 |
| An early King Kong screen test? |
Produced by The Edison Company
The Dinosaur and the Missing Link is a short animated film that follows the efforts of three prehistoric would-be suitors of Miss Araminta Rockface. As The Duke and Stonejaw Steve fight for her affections, the "unassuming hero" Theophilus Ivoryhead swoops in to sweep her off her feet. But when the evil Missing Link steals the evening's dinner, they all are called upon to hunt for more. Can they work together to put food on their primitive table? And what do the Missing Link and a dinosaur have to say about that?
Willis O'Brien! So excited to find this. O'Brien is best known for animating the 1933 version of King Kong, amongst my favorite films of all time. This is very short film by the master animator, but you can see a lot of Kong in O'Brien's Missing Link, particularly as he scales a tree. The stop-motion animation is amazing and unlike anything I have watched since starting my journey through the century.
And the animation has to be great. Because the story is very slight. The tale is meant to be funny, but at its best, is barely smile worthy. When Ivoryhead takes credit at the end for the Missing Link's death, you see the set up of the moment a mile away.
Still this is definitely worthwhile if only for seeing the incredible early animation work of O'Brien. And it's less than seven minutes so it should be easy to catch.
Watched on YouTube
Photo from Silent Movie Monsters
0 comments:
Post a Comment