Miniature Theatre (1906)

Absolutely brilliant

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Blistering performances.

"Bob's Electric Theater" is somewhat a comedy, made in the year 1906. Two years later the directer, Segundo de Chomon, would go on to make his "Electric Hotel" using the same tricks. While this film certainly isn't a masterpiece, it is a good example of stop-motion techniques. Basically some bored children (one of them being Bob) set up a miniature theater on a table. Then we're treated to several acts (4 in all) performed by some miniature dolls. This really isn't that amusing, but the stop-motion works well and the film is fairly fun to watch. The 3rd act is, just so you know, badly defected but still watchable, while the rest of the print is pristine. The version I've seen was tinted pink (some of the other reviewers have mentioned seeing a faded color print of the film, which may not have the film damage). A watchable feature, bland at times but still something today's audiences might enjoy.

When "Miniature Theatre" began, I was bowled over by the look of the film. Like a few of the Pathe Brothers films, this one was hand colored---literally meaning that an assembly line of women painted each individual cel on the film to make it a color film. As far as the color goes, it tended to be mostly gold and grey--but it was very, very striking.The film begins with a couple kids setting up a miniature theater and then, using stop-motion, some dolls perform three acts. One consists of dolls sword fighting, the next they boxed and in the final act, another doll does some gymnastics. There really isn't much here as far as plot goes, but the stop-motion quality was exceptionally nice-especially in such an early film. Oddly entertaining, this is still worth seeing over a hundred years later.By the way, I have no idea why the film uses the word 'electric'--it seems to have nothing to do with the story.

Just watched this silent doll animated short on the UCLA Preserved Silent Animation site. Directed by Segundo de Chomon, whose El Hotel Electrico I reviewed a few years ago, this one's hand-colored tinted. The beginning sequence has three children, two boys and a girl, by themselves with the girl playing with her doll while the boys are running around in preparation for their puppet show. The first act-signaled by the number on the curtain-has two little male puppets fencing. The second act has them fist fighting. Because of decomposing, the third act is gone though we see the curtain with that number which cuts to the fourth one where a man puppet goes on the parallel bars before letting those move away as he literally flies on air. The end. While primitive, Miniature Theatre (or Bob's Electrical Theatre as it was printed on the version I saw) is fascinating to watch when one considers the history of film animation. So on that note, it's worth a look.

Spanish director Segundo de Chomon made a number of trick colour films for Pathe in the early twentieth century. This is quite an entertaining example of stop-motion photography which, while it might look quite run of the mill today was quite advanced for its time.The film is stencil tinted with colour - as many of de Chomon's films were. It opens with three (real) children deciding to hold a theatrical show using their miniature stage. The camera closes in on the stage and the viewer is treated to a number of 'acts,' most of which involve a couple of toys fighting and wrestling each other. It's pretty simple stuff by today's standards but young kids should still be entertained.