#3) Gertie the Dinosaur (1914)

#3) Gertie the Dinosaur (1914)

OR “Bucking Bronto”

Directed by Winsor McCay

Class of 1991

This is the revised and expanded version of my original “Gertie the Dinosaur” post, which you can read here.

The Plot: While visiting the American Museum of Natural History, cartoonist Winsor McCay bets his colleague George McManus that he can bring a dinosaur back to life using 10,000 drawings. McManus takes the bet, and a few months later McCay presents his finished film to their friends over dinner. Through the magic of animation, Gertie the dinosaur appears to peek her head out of a cave, perform a few tricks, and do a little dance. That’s about it plot-wise, but it turns out Gertie and her antics are some of the most influential film animation of all time.

Why It Matters: The NFR gives a rundown of McCay’s “greatly advanced techniques of movement in animation”. An essay by film expert and NFR author Daniel Eagan is an overview of McCay’s career.

But Does It Really?: While easily eclipsed by the more evolved cartoon mice and bunnies we’d get in the ensuing decades, none of modern animation would be possible without Gertie the Dinosaur and Winsor McCay. Even with its crude animation, Gertie’s personality comes through, making for an endearing viewing experience over a century later. A definite yes for “Gertie the Dinosaur”; the benchmark of American animation.

Shout Outs: McCay references his comics “Dream of a Rarebit Fiend” and “Little Nemo“, which had both already become short films at this point.

Wow, That’s Dated: Our knowledge of dinosaurs has evolved quite a bit in the last century-plus, but “Gertie” captured our initial fascination with these creatures following the discovery of dinosaur bones in 1905. Also, there’s something about the term “dinosaurus” that tickles me just right. 

Title Track: McCay’s leading dinosaur was originally named Jessie, but the story goes that one day he overheard someone talking to their colleague Bertie, and McCay liked the name, changing it to the feminine sounding Gertie.

Other notes

  • Winsor McCay had been experimenting with animation in the early 1910s, including an animated version of his “Little Nemo” comic strip. His 1912 short “How a Mosquito Operates” was particularly popular, with animation so realistic that critics at the time insisted he must have traced over photographs of actual mosquitos. To prove he had achieved that naturalism by himself, McCay vowed to make his next animation about a creature that couldn’t be photographed. One meeting with the American Historical Society later, and McCay settled on a dinosaur, a number of which had appeared in his earlier comics.
  • As the intertitles are happy to inform you, “Gertie the Dinosaur” is comprised of 10,000 drawings! Among the innovations of Gertie’s animation is the use of key frame animation: the drawing of a character’s main poses first to refine the timing, with the “in-between” action being drawn in later. “Gertie” also includes one of the first instance of animation loops; a cycle of drawings that could be easily repeated to save time and money. In this case, it’s Gertie’s swaying movements as she pauses for McCay to give her instructions.
  • Another interesting note about “Gertie” is that the background is animated by hand for each individual frame! Cel animation on painted backgrounds was still a few years away, so McCay and his assistants had to draw a new background with every new drawing of Gertie. This is also why McCay’s trademark is at the bottom corner of the screen; to help keep the background consistent in every frame.
  • Apparently the four-winged lizard is there to distract you from the animation of Gertie standing up. No historian that McCay consulted with could confirm how exactly a dinosaur would stand up from a lying down position, so McCay inserted that bizarre looking lizard flying across the screen. I have to admit, it worked for me.
  • Gertie is so adorable in this, she’s like a puppy; doing tricks and getting easily distracted. It’s endearing. And look her cute little dance! I wouldn’t mind seeing an animation loop of that.

Legacy

  • “Gertie the Dinosaur” premiered as part of Winsor McCay’s vaudeville performance in early 1914. The original “Gertie” was just the animation, with McCay appearing live on stage and seemingly interacting with his creation (going so far as taming her with a whip!). While this segment was very popular with audiences, McCay’s boss – William Randolph Hearst – didn’t like how much time McCay’s touring was taking away from his job as cartoonist for Heart’s New York American. Although nothing contractually barred McCay from performing, Hearst strong-armed McCay into discontinuing his vaudeville act. Following this setback, McCay filmed the live-action wraparounds of the bet with his friends and released “Gertie” as a standalone feature that could play in theaters across the country.
  • McCay worked on a sequel around 1921 – “Gertie on Tour” – which saw our heroine wandering around modern cities and being as cute as ever. He completed roughly one minute of animation before William Randolph Hearst put the kibosh on his animation to focus on his newspaper work.
  • Winsor McCay and “Gertie” were an influence on what is considered the first generation of film animators. Among those influenced was Walt Disney, who many years later invited McCay’s son Robert to re-enact his father’s “Gertie” routine on an episode of the “Disneyland” anthology series. While walking around the studio lot with Robert, Walt allegedly told him “Bob, all this should be your father’s.”
  • Another Gertie-Disney connection: Gertie has an ice cream shop named in her honor at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.
  • An interesting development since the last time we covered “Gertie”: In 2018, animation historians David L. Nathan and Donald Crafton reconstructed the vaudeville version of “Gertie”, recreating the live performance at that year’s Annecy Film Festival in France. I also found this adorable reenactment from the 2014 Annie Awards with Bill Farmer, aka the voice of Goofy.
  • But of course, Gertie’s biggest influence is on practically every animated animal with a personality we’ve seen since then, to say nothing of her influence on how dinosaurs are portrayed in film. Clever girl, Gertie. Clever girl.