Trapped

Just after being drawn the clown spots a rat in Fleischer's studio. He wants to deal with it but Fleischer tells him not to. Fleischer wants to deal with it. He sets up a trap then, to keep the clown occupied, Fleischer draws a spider who captures the clown after a prolonged struggle. The spider takes the clown into his home serving his as dinner to a large group of spiders. The clown escapes just as they are about to eat him. He jumps off the drawing board into the real world and finds a ball of string. Using it he tries to trap the rat in an amazing stop motion and animation sequence. By accident the clown catches his suit in the rat trap allowing Fleischer to put him back into the inkwell.

The Clown, Rat.

Live-Action Characters: Max Fleischer

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."