McCay, brings the Dinosaurus back to life in the figure of his latest creation, Gertie the Dinosaur.

McCay first used the film before live audiences as an interactive part of his vaudeville act; the frisky, childlike Gertie did tricks at the command of her master. McCay's employer William Randolph Hearst later curtailed McCay's vaudeville activities, so McCay added a live-action introductory sequence to the film for its theatrical release.

Animation historian Donald Crafton called Gertie "the enduring masterpiece of pre-Disney animation". And that about sums it up. The film is relatively simple, and if used live is a pretty basic gimmick. But i bet it worked to impress audiences. If they had never seen a cartoon before 9and they probably had not), this would be quite the treat.

Often erroneously touted as the first animation film ever made (J. Stuart Blackton's 'An Enchanted Drawing' of 1900 takes that title, at least in America), Gertie the Dinosaur remains, to this day, a charming example of early animation. The live-action segments bookending the animation scenes involve a group of real-life animators portraying themselves, as one of them, Winsor McCay, bets George McManus that he can make a "Dinosaurus" live again by a series of hand-drawn cartoons.

Six months – and ten thousand hand-drawn cartoons – later, McCay is ready to show off his hand-made creation. During dinner, McCay introduces his young, playful female Apatosaurus (?) named Gertie. She emerges somewhat tentatively from her cave, before proceeding to swallow a rock and then an entire tree. As McCay gives her instructions from off-screen, Gertie attempts to follow them, though her endless enthusiasm for mischief often leads her master to scold her. Gertie's playful persona is further explored when Jumbo, a passing Woolly Mammoth, threatens to steal her limelight. Though warned not to hurt the little creature, Gertie doesn't hesitate in picking up poor Jumbo by the tail and hurling him into the lake.

McCay's vision of a dinosaur – allegedly the first time that one had appeared on film – is a little scientifically shaky (I don't expect any dinosaurs to have been able to dance on their hind legs for any prolonged period of time), but I'm more than willing to forgive this in such an early film. What is a Woolly Mammoth doing back then, you may even find yourself asking? The trick is to completely shut out what we all know more than ninety years later, and to just appreciate what a stunning achievement this piece of animation actually was.

Just as the film explicitly states, the animation of Gertie required about ten thousand hand-drawn images (by both McCay and his assistant, John A. Fitzsimmons, who traced the backgrounds), which they inked on rice paper and mounted on cardboard. In the film, it took McCay six months. But, we might ask, shouldn't he have wagered something a little more valuable than just a single dinner? George got off easy, I say!

Another unique offering which will create mirth wherever it is exhibited. In this film George McManus bets Windsor McCay on a trip which they take through the Museum of Natural History, that he cannot, as per McCay's boast, draw a picture of the mammoth Dinosarus and make it live again. McCay wins the bet, and the result of his work as presented by the Box Office Attraction Co. is one of the most entertaining examples of the animated cartoon ever presented. - The Moving Picture World, January 9, 1915

This is an odd little film featuring Winsor McCay--the creator of Gertie the Dinosaur and Little Nemo. And, just as in his first Little Nemo film, much of this film features Winsor McCay with his friends (all animators and lovers of animation) and only in the second half do you get to see Gertie. Ostensively, the film is about a bet Winsor made with his friends that he can make a dinosaur come to life--and he does in the form of a short cartoon featuring the lovable character "Gertie". While Gertie is very crude and simple compared to later color cartoons, there is still a lot of charm in the character and the film is a wonderful time capsule. Of great importance to Cinephiles and lovers of early animation.