John C. Terry may best be described as Paul Terry's older brother, but he led the way into animation, starting in 1913. Within a couple of years he was directing a series of unauthorized Charlie Chaplin cartoons, Later, he went back to newspaper cartooning and died in the early 1930s of tuberculosis.
This cartoon showed the propensity of the movie industry to make everything about that greatest of stars, Charlie Chaplin. In this one, Charlie wants to marry Mabel Normand, but she insists that he bring her a white elephant first. His opponent for the hand of the fair Mabel is, of course, Roscoe Arbuckle.
The idea of the cartoon is decent and Terry's work is interesting, if limited. There are some nice backgrounds, but the work is not fully animated -- although a couple of signature Chaplin poses are nicely replicated -- and for some reason most of the cartoon is shot in long range. Perhaps Terry feared that the audience would be frightened of getting too close to a cartoon elephant.
The result is a cartoon that is, for the era, well realized. However, within five years, the Fleischer's and Pat Sullivan's studios would be turning out cartoons far in advance in every department. For most people, this will remain a historical curiosity.
This cartoon showed the propensity of the movie industry to make everything about that greatest of stars, Charlie Chaplin. In this one, Charlie wants to marry Mabel Normand, but she insists that he bring her a white elephant first. His opponent for the hand of the fair Mabel is, of course, Roscoe Arbuckle.
The idea of the cartoon is decent and Terry's work is interesting, if limited. There are some nice backgrounds, but the work is not fully animated -- although a couple of signature Chaplin poses are nicely replicated -- and for some reason most of the cartoon is shot in long range. Perhaps Terry feared that the audience would be frightened of getting too close to a cartoon elephant.
The result is a cartoon that is, for the era, well realized. However, within five years, the Fleischer's and Pat Sullivan's studios would be turning out cartoons far in advance in every department. For most people, this will remain a historical curiosity.
