This film features the best of early 1920s animation with very lively movements and exaggerated emotions. The characters are really cute and expressive. The scenario is bizarre but funny, as they find a control booth that controls (and destroys!) the Earth. Even after the world starts ending, we get such surreal gems as the moon melting and Fitz the Dog fighting a sentient tree. From a technical point of view, the artwork is detailed and the effects are impressive for the time, especially the ending when live-action New York gets destroyed.
10 Reviews
Koko Control.
morrison-dylan-fan1 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
With a poll taking place on IMDbs Classic Film board for the best titles of 1928,I started looking round for cartoons to view from the year,and I stumbled across one by Dave Fleischer,which led to me getting ready to see Koko take over the earth.
The plot:
Walking round with his dog Fitz,Koko stumbles on a building which contains leavers which control various aspects of the earth.Messing around with ones controlling the weather,Koko and Fritz spot a lever which if touched will destroy the earth.Finding the lever far too tempting,Koko and Fritz pull the lever.
View on the film:
Drawn in thick marker pen, Fleischer gives the animation a bold appearance,which sadly lacks any sense of detail.Whilst the animation is drawn in a broad manner, Fleischer displays a real precision in the blending of various film style,with Koko & Fritz steps into live action giving the animation a strong depth,whilst Fleischer covers the screen in dashes of startling lightning,as the world turns on Koko.
The plot:
Walking round with his dog Fitz,Koko stumbles on a building which contains leavers which control various aspects of the earth.Messing around with ones controlling the weather,Koko and Fritz spot a lever which if touched will destroy the earth.Finding the lever far too tempting,Koko and Fritz pull the lever.
View on the film:
Drawn in thick marker pen, Fleischer gives the animation a bold appearance,which sadly lacks any sense of detail.Whilst the animation is drawn in a broad manner, Fleischer displays a real precision in the blending of various film style,with Koko & Fritz steps into live action giving the animation a strong depth,whilst Fleischer covers the screen in dashes of startling lightning,as the world turns on Koko.
Ko-Ko and Fitz arrive to the Earth Control Center and Ko-Ko's dog pull down a lever that makes world go out of control
salvadorfortuny3 June 2002
A very imaginative cartoon from the silent era,produced by the most influential cartoon pioneer of all times, Max Fleischer, and directed by his talented brother Dave.The perfect mixture of different techniques and visual tricks ( ink drawing, stop-motion animation(animation frame by frame ),abstract images painted over glass, animated paper figures, crazy camera movements, the use of archive footage and transparencies ); the intelligent use of animation and living-action and the bizarre and surreal gags and logical and sarcastic invention places it as one of my favorites in cartoon history. The action succeed in calculated crescendo and the scene of the holocaust is a happy lesson of how to get an efficient film without expensive stuff.This cartoon was produced in 1928 by Fleishers' independent studio, and connects with the European vanguards sensibility like dadaism or surrealism in its revolt against social conventions and its interest for experimentation, technique and the suggestions of dreams .
I never realized that the Apocalypse would be so funny!
planktonrules2 November 2008
Warning: Spoilers
This is an amazingly imaginative film and one that deserves to be remembered. Even though KO-KO'S EARTH CONTROL came out the same year as Mickey Mouse debuted, somehow the mouse was remembered and KO-KO went on to be a lame sidekick for Betty Boop. This is a shame because I had so much fun watching this film--even more than when I recently watched PLANE CRAZY and STEAMBOAT WILLIE (Mickey's first two films).
The film is odd and surreal, with Ko-Ko and his idiotic dog, Fitz walking around the Earth again and again (which they could circumnavigate in about 30 seconds--tops!). Eventually they discover a control room that controls not only the weather for the Earth but the solar system! Being curious, Ko-Ko monkeys around--making it go from day to night again and again. However, Fitz is an idiot and insists on trying to pull a lever that would destroy the planet. Oddly, despite Ko-Ko's best efforts, Fitz gets his wish and the Apocalypse begins! And, in an odd twist, it's all rather funny and makes one almost look forward to total destruction!! Bizarre, imaginative and totally irreverent--this short cartoon is a must for lovers of animation.
The film is odd and surreal, with Ko-Ko and his idiotic dog, Fitz walking around the Earth again and again (which they could circumnavigate in about 30 seconds--tops!). Eventually they discover a control room that controls not only the weather for the Earth but the solar system! Being curious, Ko-Ko monkeys around--making it go from day to night again and again. However, Fitz is an idiot and insists on trying to pull a lever that would destroy the planet. Oddly, despite Ko-Ko's best efforts, Fitz gets his wish and the Apocalypse begins! And, in an odd twist, it's all rather funny and makes one almost look forward to total destruction!! Bizarre, imaginative and totally irreverent--this short cartoon is a must for lovers of animation.
What a TRIP!!! Makes your head spin!
TomWills19 April 2002
Reminds me of René Clair's surrealist short The Crazy Ray (a.k.a. Paris qui dort) which predates this by a few years. It uses the live action shots that the Fliescher's were known for extremely well, probably because they go beyond the simple inkwell creation/creator gag. Worth a look!
Don't They Know, It's the End of the World?
Hitchcoc30 September 2021
I really enjoy these Inkwell productions with Ko-ko and Fritz. Here they are circumnavigating the globe when they come to a control center where the earth can be manipulated. One lever says if one pulls it, it will be the end of the world. Of course, it's going to be pulled. The result is a delightful cartoon from 1928 that works on all levels.
The world out of control with Fleischer
TheLittleSongbird5 March 2018
Dave Fleischer was responsible for many gems. Ones that were amusing and charming, though over-cuteness did come through in some efforts and the stories were always pretty thin, with appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques.
Ko-Ko similarly was an always amiable character to watch and among the better recurring characters in Fleischer's early work. Likewise, his series of Out of the Inkwell cartoons were among the best early efforts of Fleischer and silent cartoons in general. 'Ko-Ko's Earth Control' has been described here as one of the best Ko-Ko cartoons, and cannot agree more with this sentiment. It is hugely enjoyable and deliciously wild, one can definitely see the appeal of Fleischer and the Out of the Inkwell series here.
The story, as can be expected, is slight but also boasts one of the most imaginative and oddball concepts of a Ko-Ko cartoon. Really though the criticisms are next to none.
Everything else though is done so brilliantly that any issues had with the story don't stay for long. The delight of the character interplay, the surrealism of some of the visuals and the wild fun are just a few things.
One expects the animation to be primitive and very low quality, judging by that it's the early 20s when animation techniques were not as many, as refined, as ambitious and in their infancy. While Fleischer became more refined and inventive later certainly, 'Ko-Ko's Earth Control' is one of the best-looking Ko-Ko cartoons with the surreal visuals being remarkably creative and one wishes there was a little more than there was.
Pacing is lively and the bizarre and wild nature of the humour is done very imaginatively and never less than fun to watch (mostly hilarious even), making the most of a strong concept. Ko-Ko as ever is very likeable and amusing and love his interaction with the every bit as strong a character that is Fitz.
In summary, great cartoon and one of Ko-Ko's best. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Ko-Ko similarly was an always amiable character to watch and among the better recurring characters in Fleischer's early work. Likewise, his series of Out of the Inkwell cartoons were among the best early efforts of Fleischer and silent cartoons in general. 'Ko-Ko's Earth Control' has been described here as one of the best Ko-Ko cartoons, and cannot agree more with this sentiment. It is hugely enjoyable and deliciously wild, one can definitely see the appeal of Fleischer and the Out of the Inkwell series here.
The story, as can be expected, is slight but also boasts one of the most imaginative and oddball concepts of a Ko-Ko cartoon. Really though the criticisms are next to none.
Everything else though is done so brilliantly that any issues had with the story don't stay for long. The delight of the character interplay, the surrealism of some of the visuals and the wild fun are just a few things.
One expects the animation to be primitive and very low quality, judging by that it's the early 20s when animation techniques were not as many, as refined, as ambitious and in their infancy. While Fleischer became more refined and inventive later certainly, 'Ko-Ko's Earth Control' is one of the best-looking Ko-Ko cartoons with the surreal visuals being remarkably creative and one wishes there was a little more than there was.
Pacing is lively and the bizarre and wild nature of the humour is done very imaginatively and never less than fun to watch (mostly hilarious even), making the most of a strong concept. Ko-Ko as ever is very likeable and amusing and love his interaction with the every bit as strong a character that is Fitz.
In summary, great cartoon and one of Ko-Ko's best. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Ko-Kopocalypse
Horst_In_Translation31 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Ko-Ko's Earth Control" is a 6-minute cartoon by Dave Fleischer and this is from 1928, which means two more years and it will have its 90th anniversary. It is about the clown Ko-Ko and his dog who enter a building, which is a somehow the center of the world as it includes all kinds of levers and regulation when it comes to creating balance on the Planet Eart, which refers to nature, but also to buildings for example and to gravity in general. And you know what happens next. The two protagonists are not evil, but they are as clueless as they are chaotic and they cause all kinds of havoc one would imagine. The perfect assistants to true evil masterminds. But these two don't even need an evil boss to come up with complete catastrophe all around. I thought this was pretty decent for a black-and-white silent cartoon. By 1928, it was not too long anymore until sound and color came and the Golden Age of Animation started. And lets be honest, compared to what we got to witness in the following 2 decades, this one here simply is not a good film anymore. I would say only watch it if you really really (really really) love old cartoons.
A pleasing mix of live action and animation although would have loved more zaniness in it while animated
bob the moo11 February 2014
I had recently been reminded of Ko-Ko the clown when I saw him as a supporting character for Betty Boop and I had never really known that he and his dog Fitz were characters in their own right. Having enjoyed him in the cartoon Snow White I decided to give him a try here. The plot sees the two characters walking the Earth and finding a control room which turns on the rain, day to night etc – but Fitz seems more interested in a lever which warns that if pulled the world will come to an end. Despite Ko-Ko's efforts, how many seconds do you reckon it will be before the lever gets thrown?
The thing I loved about Ko-Ko in the recent Snow White was that his section was blessed with imaginative and creative imagery and I looked forward to the same here. This was not totally the case as I felt the short could have gone further with some of the animated images and done more of the surreal touches such as the moon and sun coming together etc. As it was, the move into live action made for a nice chance of tone but also made it a bit more "ordinary" as we see people fighting changes in gravity and also having some buildings collapse in a way that looks very much like the style of Monty Python (albeit several decades before they did it!).
Despite my reservations though I did enjoy the film. I much prefer Fitz to Ko-Ko as a character but both work well together and Fleischer's animation and style is a lot of fun – although I do wish it had gone further within the animated world before snapping out into the real world.
The thing I loved about Ko-Ko in the recent Snow White was that his section was blessed with imaginative and creative imagery and I looked forward to the same here. This was not totally the case as I felt the short could have gone further with some of the animated images and done more of the surreal touches such as the moon and sun coming together etc. As it was, the move into live action made for a nice chance of tone but also made it a bit more "ordinary" as we see people fighting changes in gravity and also having some buildings collapse in a way that looks very much like the style of Monty Python (albeit several decades before they did it!).
Despite my reservations though I did enjoy the film. I much prefer Fitz to Ko-Ko as a character but both work well together and Fleischer's animation and style is a lot of fun – although I do wish it had gone further within the animated world before snapping out into the real world.
One of the best Koko shorts Fleischer did
llltdesq27 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This is a Koko the Clown silent short produced by the Fleischer studio. There will be spoilers ahead:
One of the most fascinating cartoon characters ever created is Koko the Clown, though he's largely forgotten these days. If he's remembered at all by the average person, it's as a sidekick to Betty Boop. While the shorts with Betty Boop are typically good ones, the Koko shorts done prior to Betty Boop's creation rank among the best shorts the character appeared in. Koko's Earth Control is one of the best of them.
The short opens with a rapid sketch of the globe by the cartoonist, with Koko and his dog Fitz striding the globe. They come upon a building housing the controls for the planet Earth. Once inside, Koko amuses himself by making it rain and making darkness fall. Fitz comes on a large lever. The sign on the wall behind the lever cautions that it should not be touched, as if it is, it will cause the end of the world.
Naturally, Fitz is overcome by the total desire to pull the switch. Koko reads the sign and is horrified. He immediately does everything in his power to stop Fitz, which of course makes Fitz all the more determined to pull the damned thing. Eventually he does and that's when things get interesting.
The animation becomes surreal, with volcanoes and earthquakes, monsters, the sun and the moon in competition and all manner of strange things, even in the later live action sequence near the end. A fascinating ending to boot.
This short can be found online and is well worth checking out. Most highly recommended.
One of the most fascinating cartoon characters ever created is Koko the Clown, though he's largely forgotten these days. If he's remembered at all by the average person, it's as a sidekick to Betty Boop. While the shorts with Betty Boop are typically good ones, the Koko shorts done prior to Betty Boop's creation rank among the best shorts the character appeared in. Koko's Earth Control is one of the best of them.
The short opens with a rapid sketch of the globe by the cartoonist, with Koko and his dog Fitz striding the globe. They come upon a building housing the controls for the planet Earth. Once inside, Koko amuses himself by making it rain and making darkness fall. Fitz comes on a large lever. The sign on the wall behind the lever cautions that it should not be touched, as if it is, it will cause the end of the world.
Naturally, Fitz is overcome by the total desire to pull the switch. Koko reads the sign and is horrified. He immediately does everything in his power to stop Fitz, which of course makes Fitz all the more determined to pull the damned thing. Eventually he does and that's when things get interesting.
The animation becomes surreal, with volcanoes and earthquakes, monsters, the sun and the moon in competition and all manner of strange things, even in the later live action sequence near the end. A fascinating ending to boot.
This short can be found online and is well worth checking out. Most highly recommended.
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