Winsor McCay

Directing

Winsor McCay

Born 1869-09-26 · Michigan, USA

Zenas Winsor McCay (c. 1866–71 – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip Little Nemo (1905–14; 1924–26) and the animated film Gertie the Dinosaur (1914). For contractual reasons, he worked under the pen name Silas on the comic strip Dream of the Rarebit Fiend. McCay was an early animation pioneer; between 1911 and 1921 he self-financed and animated ten films, some of which survive only as fragments. The first three served in his vaudeville act; Gertie the Dinosaur was an interactive routine in which McCay appeared to give orders to a trained dinosaur. McCay and his assistants worked for twenty-two months on his most ambitious film, The Sinking of the Lusitania (1918), a patriotic recreation of the German torpedoing in 1915 of the RMS Lusitania. Lusitania did not enjoy as much commercial success as the earlier films, and McCay's later movies attracted little attention. His animation, vaudeville, and comic strip work was gradually curtailed as newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, his employer since 1911, expected McCay to devote his energies to editorial illustrations. In his drawing, McCay made bold, prodigious use of linear perspective, particularly in detailed architecture and cityscapes. He textured his editorial cartoons with copious fine hatching, and made color a central element in Little Nemo. His comic strip work has influenced generations of cartoonists and illustrators. The technical level of McCay's animation—its naturalism, smoothness, and scale—was unmatched until the work of Fleischer Studios in the late 1920s, followed by Walt Disney's feature films in the 1930s. He pioneered inbetweening, the use of registration marks, cycling, and other animation techniques that were to become standard. Description above from the Wikipedia article Winsor McCay licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

I Humbly Beg You poster
NR

Documentary about founding father of Georgian Animation, Lado Mujiri.

I Humbly Beg You

2010

Little Nemo poster
6.4

Cartoon figures announce, via comic strip balloons, that they will move - and move they do, in a wildly exaggerated style. Also known as "Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics".

Little Nemo

1911

Gertie the Dinosaur poster
6.6

Although not the first feature-length animated film, as is sometimes thought, it was the first cartoon to feature a character with an appealing personality. The appearance of a true character distinguished it from earlier animated "trick films", such as those of Blackton and Cohl, and makes it the predecessor to later popular cartoons such as those by Walt Disney. The film was also the first to be created using keyframe animation.

Gertie the Dinosaur

1914

The Sinking of the Lusitania poster
6.5

Winsor McCay recreates the sinking of the ocean liner Lusitania by a German U-boat in this propaganda piece designed to stir up anti-German sentiment during World War I.

The Sinking of the Lusitania

1918

Winsor McCay: The Master Edition poster
7.0

Winsor McCay was the first master of animation. This movie features every surviving film by this cinema pioneer with lovely piano score by famed composer Gabriel Thibaudeau. Highlights in this collection include: Little Nemo (1911), Gertie the Dinosaur (1914), How A Mosquito Operates (1912), The Sinking Of The Lusitania (1918), The Centaurs (1918-21), Gertie On Tour (1918-21), Flip’s Circus (1918-21), Bug Vaudeville (1921), The Pet (1921) and The Flying House (1921). DVD features a commentary by film historian John Canemaker and his charming documentary Remembering Winsor McCay.

Winsor McCay: The Master Edition

2004

Remembering Winsor McCay poster
6.5

The life and career of the great cartoonist Winsor McCay is warmly recalled by his former film assistant, John Fitzsimmons, with clips of classic McCay animated films.

Remembering Winsor McCay

1976

Behind the camera

Little Nemo poster
6.4

Cartoon figures announce, via comic strip balloons, that they will move - and move they do, in a wildly exaggerated style. Also known as "Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics".

Little Nemo

1911

Little Nemo poster
6.4

Cartoon figures announce, via comic strip balloons, that they will move - and move they do, in a wildly exaggerated style. Also known as "Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics".

Little Nemo

1911

Little Nemo poster
6.4

Cartoon figures announce, via comic strip balloons, that they will move - and move they do, in a wildly exaggerated style. Also known as "Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics".

Little Nemo

1911

Gertie the Dinosaur poster
6.6

Although not the first feature-length animated film, as is sometimes thought, it was the first cartoon to feature a character with an appealing personality. The appearance of a true character distinguished it from earlier animated "trick films", such as those of Blackton and Cohl, and makes it the predecessor to later popular cartoons such as those by Walt Disney. The film was also the first to be created using keyframe animation.

Gertie the Dinosaur

1914

Gertie the Dinosaur poster
6.6

Although not the first feature-length animated film, as is sometimes thought, it was the first cartoon to feature a character with an appealing personality. The appearance of a true character distinguished it from earlier animated "trick films", such as those of Blackton and Cohl, and makes it the predecessor to later popular cartoons such as those by Walt Disney. The film was also the first to be created using keyframe animation.

Gertie the Dinosaur

1914

Gertie the Dinosaur poster
6.6

Although not the first feature-length animated film, as is sometimes thought, it was the first cartoon to feature a character with an appealing personality. The appearance of a true character distinguished it from earlier animated "trick films", such as those of Blackton and Cohl, and makes it the predecessor to later popular cartoons such as those by Walt Disney. The film was also the first to be created using keyframe animation.

Gertie the Dinosaur

1914

The Centaurs poster
6.2

A female centaur enters a clearing in the woods and picks flowers. She is met by a male centaur and the two romance each other. They then seek parental consent for their union. Surviving footage of a now lost film.

The Centaurs

1921

The Centaurs poster
6.2

A female centaur enters a clearing in the woods and picks flowers. She is met by a male centaur and the two romance each other. They then seek parental consent for their union. Surviving footage of a now lost film.

The Centaurs

1921

The Centaurs poster
6.2

A female centaur enters a clearing in the woods and picks flowers. She is met by a male centaur and the two romance each other. They then seek parental consent for their union. Surviving footage of a now lost film.

The Centaurs

1921

Gertie on Tour poster
5.5

Windsor McCay's partially lost follow-up to his tremendouly successful Gertie the Dinosaur. Gertie has been brought into the modern world. Continually perplexed by her new surroundings, she begins to explore the new sights. But when she sleeps, she dreams of the way it used to be, in the days when the world was full of dinosaurs like herself.

Gertie on Tour

1921

Gertie on Tour poster
5.5

Windsor McCay's partially lost follow-up to his tremendouly successful Gertie the Dinosaur. Gertie has been brought into the modern world. Continually perplexed by her new surroundings, she begins to explore the new sights. But when she sleeps, she dreams of the way it used to be, in the days when the world was full of dinosaurs like herself.

Gertie on Tour

1921

Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Flying House poster
6.6

After eating a rarebit at a party, a woman has a strange dream in which her husband converts their home into a flying machine to escape having to pay the exorbitant interest on the mortgage, on a flight that takes them around the world and to the moon.

Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Flying House

1921

Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Flying House poster
6.6

After eating a rarebit at a party, a woman has a strange dream in which her husband converts their home into a flying machine to escape having to pay the exorbitant interest on the mortgage, on a flight that takes them around the world and to the moon.

Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Flying House

1921

The Sinking of the Lusitania poster
6.5

Winsor McCay recreates the sinking of the ocean liner Lusitania by a German U-boat in this propaganda piece designed to stir up anti-German sentiment during World War I.

The Sinking of the Lusitania

1918

The Sinking of the Lusitania poster
6.5

Winsor McCay recreates the sinking of the ocean liner Lusitania by a German U-boat in this propaganda piece designed to stir up anti-German sentiment during World War I.

The Sinking of the Lusitania

1918

How a Mosquito Operates poster
6.3

A hungry mosquito spots and follows a man on his way home. The mosquito slips into the room where the man is sleeping, and gets ready for a meal. His first attempts startle the man and wake him up, but the mosquito is very persistent.

How a Mosquito Operates

1912

How a Mosquito Operates poster
6.3

A hungry mosquito spots and follows a man on his way home. The mosquito slips into the room where the man is sleeping, and gets ready for a meal. His first attempts startle the man and wake him up, but the mosquito is very persistent.

How a Mosquito Operates

1912

How a Mosquito Operates poster
6.3

A hungry mosquito spots and follows a man on his way home. The mosquito slips into the room where the man is sleeping, and gets ready for a meal. His first attempts startle the man and wake him up, but the mosquito is very persistent.

How a Mosquito Operates

1912

Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Pet poster
6.5

After eating a rarebit, a man falls asleep and dreams his wife adopts a mysterious animal with an insatiable appetite. The pet eats its milk, the house cat, the house's furnishings, rat poison, and passing vehicles, including airplanes and a blimp, while growing larger and larger. This cartoon is part of a Dream trilogy animated by Winsor McCay in 1921. (CBGP)

Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Pet

1921

Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Pet poster
6.5

After eating a rarebit, a man falls asleep and dreams his wife adopts a mysterious animal with an insatiable appetite. The pet eats its milk, the house cat, the house's furnishings, rat poison, and passing vehicles, including airplanes and a blimp, while growing larger and larger. This cartoon is part of a Dream trilogy animated by Winsor McCay in 1921. (CBGP)

Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Pet

1921

Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: Bug Vaudeville poster
5.9

After eating a cheesecake given to him by a kind-hearted lady, a hobo goes to sleep and has a bizarre dream in which insects are putting on a vaudeville show for him, with a grasshopper juggling an ant, a dancing daddy long-legs, etc.

Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: Bug Vaudeville

1921

Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: Bug Vaudeville poster
5.9

After eating a cheesecake given to him by a kind-hearted lady, a hobo goes to sleep and has a bizarre dream in which insects are putting on a vaudeville show for him, with a grasshopper juggling an ant, a dancing daddy long-legs, etc.

Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: Bug Vaudeville

1921

No artwork available
5.1

Flip is balancing his hat on his face while leaning forwards and backwards. He eventually falls face forward. Flip opens the tent flap to reveal a lot of large animals behind him. A large animal creature-I have no idea what it is-comes out and starts to interact with Flip. Flip keeps hitting him. Flip puts his head in the animal's mouth. At one point, the animal swallows him as we see moving bumps on the stomach. He then spits him back out!

Flip's Circus

1921

No artwork available
5.1

Flip is balancing his hat on his face while leaning forwards and backwards. He eventually falls face forward. Flip opens the tent flap to reveal a lot of large animals behind him. A large animal creature-I have no idea what it is-comes out and starts to interact with Flip. Flip keeps hitting him. Flip puts his head in the animal's mouth. At one point, the animal swallows him as we see moving bumps on the stomach. He then spits him back out!

Flip's Circus

1921