Bewitched Matches

This collection of vintage cartoons is not only a loopy primer on animation history; it is also an offbeat reflection of western "civilization" in the early 20th century. The racism in "Little Black Sambo," and the overt sexuality of Betty Boop are all-the-more shocking when you think that this is what grandma and grandpa were growing up watching! From the works of the world’s very first animator, Emile Cohl, to Walt Disney himself, Johnny Legend has compiled a twisted list of early animations that are guaranteed to surprise, delight and amaze.

An animated film by French auteur Émile Cohl, one of the earliest examples of hand-drawn film animation. Drawing inspiration from J. Stuart Blackton and the Incoherents of club Hydropathes, the film, with all its wild transformations, sees our protagonist materialize a movie theatre, meet an elephant and escape from jail; A morphing, stream-of-consciousness delight.

A splendid blend of live-action photography and Cohl's famous animation, Nothing... displays the realms man has conquered: Air, sea, the domains of music and machinery. The one thing man cannot conquer, Cohl posits, is gossip.

Two lovers perform a fandango dance. A jealous quarrel follows and the heart-broken swain decides to end it all. He throws himself from the window of his room, but instead of falling to his death, the anchor of a passing balloon intercepts his flight and he is taken high into the clouds. Laughing at his plight, the moon arouses the anger of the desperate lover and a battle between the two ensues.

A bizarre musical couple falls asleep after an insane performance, and dreams about musical instruments.

A cut-out animation depicting the Twelve Labours of Hercules.

A British clown invents a device which shows all people in grotesque sizes.

Four customers are having a peaceful game of cards in a quiet café. The atmosphere being heavy, the waiter falls asleep and has an unsettling dream about the ills of alcohol, among other things.

A salesman pursuing a potential client takes tenacity to new heights, and depths.

The various parts of Faust are played by puppets.

An Émile Cohl animation short.

Early short by French animation artist Émile Cohl. A woman becomes slowly visible in front of a black space. She points a wand and spells the word “Bonsoir” in colored letters formed from flowers.

In "Rêves enfantins", players in the flesh are mixed with animated objects and cut-out paper actors.

Stop-motion film from Émile Cohl has a clown walk out in front of a group of people and do various tricks including standing on his head, riding a horse and falling face first off the horse.

Grotesque animated spirits punish a disbeliever who scorns his wife’s interest in the occult.

Two nosy neighbors who drill a hole through their wall to spy on the canoodling couple next door get more than they bargained for when the man discovers their plan and casts a magic spell.