The Centaurs (partially lost footage from unfinished Winsor McCay animated short film; 1918-1921): Difference between revisions

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("the film's remaining footage will never be seen" implies that it is the footage that still remains which will never be seen.)
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|image=The Centaurs.jpg
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|imagecaption=Still from the surviving footage of the film.
|imagecaption=Still from the surviving footage of the film.
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Lost'''</span>
|status=<span style="color:orange;">'''Partially Found'''</span>
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''Winsor McCay'' was animation's first true innovator. His shorts, including ''How a Mosquito Operates'' and ''Gertie The Dinosaur'', helped innovate animation technique. His detailed style and passion inspired future animators as Tex Avery, Otto Messmer, and Walt Disney.
Winsor McCay needs little introduction. He was one of the first major players in animation. His shorts, including ''How a Mosquito Operates'' and ''Gertie The Dinosaur'', led to innovative animation techniques which were used for decades. His detailed style and passion inspired future animators as Tex Avery, Otto Messmer, and even Walt Disney. '''''The Centaurs''''' was one of the last short films McCay worked on before being forced out of the animation industry in 1921.


In 1947, a collection of unfinished/unreleased works by McCay were found to be in the possession of long-time collaborator Irving Mendelsohn, who received them years earlier by McCay's son Robert. Unfortunately, the films had not been stored well and deteriorated by the time. When they were rediscovered, several portions of the reels had decomposed completely. Among the unreleased and partially destroyed material was 90 seconds of footage from McCay's (now well-known) production, '''''The Centaurs''''', a fragment showing animated centaurs wandering through a live-action forest.  
==Background==
After work on ''The Sinking of the Lusitania'' was completed in 1918, Winsor McCay began working on a variety of new animation projects, including a sequel to ''Gertie'' and several shorts based on his comic ''Dream of the Rarebit Fiend'' <ref>[Winsor McCay: His Life and Art by John Canemaker]</ref> One of the shorts he worked on was an original piece called ''The Centaurs''. The short features a female centaur as she meets, then engages in a romance with a male centaur.


The fragment's animation was gorgeous but seemed to have no plot. For decades, historians were baffled as to what production the footage had been created for. Finally, in the mid-2000s, a small set of production notes from an unfinished Winsor McCay film titled ''The Centaurs'' surfaced. Given the animation style and title, the fragment has been attributed to that production.
It is unknown if the short was ever finished and, for many years, what footage was completed fell into obscurity and became lost. McCay himself destroyed many copies of his own films to open up storage space for new projects. <ref>[Winsor McCay: His Life and Art by John Canemaker]</ref>


It is unclear as to why exactly the film was never completed. It was probably due to expenses or scenes including nudity. The production notes say the finished footage amounted to over three minutes, of which only the aforementioned 90 seconds survive. Unfortunately, due to deterioration and its lack of completion, it's likely that the rest of the film will never be seen.
==Findings==
In 1947, a collection of unfinished/unreleased works by McCay were found to be in the possession of long-time collaborator Irving Mendelsohn, who received them years earlier by McCay's son, Robert. Unfortunately, the films (which were recorded onto 35mm nitrate film) had not been stored well and deteriorated by the time. When they were rediscovered, several portions of the reels had decomposed completely. <ref>[Winsor McCay: His Life and Art by John Canemaker]</ref> Among the unreleased and partially destroyed material was 90 seconds of footage from ''The Centaurs''. The fragment showed animated centaurs wandering through a realistic-looking animated forest. <ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=_6N3giozPbI The surviving footage of ''The Centaurs'']</ref> The female centaur meets a male centaur, who is then led by the female centaur to her parents, hoping to obtain their consent for a romance.
 
The production materials found with the surviving film stated that about three minutes of animation was completed for ''The Centaurs'', but only the following footage could be recovered. It is currently unknown why the film was not completed, but it is possible that budgetary concerns and the publisher of his comics, Hearst, forcing him out of the animation industry played a role in the cancellation of the project. <ref>[Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson by Tom Sito]</ref>


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
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[[Category:Lost animation|Centaurs]]
==References==
[[Category:Lost films|Centaurs]]
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Partially lost media|Centaurs]]
 
[[Category:Historic|Centaurs]]
[[Category:Lost animation]]
[[Category:Lost films]]
[[Category:Partially lost media]]
[[Category:Historic]]

Revision as of 15:42, 26 April 2018

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This article has been tagged as Needing work due to its lack of references and poor writing/conflicting information.


File:The Centaurs.jpg

Still from the surviving footage of the film.

Status: Partially Found

Winsor McCay needs little introduction. He was one of the first major players in animation. His shorts, including How a Mosquito Operates and Gertie The Dinosaur, led to innovative animation techniques which were used for decades. His detailed style and passion inspired future animators as Tex Avery, Otto Messmer, and even Walt Disney. The Centaurs was one of the last short films McCay worked on before being forced out of the animation industry in 1921.

Background

After work on The Sinking of the Lusitania was completed in 1918, Winsor McCay began working on a variety of new animation projects, including a sequel to Gertie and several shorts based on his comic Dream of the Rarebit Fiend [1] One of the shorts he worked on was an original piece called The Centaurs. The short features a female centaur as she meets, then engages in a romance with a male centaur.

It is unknown if the short was ever finished and, for many years, what footage was completed fell into obscurity and became lost. McCay himself destroyed many copies of his own films to open up storage space for new projects. [2]

Findings

In 1947, a collection of unfinished/unreleased works by McCay were found to be in the possession of long-time collaborator Irving Mendelsohn, who received them years earlier by McCay's son, Robert. Unfortunately, the films (which were recorded onto 35mm nitrate film) had not been stored well and deteriorated by the time. When they were rediscovered, several portions of the reels had decomposed completely. [3] Among the unreleased and partially destroyed material was 90 seconds of footage from The Centaurs. The fragment showed animated centaurs wandering through a realistic-looking animated forest. [4] The female centaur meets a male centaur, who is then led by the female centaur to her parents, hoping to obtain their consent for a romance.

The production materials found with the surviving film stated that about three minutes of animation was completed for The Centaurs, but only the following footage could be recovered. It is currently unknown why the film was not completed, but it is possible that budgetary concerns and the publisher of his comics, Hearst, forcing him out of the animation industry played a role in the cancellation of the project. [5]

Gallery

The rediscovered 128 seconds of footage from the film.

References

  1. ↑ [Winsor McCay: His Life and Art by John Canemaker]
  2. ↑ [Winsor McCay: His Life and Art by John Canemaker]
  3. ↑ [Winsor McCay: His Life and Art by John Canemaker]
  4. ↑ The surviving footage of The Centaurs
  5. ↑ [Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson by Tom Sito]
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