Felix the Cat first hit the screen on November 9, 1919, in Feline Follies. The mischievous feline—created by Otto Messmer for the Pat Sullivan studio—rocketed to fame, holding a spot as the world's most popular cartoon character until the advent of Mickey Mouse. The wild, witty cartoons made during this period included such classics as Felix in Hollywood (1923), Felix Switches Witches (1927), and Comicalamities (1928). They were released by Paramount Pictures (1919-21), M. J. Winkler (1922-25), Educational Pictures (1925-28), First National (1928-29), and Copley Pictures (1929-31).
What would become America's Felix Sunday newspaper comic strip debuted in England's Daily Sketch on August 1, 1923. The series ran weekly for twelve episodes, all of them pencilled and inked by Otto Messmer.
When Felix soared to international stardom in the early 1920s, it was only natural that he become the subject of musical tribute—both sanctioned and not. Later, when sound and music came to cartoons, there were also recurring musical themes within the cartoons themselves.
Classic cartoons weren't released in a void. In the 1920s, Felix cartoons were accompanied by beautiful color posters and by black-and-white stills designed for cinema lobbies. Made available to the public in more recent years have been vintage animation drawings and sketches from the films themselves.
Felix newspaper strips and other images shown are public domain material.
Background design courtesy Mark Newgarden.
All other text (c) 2007 David A. Gerstein, last updated 4 February 2007.
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Films and comic strip stories presented in full are public domain materials. |