Educational Media Reviews Online

Winsor McCay: The Master Edition is an enchanting collection of all of McCay’s surviving animation. Such well known works as Little Nemo (1911) and Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) are included along with such fascinating cinematic rarities as The Sinking of the Lusitania (1918), Centaurs (1918-21), Bug Vaudeville (1921) and The Pet (1921). Included at the end of the video is a documentary by film historian John Canemaker called Remembering Winsor McCay.

Along with Walt Disney, Winsor McCay was one of the undisputed pioneers of American animation. A former vaudeville artist, who wrote the popular early twentieth century comic strips Little Nemo in Slumberland and Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend, McCay was a master of early animation and one of its most influential artists.

A skilled draftsman and consummate artist, McCay drew most of the thousands of drawings needed for his cartoons himself. His animation varies from Little Nemo, which astonished cinema viewers in 1911, to the gentle charm of Gertie the Dinosaur, who still delights audiences today. McCay’s anguished and angry The Sinking of the Lusitania is a propagandistic cartoon masterpiece. The bizarre and frightening, How a Mosquito Operates, is totally different from the delightful and innovative Bug Vaudeville, with its surprise ending. The unfinished Centaurs creates its own delightful, intimate garden world. While the psychologically strange and bizarrely whimsical, The Pet, both terrifies and amuses at the same time. The folks at Milestone and the National Archives of Canada have remastered the best existing 35mm prints of all of McCay’s animation. The quality and clarity of these remastered films is really outstanding. Furthermore, a very beautiful and effective film score for piano has been composed by Gabriel Thibaudeau to accompany all the films. Thibaudeau’s music enhances the films and keeps them enjoyable, even when the animation is less than interesting.

While I enjoyed the documentary at the end of the video (Remembering Winsor McCay), it did repeat several of the films in edited form, including Gertie the Dinosaur and Little Nemo. This seemed too repetitious to me. I felt that this documentary would have been better at the beginning of the collection because it provided valuable background material on McCay and his professional career. I did notice some slight sound problems in the documentary.

This outstanding video should be in every animation collection. It is appropriate for both college and public libraries. For those who love animation, Winsor McCay is a unique talent. Milestone Film & Video is thrice blessed for bringing out this remarkable collection. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.