I just saw Felix Saves the Day on YouTube.com. It concerns Felix playing baseball with neighbor kids many of whom are visualized as black kids with big lips. But the main kid is white. During this cartoon, you occasionally see live-action backgrounds meant (I think) to represent New York City. The white kid catches a fly ball of Felix's by climbing the real (I think) Empire State Building. The kid throws the ball down the building and the ball hits the policeman who was chasing said kid! The kid goes to jail as a result. There's a big game going in the nearby stadium. Felix watches the game and sees his team losing. He goes to the kid in jail to try to get him out to save the game. The kid tells Felix to go in his place. Felix goes to the game and strikes out saying, "Only rain will save this game." The other teams player hits a ball so far outfield that it hits an angel in the sky who then says, "I will ruin this game." So it rains and Felix and the boy dance for joy. The End. This was one of the earliest Felixs so the cat looks more like a wolf in some angles. While the black stereotypes is a little bothersome, it's a mostly an amusing entry with some good live-action shots (both moving and still) for Felix to play in.
6 Reviews
Wow, This Is Amazing Considering When It Was Made
ccthemovieman-11 May 2007
This was my first-ever look at a cartoon that was made during the Silent Film Era. Boy, it was different. Dated? Sure, but there were some cool aspects to this film, made 85 years ago. If you think mixing live shots with animation is something that came along with "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," I have news for you - they were doing it (or trying) way back in the early 1920s.
They mixed some live footage - such as fans at baseball game or pictures of skyscrapers - in with the animation. So, we saw "Willie Brown," a little boy being chased up a skyscraper by a policeman. Yes, it wasn't exactly state-of-the-art graphics but it wasn't bad. Later, we see Felix get in a game, take a train, etc.
It was still crazy stuff you could only see in a cartoon, question marks coming out of Felix The Cat's brain and then Felix jumping on top of those question marks to get to the top of a building to visit Willie in jail, or other typically-impossible things only possible in animated movies.
The story simply involves the home baseball team, "The Nifty Nine" playing the "Tar Heels" (a black team. The cartoon is a little racist.). The game is at The Polo Grounds, where the New York Giants played for years. You see real-life shots, once again, of the fans and the stadium. Back to the animation, we see a a clever ending to this as Felix comes up with a plan on how to save the home team from getting clobbered by the opponents.
Overall, this was very entertaining. It's also a curiosity piece because it's primitive and different from stuff we saw in succeeding decades.
This cartoon was part of a collection of in the "Presenting Felix The Cat - The Otto Messmer Classics - 1919-1924" DVD, with original organ scores by Dave Wickersham. Thanks to the restoration job, the print quality is pretty darned good, too, considering the age of this animated short.
They mixed some live footage - such as fans at baseball game or pictures of skyscrapers - in with the animation. So, we saw "Willie Brown," a little boy being chased up a skyscraper by a policeman. Yes, it wasn't exactly state-of-the-art graphics but it wasn't bad. Later, we see Felix get in a game, take a train, etc.
It was still crazy stuff you could only see in a cartoon, question marks coming out of Felix The Cat's brain and then Felix jumping on top of those question marks to get to the top of a building to visit Willie in jail, or other typically-impossible things only possible in animated movies.
The story simply involves the home baseball team, "The Nifty Nine" playing the "Tar Heels" (a black team. The cartoon is a little racist.). The game is at The Polo Grounds, where the New York Giants played for years. You see real-life shots, once again, of the fans and the stadium. Back to the animation, we see a a clever ending to this as Felix comes up with a plan on how to save the home team from getting clobbered by the opponents.
Overall, this was very entertaining. It's also a curiosity piece because it's primitive and different from stuff we saw in succeeding decades.
This cartoon was part of a collection of in the "Presenting Felix The Cat - The Otto Messmer Classics - 1919-1924" DVD, with original organ scores by Dave Wickersham. Thanks to the restoration job, the print quality is pretty darned good, too, considering the age of this animated short.
Marks
tedg6 March 2008
This is seldom seen these days, one of a number of cartoons through the fifties that has disturbing racial characterizations.
But its a remarkable piece of art notwithstanding. I'm not an expert on the work of Sullivan, so I can't say how this falls in comparison. I suppose that many from this period are the same.
What you'll see is all sorts of what I call folds. The process shifts from live action shots, to cartoons, to cartoons drawn on top of real photos. You'll see the same scenes rendered in both modes.
You'll see Felix with the hand and pen that draws him, with several types of associated jokes.
You'll also see some conflation of the Felix of the printed comic with the Felix of the animated cartoon, with drawn thought balloons, sightlines, and emotional signage.
All three of these sorts of folds will be reflected and extended in the jokes. The best for me is when Felix encounters a situation. He is puzzled and question marks appear overhead. They become part of the landscape like the drawn buildings, allowing him to climb them to solve his problem. Its a sweet joke, the expression of puzzlement being the solution to the puzzle.
The main joke structure in the story has to do with height, and various riffs on the idea.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
But its a remarkable piece of art notwithstanding. I'm not an expert on the work of Sullivan, so I can't say how this falls in comparison. I suppose that many from this period are the same.
What you'll see is all sorts of what I call folds. The process shifts from live action shots, to cartoons, to cartoons drawn on top of real photos. You'll see the same scenes rendered in both modes.
You'll see Felix with the hand and pen that draws him, with several types of associated jokes.
You'll also see some conflation of the Felix of the printed comic with the Felix of the animated cartoon, with drawn thought balloons, sightlines, and emotional signage.
All three of these sorts of folds will be reflected and extended in the jokes. The best for me is when Felix encounters a situation. He is puzzled and question marks appear overhead. They become part of the landscape like the drawn buildings, allowing him to climb them to solve his problem. Its a sweet joke, the expression of puzzlement being the solution to the puzzle.
The main joke structure in the story has to do with height, and various riffs on the idea.
Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.
Felix is a sports fan too
Horst_In_Translation14 March 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Felix Saves the Day" is another 7-minute black-and-white silent cartoon by Otto Messmer and Pat Sullivan. In this one here, Felix the Cat has to help out his favorite sports team when they are about to be destroyed by another team. The problems here are certainly less existential than in "Felix in Hollywood", but there are still moments when it works well. I especially liked the mix of live action and animation, which was an interesting inclusion. The story is so-so and occasionally does not make sense sadly. And I also did not find this little movie particularly funny. Overall, I guess I am just not a Felix fan. Sorry folks. If you like more, you will certainly enjoy this little movie here. i myself have to gibe it a thumbs-down though.
Charming and clever
planktonrules18 October 2007
I first saw this cartoon on Turner Classic Movies. Later, I wanted to see it again so I found it online but noticed that the great opening credits were missing--try to find a copy that is complete, because the way Felix steps out of the cartoonist's pen onto the screen is very clever and cute.
Felix is playing baseball in the street with his friend. Felix hits the ball so hard, it flies away and the cop thinks the boy was responsible for the damage so he gives chase. The chase is VERY surreal and involves the use of photos and cartoon--very simple but very effective. Eventually, in a VERY bizarre fashion, the boy is caught and jailed--so he can't play in the big game. His team is being beaten horribly until Felix comes to the rescue.
For 1922, this cartoon abounds with smart and funny scenes--often by inserting cartoons into real film footage. However, be forewarned that the way the Black characters are drawn is very stereotypical and will no doubt offend many. But, if you accept that this was the norm for the 1920s and can look past it, this is one exciting and well-made short film.
Felix is playing baseball in the street with his friend. Felix hits the ball so hard, it flies away and the cop thinks the boy was responsible for the damage so he gives chase. The chase is VERY surreal and involves the use of photos and cartoon--very simple but very effective. Eventually, in a VERY bizarre fashion, the boy is caught and jailed--so he can't play in the big game. His team is being beaten horribly until Felix comes to the rescue.
For 1922, this cartoon abounds with smart and funny scenes--often by inserting cartoons into real film footage. However, be forewarned that the way the Black characters are drawn is very stereotypical and will no doubt offend many. But, if you accept that this was the norm for the 1920s and can look past it, this is one exciting and well-made short film.
Decent Short
Michael_Elliott26 February 2008
Felix Saves the Day (1922)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Felix the cat cartoon has him having to step into a baseball game to try and win it for a friend who has been thrown in jail. There's some live action mixed in with the animation, which doesn't look too good but on its own, the animation is pretty impressive especially one scene with tons of people getting off a train and entering the ballpark. There's some strong racial stuff where the opposing team, black people, are being played by monkeys so some might want to stay away from that.
From Kino's Reel Baseball set.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Felix the cat cartoon has him having to step into a baseball game to try and win it for a friend who has been thrown in jail. There's some live action mixed in with the animation, which doesn't look too good but on its own, the animation is pretty impressive especially one scene with tons of people getting off a train and entering the ballpark. There's some strong racial stuff where the opposing team, black people, are being played by monkeys so some might want to stay away from that.
From Kino's Reel Baseball set.
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