Dave Fleischer was responsible for many gems. Ones that were amusing and charming, though over-cuteness did come through in some efforts and the stories were always pretty thin, with appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques.
Ko-Ko similarly was an always amiable character to watch and among the better recurring characters in Fleischer's early work. Likewise, his series of Out of the Inkwell cartoons were among the best early efforts of Fleischer and silent cartoons in general. It is a shame that 'The Dresden Doll' is one of the rarest Koko cartoons (though not obscure, it can be seen on Youtube as of now under the title 'Mechanical Doll'), because to me it is also one of the best.
Sure, there is not much special or anything much for that matter to the story, apart from with the doll which is very sweet and heartfelt.
Everything else though is done so brilliantly that any issues had with the story don't stay for long. The delight of the character interplay and how well the animation and live action is handled so seamlessly for so early on, the wild fun and surprising pathos are only a few of the reasons as to why 'The Dresden Doll' works so well.
One expects the animation to be primitive and very low quality, judging by that it's the early 20s when animation techniques were not as many, as refined, as ambitious and in their infancy. While Fleischer became more refined and inventive later certainly, the animation is surprisingly good with some nice visual wackiness and wit.
'The Dresden Doll' is lively in pace and the bizarre and wild nature of the humour is done very imaginatively and never less than fun to watch. Koko as ever is very likeable and amusing.
Overall, great and doesn't deserve its relatively rare status. 9/10 Bethany Cox
