Out of the Inkwell



Out of the Inkwell was a major series of animated cartoons from The Silent Age of Animation and the earliest days of The Golden Age of Animation, produced by Max Fleischer from 1918 to 1929. The series was the result of three short experimental films that Max Fleischer independently produced in the period of 1914-1916 to demonstrate his invention, the Rotoscope, which was a device consisting of a film projector and easel used as an aid for achieving realistic movement for animated cartoons.

A quick history of this series can be found on this article, courtesy of Wikipedia.

Compare Walt Disney's own live action/animation blending cartoons, the Alice Comedies, as well as Walter Lantz's Dinky Doodle.

The Bray Studio Years (1918-1920)

 * Electric Bell (1918)
 * Experiment No. 1 (1918)
 * Experiment No. 2 (1919)
 * Experiment No. 3 (1919)
 * The Clown's Pup (1919)
 * The Tantalizing Fly (1919)
 * Slides (1919)
 * The Boxing Kangaroo (1920)
 * The Chinaman (1920)
 * The Circus (1920)
 * The Ouija Board (1920)
 * The Clown's Little Brother (1920)
 * Poker (1920)
 * Perpetual Motion (1920)
 * The Restaurant (1920)
 * Cartoonland (1921)
 * The Automobile Ride (1921)

1921-1926

 * Modeling (1921)
 * Fishing (1921)
 * Invisible Ink (1921)
 * The Fish (1922)
 * The Dresden Doll (1922)
 * The Mosquito (1922)
 * Bubbles, Flies (1922)
 * Pay Day (1922)
 * The Hypnotist (1922)
 * The Challenge (1922)
 * The Show (1922)
 * The Reunion (1922)
 * The Birthday (1922)
 * Jumping Beans (1923)
 * Surprise (1923)
 * The Puzzle (1923)
 * Trapped (1923)
 * The Battle (1923)
 * False Alarm (1923)
 * Balloons (1923)
 * The Fortune Teller (1923)
 * Shadows (1923)
 * Bed Time (1923)
 * The Laundry (1924)
 * Masquerade (1924)
 * The Cartoon Factory (1924)
 * Mother Gooseland (1924)
 * A Trip To Mars (1924)
 * A Stitch in Time (1924)
 * Clay Town (1924)
 * The Runaway (1924)
 * Vacation (1924)
 * Vaudeville (1924)
 * League of Nations (1924)
 * Sparring Partners (1924)
 * The Cure (1924)
 * Koko the Hot Shot (1925)
 * Koko the Barber (1925)
 * Big Chief Koko (1925)
 * The Storm (1925)
 * Koko Trains 'Em (1925)
 * Koko Sees Spooks (1925)
 * Koko Celebrates the Fourth (1925)
 * Koko Nuts (1925)
 * Koko on the Run (1925)
 * Koko Packs 'Em (1925)
 * Koko Eats (1925)
 * Koko's Thanksgiving (1925)
 * Koko Steps Out (1925)
 * Koko in Toyland (1925)
 * My Bonnie September (1925)
 * Koko's Paradise (1926)
 * Koko Baffles the Bulls (1926)
 * It's the Cats (1926)
 * Koko at the Circus (1926)
 * Toot Toot (1926)
 * Koko Hot After It (1926)
 * The Fadeaway (1926)
 * Koko's Queen (1926)
 * Koko Kidnapped (1926)
 * Koko the Convict (1926)
 * Koko Gets Egg-Cited (1926)

Inkwell Imps (1927-1929)

 * Koko Back Tracks (1927)
 * Koko Makes 'Em Laugh (1927)
 * Koko in 1999 (1927)
 * Koko the Kavalier (1927)
 * Koko Needles the Boss (1927)
 * Ko-Ko Plays Pool (1927)
 * Ko-Ko's Kane (1927)
 * Ko-Ko the Knight (1927)
 * Ko-Ko Hops Off (1927)
 * Ko-Ko the Kop (1927)
 * Ko-Ko Explores (1927)
 * Ko-Ko Chops Suey (1927)
 * Ko-Ko's Klock (1927)
 * Ko-Ko's Quest (1927)
 * Ko-Ko the Kid (1927)
 * Ko-Ko's Kink (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Kozy Korner (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Germ Jam (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Bawth (1928)
 * Ko-Ko Smokes (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Tattoo (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Earth Control (1928): Runner-up on The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
 * Ko-Ko's Hot Dog (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Haunted House (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Lamp Aladdin (1928)
 * Ko-Ko Squeals (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Field Daze (1928)
 * Ko-Ko Goes Over (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Catch (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's War Dogs (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Chase (1928)
 * Ko-Ko Heaves Ho (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Big Pull (1928)
 * Ko-Ko Cleans Up (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Parade (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Dog Gone (1928)
 * Ko-Ko in the Rough (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Magic (1928)
 * Ko-Ko on the Track (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Act (1928)
 * Ko-Ko's Courtship (1928)
 * No Eyes Today (1929)
 * Noise Annoys Ko-Ko (1929)
 * Ko-Ko Beats Time (1929)
 * Ko-Ko's Reward (1929)
 * Ko-Ko's Hot Ink (1929)
 * Ko-Ko's Crib (1929)
 * Ko-Ko's Saxophonies (1929)
 * Ko-Ko's Knock Down (1929)
 * Ko-Ko's Signals (1929)
 * Ko-Ko's Conquest (1929)
 * Ko-Ko's Focus (1929)
 * Ko-Ko's Harem Scarum (1929)
 * Ko-Ko's Big Sale (1929)
 * Ko-Ko's Hypnotism (1929)
 * Chemical Ko-Ko (1929)

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Tropes:

 * Art Evolution: Happened as the animation relied less and less on rotoscoping.
 * Attack of the 50 Foot Whatever: Ko-Ko in "Bed Time".
 * Max Fleischer Can Breathe In Space: In "A Trip to Mars".
 * The Cameo: Appears as a throwaway gag in the Betty Boop short "Minnie the Moocher", before he became a recurring star of the series.
 * Deranged Animation: A Fleischer staple, this trope is very prominent in these cartoons.
 * Don't Touch It You Idiot: On "Ko-Ko's Earth Control" Ko-Ko and Fitz find the Earth's control center and Fitz really wants to pull the lever that destroys the whole world.
 * Follow the Leader: Walt Disney's "Alice Comedies" are essentially an inverted version of these cartoons.
 * Keep Circulating the Tapes: The TV Koko cartoons are pretty much impossible to find.
 * Missing Episode: Several of the cartoons seem to be lost.
 * Non-Ironic Clown: Koko.
 * Public Domain Animation: All of the original cartoons have slipped into the Public Domain.
 * Roger Rabbit Effect: While not the first example (Gertie the Dinosaur did it first), Out of the Inkwell certainly is one of the finest examples.
 * Rotoscoping: The Trope Maker, Trope Namer and (possibly) Trope Codifier.
 * The Silent Age of Animation
 * The Golden Age of Animation
 * Thick Line Animation: The early cartoons were undoubtably influenced by the artwork of early Newspaper Comics.
 * Typewriter Eating: Provides the page image.