Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906) is a pioneering American animated film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and is often regarded as one of the earliest examples of animated motion pictures. The film is significant in animation history because it marks one of the first instances of stop-motion animation and the manipulation of drawn images to create movement. Though relatively short, the film is an important milestone in the evolution of animated cinema.
Plot and Concept
Humorous Phases of Funny Faces consists of a series of animated sketches featuring faces that change and animate through a combination of drawn faces and physical manipulation. The film begins with a live-action shot of Blackton himself drawing a face on a chalkboard, and the animation begins as the face begins to express various emotions, such as smiling, winking, and frowning, in a highly exaggerated and comical way. The faces are then manipulated and altered frame by frame, leading to a playful sequence of transformations.
Unlike modern animated films that use cel animation or digital techniques, Humorous Phases of Funny Faces relies on stop-motion animation, a technique where individual drawings or objects are slightly adjusted frame by frame to create the illusion of movement when played in sequence. The film is essentially a series of chalk drawings made on a blackboard or a similar surface, with Blackton changing features like eyes, mouths, and expressions to evoke humor and surprise.
Production and Technique
The technique used in Humorous Phases of Funny Faces is based on a simple, but innovative approach to stop-motion animation. Blackton used chalk drawings on a blackboard, photographing each frame as he altered the faces to create movement. This film is important because it demonstrated the potential of drawn animation, a precursor to the development of cel animation that would later become the standard in the animation industry.
The film’s animation process is extremely basic by modern standards, but it was groundbreaking for its time. The face changes happen at a rapid pace, with expressive emotions and reactions that were new to audiences. The exaggeration of facial expressions and the fluidity of the drawings showcased the potential for animated characters to have personalities and life, laying the groundwork for future character animation.
Historical Significance
Humorous Phases of Funny Faces is often cited as one of the first examples of animated cartoons in cinema. Although it may not be as well-known as other early animated films like Gertie the Dinosaur (1914) or Steamboat Willie (1928), it holds an important place in animation history because it was one of the first films to explore animation of drawn faces in a comedic and dynamic way.
One of the First Animated Films
While there were other experimental animated films prior to Blackton’s Humorous Phases of Funny Faces, such as Émile Cohl’s Fantasmagorie (1908), Blackton’s work stands out as one of the first to use stop-motion animation in a drawing-based format. Unlike Cohl’s abstract line-drawing animation, Blackton’s film uses more recognizably human features, which provided a clearer connection between animation and the real world for audiences of the time.
Pioneering Stop-Motion Animation
Blackton’s method of creating animated faces on a chalkboard was a key development in the evolution of stop-motion animation. While stop-motion had been used previously for clay or puppet-based animation, Humorous Phases of Funny Faces demonstrated the potential for drawn objects to be used in stop-motion to achieve fluid animation.
Legacy and Influence
Humorous Phases of Funny Faces may seem primitive by today’s standards, but it was groundbreaking in its ability to bring motion and life to static drawings. The film had a lasting influence on the early development of animation and influenced other pioneering animators in the early 20th century. It helped to lay the foundation for the use of animation as a form of storytelling and entertainment.
Impact on Animated Films
The film showed the potential of combining live-action with animation, a technique that would be further developed in later films such as Walt Disney's Steamboat Willie (1928) and Walt Disney’s use of animation in live-action films. It also foreshadowed later comedic uses of animated faces and caricatured characters that would become a staple of animation.
Inspiration for Future Animators
Blackton’s work, along with that of other early animators like Winsor McCay and Émile Cohl, inspired a generation of animators who would push the boundaries of animation. His combination of humor and animation also set the tone for the entertainment value that would define the medium in the decades that followed.
Cultural Impact
Humorous Phases of Funny Faces was an early example of how animation could be used not only for artistic purposes but also as a form of humor and entertainment. The exaggerated expressions and playful transformations in the film had a broad appeal, and the use of animation to evoke laughter helped establish animation as a form of mass entertainment.
In addition to its role in the history of animation, Humorous Phases of Funny Faces is also an example of how early films experimented with visual humor and the limits of what could be accomplished with new cinematic technologies. The film’s ability to captivate and entertain an audience with simple, drawn faces continues to resonate with viewers today, even though animation has vastly evolved.
While Humorous Phases of Funny Faces may seem simplistic and rudimentary by modern standards, its contribution to the development of animated cinema cannot be overstated. As one of the first examples of stop-motion animation using drawn images, it demonstrated the potential of animation as a medium for humor and artistic expression. J. Stuart Blackton’s innovative techniques in the film laid the groundwork for the many animated cartoons and films that followed, helping to shape the evolution of animation as an entertainment form that we recognize today.