Jumping Beans
- Studio
- Inkwell Studios
- Distributor
- Winkler Pictures
Synopsis
This retaliation cartoon combines elements of Jack and the Beanstalk with a bit of Gulliver's Travels. Fleischer, using a very tall drawing board, creates some Mexican scenery then adds the clown. Showing the clown some Mexican Jumping Beans Fleischer throws one into the drawing. It frightens the clown but Fleischer throws all of them onto the board. The frightened clown corners one bean and plants it causing it to grow. With urging from Fleischer the clown climbs the still growning plant. At times the clown seems to want to stop but Fleischer urges him on. The plant extends into space and the clown climbs on. Eventually he emerges at a kind of fantasy world where he encounters a creature with a very large head and small body. It chases the clown who falls off the edge of this world plummeting through space and back to the Mexican scene. He lands very hard. Now he is angry and creates a rubber stamp using it to create almost a 100 duplicate clowns. Commanding them to “Get the guy with the mustache” the rest of the film is the battle of the little clowns and the big cartoonist. Using ropes they capture him and tie him like the Lilliputians did to Gulliver. When Fleischer is able to escape the clowns all flee to the safety of the inkwell.
Characters
The Clown.
Live-Action Characters: Max Fleischer
Credits
Directing
- Director
- Dave Fleischer
Producing
- Producer
- Max Fleischer
- Executive Producer
- Alfred Weiss
Writing
- Writer
- Max Fleischer
Animation
- Animator
- Max Fleischer, Roland Crandall
Crew
- Created By
- Dave Fleischer
Production notes
Silent cartoon.
A series combining live action and animation created by Max Fleischer, this was one of the most popular short subjects of the 1920s. The films started with the artist, Max Fleischer drawing "The Clown," who would eventually be known as Koko. The "Clown" would challenge his creator, exhibiting a will of his own, and eventually break away from his existence on paper, crossing "the fourth wall" into reality, seeking some sort of pay back for being controlled by his creator, only to be returned to the inkwell before things got too far "out of hand."
A series combining live action and animation created by Max Fleischer, this was one of the most popular short subjects of the 1920s. The films started with the artist, Max Fleischer drawing "The Clown," who would eventually be known as Koko. The "Clown" would challenge his creator, exhibiting a will of his own, and eventually break away from his existence on paper, crossing "the fourth wall" into reality, seeking some sort of pay back for being controlled by his creator, only to be returned to the inkwell before things got too far "out of hand."
Reviews
Jumping Beans
Max draws The Clown in a southwestern environment, and throws a handfull of Mexican Jumping Beans at him. The Clown plants one, which sprouts into a beanstalk that grows past the atmosphere, beyond the sun. The Clown climbs it at Max's urging. It reaches so far we see an impressive shot showing The Clown looking down at the earth, with the stalk originating in Arizona.
Once past the clouds, The Clown discovers an Oz-like castle and a giant Ogre, who chases The Clown off the cloud, falling back to "cartoon Earth."
Seeing Max laughing at him,, The Clown chisles out a rubber stamp of his own image, and opening an inkpad, stamps out an army of hundreds of clowns. They launch an attack on Max, lassooing him, and binding him to the floor, looking like an image from GULLIVER'S TRAVELS.
(A sign of things to come?) As the army of clowns run all over Max, he rangles out his pen knife and frees himself. The clown army piles into the inkwell one by one with the bottle being capped by Max.
Max really puts out a fantastic bit of acting while being lassooed and tugged by the ropes.