Felix the Cat on Blu-ray! Cartoon Roots: Otto Messmer's Feline Follies (Blu-ray/DVD)

[DawnShadow]

Presenting our latest release in the Cartoon Roots series! Available NOW on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R5XNPGL

History's most famous cat has "kept on walking" for generations: from 1919 right down to the present day! But nobody drew him like his creator drew him—and here's your chance to meet New Jersey-born cartoon genius Otto Messmer for yourself! From Messmer's rare "Charley" Chaplin cartoons to the seminal FELINE FOLLIES (1919) and even some wild, inspired cat tales all-new to home video, we're bringing you a fully-remastered HD anthology worth its weight in catnip!

Cartoons included in this collection (all directed by Otto Messmer for the Pat Sullivan Studio):

CHESTNUTS (c. 1916)
CHARLEY AT THE BEACH (1919)
CHARLEY AT THE CIRCUS (1919)
FELINE FOLLIES (1919)
FELIX MAKES GOOD (1922)
FELIX IN LOVE (1922)
FELIX WAKES UP (1922)
FELIX MINDS THE KID (1922)
FELIX TURNS THE TIDE (1922)
FELIX LENDS A HAND (1922)
FELIX FIFTY-FIFTY (1922)
FELIX WINS OUT (1923)
FELIX TRIES FOR TREASURE (1923)
FELIX REVOLTS (1923)
FELIX STRIKES IT RICH (1923)

Extras! Booklet, archival galleries, and new music by Charlie Judkins

Featuring Films from the Stathes Collection

[Class316]

Wow sounds awesome!

This is basically this one but upgraded to blu?

[drak b]

Very cool! Just ordered my copy.

[Thad Komorowski]

Originally Posted by Class316

Wow sounds awesome!

This is basically this one but upgraded to blu?

No, thankfully, it’s all new scans and clean-ups and scores.

[Class316]

Originally Posted by Thad Komorowski

No, thankfully, it’s all new scans and clean-ups and scores.

But all the same shorts?

[russkie]

Just now ordered

[ramapith]

Originally Posted by Class316

But all the same shorts?

No. We've got six of the same shorts—but in sharper restorations than the old Bosko Video set, mostly taken from better source material. Here's a comparison of Bosko's FELIX REVOLTS, on the left, with the new Cartoons On Film version:



The other nine cartoons are—to my knowledge—entirely new to a physical home video release. A few are on YouTube in muddy transfers from rather weak source elements; others (e. g. FELIX WAKES UP) aren't currently visible in any form.

[Class316]

Originally Posted by ramapith

No. We've got six of the same shorts—but in sharper restorations than the old Bosko Video set, mostly taken from better source material. Here's a comparison of Bosko's FELIX REVOLTS, on the left, with the new Cartoons On Film version:



The other nine cartoons are—to my knowledge—entirely new to a physical home video release. A few are on YouTube in muddy transfers from rather weak source elements; others (e. g. FELIX WAKES UP) aren't currently visible in any form.

Wow quite the difference.

Cool so there are still some on the DVD that are not on the blu.

[bigshot]

Ordered! Thanks. Great stuff.

[Thad Komorowski]

Originally Posted by Class316

Wow quite the difference.

Cool so there are still some on the DVD that are not on the blu.

I think that DVD will be made utterly irrelevant by the time the Felix library is made available via Stanchfield or Stathes, thankfully. A modern upgrade for this historically important series has been desperately needed.

[cartoonsonfilm]

Originally Posted by Class316

Wow quite the difference.

Cool so there are still some on the DVD that are not on the blu.

Thad's right on the whole, and basically, this new Blu release is only the beginning and anything that has been put out in the past will most likely be rendered irrelevant at some point. At least for my part, there are more plans for silent Messmer material on Blu/DVD. There are over 100 cans of 16mm and 35mm Sullivan Studio elements in the Stathes/Cartoons On Film archive, and the long term goal of the overall operation is not to hoard the material.

[cartoonsonfilm]

I'm back again to share two cool things about this new release. First, its trailer:

Cartoon Roots: Otto Messmer's Feline Follies (Blu-ray/DVD combo) - YouTube

Second, a blog I've recently written about it for the Cartoon Research site, where I share some archival images and some of my own personal perspectives as the producer. Have a look here.

A great big thanks to everyone who has ordered so far!

[Leviathan]

Originally Posted by cartoonsonfilm

Thad's right on the whole, and basically, this new Blu release is only the beginning and anything that has been put out in the past will most likely be rendered irrelevant at some point. At least for my part, there are more plans for silent Messmer material on Blu/DVD. There are over 100 cans of 16mm and 35mm Sullivan Studio elements in the Stathes/Cartoons On Film archive, and the long term goal of the overall operation is not to hoard the material.

That's really good to hear. Waiting to get paid to order mine, but I'll snap it up the instant I do.

[Egbert Souse]

Just ordered this along with two other CoF discs! (Also ordered Cartoon Roots and the Bray Studios collection)

[cartoonsonfilm]

Even though this new release is still brand new and sinking in for everyone, I'm back with some more exciting news about silent era animation! It's time for the next Cartoon Roots crowdfunding project, which will entail some of the very rare and rather fun, ingenious Walter Lantz shorts produced at Bray Studios. We're already off to a great start, but we can only make this a reality if you pitch in...

Cartoon Roots: Dinky Doodle & Co. (Blu-ray/DVD combo) Kickstarter promo! - YouTube

See you on Kickstarter!

Thanks everyone,
Tommy

[Leviathan]

I just got my set today, and gave a couple cartoons a spin. These look amazing, Tommy. You really outdid yourself on the restoration work.

It's really nice to see Felix in his prime. The most accessible versions of Felix sandblast all his personality out, so I hope this set shows more people what he's really like.

I'm glad to hear you have more plans for future sets. I hope this sells well enough for you go go into the surreal, Talkartoon-esque later Felix shorts.

[Kakihara]

Rather see Fritz the Cat on BD.

[cartoonsonfilm]

Originally Posted by Leviathan

I just got my set today, and gave a couple cartoons a spin. These look amazing, Tommy. You really outdid yourself on the restoration work.

It's really nice to see Felix in his prime. The most accessible versions of Felix sandblast all his personality out, so I hope this set shows more people what he's really like.

I'm glad to hear you have more plans for future sets. I hope this sells well enough for you go go into the surreal, Talkartoon-esque later Felix shorts.

I really appreciate this! Thank you. Viewership, enjoyment, and research are really all entirely different ballgames when there are good prints available. Or previously unavailable titles, to begin with. Fingers crossed for more installments!

[Class316]

Is there anywhere to buy this besides amazon?

[cartoonsonfilm]

Originally Posted by Class316

Is there anywhere to buy this besides amazon?

I prefer to have most orders go through Amazon, but you may request one through the Contact page here: http://www.cartoonsonfilm.info/