The Enchanted Drawing (1900)

Touches You

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

While one may think it is difficult to review a short that lasts only two minutes, no matter how much of a cinephile you are, the fact that you may witness the beginnings of animation in this art, is a reason enough to be "passionate" about the challenge.The short uses precise (though somewhat obvious) camera cuts to give the illusion of drawings being taken off and returned to the canvas by the artist. This could be considered as an early use of special effects that combine two-dimensional drawings with real people and objects, a clear precedent of what we would later see in films like Roger Rabbit and Space Jam. In its time I'm sure it must have surprised audiences. It is not a minor detail, therefore, that one of the people responsible for this little gem is James Stuart Blackton, a major producer and director of that time, who is also considered as "The Father of Animation", and plays the drawer. I highlight his name, since he was a pioneer that worked with revolutionary techniques, and gave birth to one of the most important and popular genres of cinema (despite this work not being completely animated, like his "Humorous Phases of Funny Faces" from 1907, considered the first film almost entirely drawn that was shown in cinemas).With a sense of humor present throughout the very brief footage, and a good use of special methods, one can't help but feel enchanted (no pun intended) to this little, but remarkable gem.

This very short short film from 1900 put a smile on my lips. It is directed by J. Stuart Blackton and also stars him. He is one of the most famous prolific directors of the early 20th century. Here he give us a man who draws a painting of another man. He also draws some wine and cigars. When the artist magically takes the wine and cigars from the picture, the painted man looks mad as he seems to want his pleasure back. So finally, he gives it back to him as well as his cylinder and he is happy again. J. Stuart Blackton also seems to have a great time drawing as he seems so enthusiastic. This is a very short work, but not a bad one at all. Much better than most silent one-minute shorts from around 1900. It's like a good joke. Short, but memorable. Recommended.

J. Stuart Blackton is an unsung pioneer in the history of animation possibly because many of his short film projects had techniques that have been improved time and time again. Having said that, The Enchanted Drawing in which he draws a face with a cigar, a glass, and a wine bottle and proceeds to take many of those objects off the drawing in split-time seamless editing has an old-fashioned charm that still resonates some 107 years later. And the various expressions of the drawn man's face whenever any of these objects are taken from him must have truly enchanted audiences of the day. With this and Humorous Phases of Funny Faces, Blackton deserves some recognition for contributing to the art of animation.

This "trick movie" (as they are known) lasts for a minute & a half & transpires much as the summary above describes: a man draws a face on a large sheet of paper, then several objects (a bottle, a glass, a cigar, a hat) which, thanks to stop motion, come to life as he reaches for them. The face itself changes when things are taken away or when they are returned. The face itself is not animated, though this film is considered an early example of the animated film.The lightning-quick sketch artist in the film is James Stuart Blackton, who toured in vaudeville with his easel & amazed audiences with his quick drawings. He worked for Edison quite a while, for obvious reasons - a century later, the film is really, really cool, & the same stop motion that worked in TV shows like "Bewitched" always seems amazing.But this one, even as early as it was made, has a charm that some shorts can't replicate. First of all, it's extremely well done; when Blackton grabs the bottle & glass, it's surprising. Second, Blackton himself is a showman, so his drawing & his interaction with it are done in an animated, entertaining way. & lastly, it's just fun: a drawing that gets mad when its bottle of wine is stolen, but becomes happy when it is fed the wine is just too cute & funny to find trite or dull.