Disney the Silent Years

~ Howdy, Gang!

Alice and Julius are riding along on a turtle until they notice someone has left a pie to cool on their third-storey window sill.
"Alice the Jailbird", released on September 25, 1925.

~ Howdy, Folks!

This was Disney's 25th cartoon in the Alice series. "Alice Rattled By Rats" was released November 15, 1925. Some great mice animation running around in this short!

~ Howdy, Folks!

"Alice in the Jungle" was the last Disney release for 1925 issued on December 15, 1925.

~ Howdy, Folks!

My goal in presenting the Alice films in chronological order in this fashion has been two-fold. If you really take the time to study the animation in these films you can chart Disney's passion for better quality coming to the fore. At the same time by 1926 the films where beginning to run out of steam as far as storylines are concerned and were suffering from the rigors of having to produce a complete cartoon every two weeks. Disney set up two separate film units on staggered schedules but the quota of footage required to complete the cartoons on schedule meant using lots of animation cycles, over-and-over, along with obvious padding of scenes. This was pretty typical of all the animation studios during this era. Still working out the finer aspects of the storytelling. The animation is slowly getting better but is uneven within the same episode. Ranging from pretty clever to pretty awful in the next moment. Disney is still finding his way.

"Alice on the Farm" was released on January 1, 1925.

Let me say that this is quite the service to those with a passing interest in older monochrome cartoons, and especially for those interested in the development of the creators of these cartoons. With this chronology, SidestreetSam, you have showcased preserved specimens of Walt Disney and his crew honing their skills. It's almost like watching the man himself think.

~ Thanks, oneuglybunny!

At your service in the name of Animation. I appreciate your kind words regarding the posts. Disney has always held a special fascination for me. Most kids growing up had baseball stars and astronauts as a hero... mine was Walt Disney. Once I realized there was something more behind the studio face of his cartoons than the persona of Walt himself I was hooked. Utterly hooked on anything to do with animation.

Years ago at Disneyland in Anaheim they had an exhibit tucked in a side alcove next to the "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" attraction. It was supposedly a diorama of Walt Disney's office at the Burbank Studios just as he left it when he passed away in 1966. I was completely mesmerized. It seemed totally authentic. Everytime I went to the park (pretty often in those days) I would stand there transfixed. One time on a slow day at the park I was standing all alone just looking when a white haired older gentleman appeared out of nowhere and asked if I would like to go in. I was speechless and just nodded my approval. It was eerie... felt like I was in a church in a way. Then it hit me, this wasn't just some mockup. This was really Walt's office. They had kept it all in place. Everything was left as it was when Walt stepped out for the last time. Spooky and life-changing at the same time.

~ Howdy, Folks!

Julius the Cat is spending his time at the winter outdoors, ice skating on a frozen lake. Coincidentally, a female cat places a basket on an edge of the lake, and leaves. Something in the basket made a noise momentarily, and Julius heard it. He then approaches and opens the basket. To his amazement, Julius picks up and finds a lost kitten inside. Without anyone else willing to adopt, the big cat decides to take in the little feline.

Julius arrives home with the orphan kitten. Alice, who has been waiting in the living room, was also amazed to see what her friend brought into the house. She then wonders what name the kitten should wear. In no time Julius finds out the kitten is a male and therefore gives the name Oscar.

After giving Oscar a bath, Julius takes his little friend to have supper with them. At the table, Oscar is eating in an aggressive way, which Julius sees as inappropriate. Julius attempts to teach the Oscar how to have meals in a more traditional fashion, but the kitten shows no interest to follow. The frustrated Julius starts pounding the table until a bowl of soup jumps straight up and spills on top of him. Oscar finds this comical and therefore hurls a roast chicken at Julius, knocking the big cat off his chair.

Then it was bedtime. Julius puts pyjamas on Oscar before laying the kitten to bed. To help Oscar sleep, the big cat sings a lullaby and rocks the bed back and forth. When the little cat is seemingly dozing, Julius tries to tiptoe out of the bedroom, only to notice Oscar suddenly wake up and cry. The big cat repeats the same method but still gets the same result. As a last resort, Julius grabs a mallet and thumps Oscar in the head but not hard enough cause a lump. With the kitten finally fast asleep, Julius was able to exit the room.

Here's "Alice's Orphan" released on January 15, 1926.

Greetings, Gang!

Although seen as cute and funny in their time, the Alice Comedies contain content which might be considered surprising and somewhat harsh today by sensitive viewers. Alice is a little girl, yet she spends much of her time avoiding danger, and even getting kidnapped by the cartoon villains, threatened with such perils as being tied to a log in a sawmill. These scenes are parodies of similar scenes in movie serials, such as The Perils of Pauline (1914) starring actress Pearl White.

This Alice cartoon, Alice's Mysterious Mystery (1926) features two cartoon characters who resemble members of the Ku Klux Klan. One of the villains drags a dog character into a room marked "Death Chamber" and pulls out a long strand of sausage. In "Alice and the Dog Catcher" she is leader of a club called the Klix Klax Klub, in where the kids wear paper bags with their faces painted on them over their heads.

Released on February 15, 1926.

~ Greetings, Students of Animation!

"Alice and the Dog Catcher" was thought to be a lost film for many years. A complete print was discovered in the Swedish Film Archives. The film is noteworthy in that Walt Disney himself stars as the Dog Catcher and the film clocks in at twice the usual cartoon length (nearly 13 minutes). Lots of great live action in this short! It stars Virginia Davis, the original Alice, and was most likely shot in early 1925 although perhaps not released until 1926. The release date is unclear for this film. Note the KKK reference with Alice and her secret society holding session.

Walt's talent for comedy acting and skill in shooting the live action bits really make this a top notch film.

~ Howdy, Folks!

Alice's Little Parade, released on February 1, 1926, shows the huge improvements being made in the animation quality of the Alice cartoons. It's as if the various film crews were beginning to gel and the drawing skills and scene execution are much better.

~ Howdy, Folks!

Dawn Evelyeen Paris (April 17, 1918 – July 4, 1993), known as Anne Shirley, was an American film actress.
Beginning her career as a child actress under the name Dawn O'Day, Shirley adopted the name of the character she played in Anne of Green Gables in 1934, and achieved a successful career in supporting roles. Among her films is Stella Dallas (1937), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Later roles were in such movies as Vigil in the Night, Anne of Windy Poplars, The Devil and Daniel Webster and Murder, My Sweet, her final film.

She retired from acting in 1944, at the age of 26. She remained in Los Angeles, where she died in 1993.

As Dawn O'Day she starred in one film in the Alice Comedies series, "Alice's Egg Plant", released on February 1, 1925.

~ Howdy, Folks!

Lois Hardwick starred as Alice in the last ten films in the series beginning with "Alice's Circus Daze" released on April 18, 1927 and ending with "Alice in the Big League", released on August 22, 1927. Of these last ten films six are currently considered to be lost films.

"Alice the Whaler" was released on July 25, 1927. The animation is quite good by this time in the series and has the trademark stamp that Hugh Harman, Carmen Maxwell, and Rudolph Ising later brought to Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes for Warner Brothers.