Winsor McCay: The Master Edition

this was an excellent DVD with many clips from his animation career. Winsor McCay is pretty much hidden from the public view but his impact on the current technology of animation is legendary. Winsor McCay's Gertie the Dinosaur is the first successful animation in history! Not only that but the first interactive multimedia stage performance as well. Great examples of this master's work. Disney owes much of it's success to this person who started long before the mouse showed it's ears on film. You can even see a tribute to Gertie at MGM's Lake "dino ice cream".[...]

When a film is advertised as a documentary, I expect a high-quality work on the level of Ken Burns, Morgan Spurlock or Michael Moore.The film is mostly the works of McCay played without narration, with a small number of brief lackluster interviews in between providing some trivial information. In this fashion, the 100+ year-old works can get a little tedious and repetitive when viewed in the 21st century.I’ve been a huge fan of McCay’s work since childhood, so I hope to find a documentary worthy of his great talent and contributions. This, sadly, was not it.

What a way to see McCay's genius. The films are high quality and as complete as possible. You can just watch them without John Canemaker's insights or turn on the comments to learn even more about the man and what he was doing. Winsor McCay created the art of animated movies. You can see in these films the ground work upon which the Disney Studios built their captivating movies. You can also see for yourself how modern producers pay subtle homage to McCay in their movies. It's even fun to just watch them!

The great Winsor McCay! Walt Disney learned from this master. That Gertie the dinosaur is adorable. And the beautiful, breathtaking sinking of the Lusitania is worth two times the price of the dvd. So grateful these beautiful films are restored and available. This is the giant's shoulders that Disney and today's animators stand upon.

This collection contains the surviving films, complete and incomplete, from the man who called himself the "inventor of animated cartoons." Although McCay's animated output dates from 1911 to 1921, other American animators would not produce work comparable to "Gertie the Dinosaur," "The Sinking of the Lusitania," or "The Flying House" until well into the 1930s.Because these cartoons can be found on YouTube and other streaming-video sites, only die-hard animation buffs need purchase this particular DVD. Still, the presentation here is superb, especially given the condition of the materials. Animation historian John Canemaker provides knowledgeable audio commentary, and even tosses in a brief archival interview with one of McCay's assistants.

What a joy to see these decent copies, considering. I downloaded some from YouTube in the past and they were just horrible. These are so much better. Then, the setting is great. Gives good background info.

If he's remembered at all today, Winsor McCay is probably best known for his 1914 animated film, Gertie the Dinosaur. Although more famous in his day as the creator of the Little Nemo comic strip, McCay earned a degree of immortality and rights to the title of father of animation for Gertie.WINSOR MCCAY: THE MASTER EDITION includes all known animation by McCay, nine solo efforts and one he made in collaboration with his son Robert.As historic artifacts I enjoyed these short animations quite a bit. Independent animator and animation historian John Canemaker's commentary tracks helped in provide information on McCay's life and vaudeville and newspaper work.It's a different story when considering their entertainment value. While films like Gertie, Little Nemo, and The Sinking of the Lusitania are interesting, and certainly well drawn with smooth animation, it's obvious that the art of animation has evolved tremendously since the days McCay put pen to rice paper. Still, it's hard to take points away from someone who created the techniques because he has mastered all their permutations.Highly recommended for fans of animation who are interested in the art form's roots.