Storyline
Did you know
- SoundtracksThe Animals Went in Two by Two
(uncredited)
Sung by an off-screen chorus during the opening credits
Featured review
Imperfect yet Important Start to Sound Cartoons
Around the time when sound was brand new to film & animation, a lot of studios were beginning to experiment with the technique through post synchronization (only a handful of studios used pre-recorded tracks). Around the same time, Max Fleischer's studio had just started their own series called Talkartoons, which were mainly used to experiment with musical timing to already animated cartoons. The first one created, Noah's Lark, came out in 1929, one year after Disney's Steamboat Willie. After over 90 years of existence, the cartoon remains more of a time capsule than one of the studio's crowning achievements.
As the cartoon is essentially a modernesque comedic retelling of Noah's Ark, the short does have many of the Fleischer's trademarks. Many of the gags are quite surreal and even animalistic, hence the supporting cast of anthropomorphic animals, and the musical timing is quite on point with the comical action. Unfortunately, due to the imperfections in sound at the time, the occasional dialogue tracks are difficult to comprehend and even some of the voice acting isn't very indistinguishable from one another (when you've one character in the short, you've almost heard all of them). Also, the cartoon has one of the most basic premises ever, with the animals landing on Coney Island and just having fun on the rides, with very little conflict until the very end. As a result, despite the entertainment value, it's obvious that the Fleischers crew were more focused on embracing the novelty of sound and musical timing back then as opposed to telling a cohesive story. It's not very often when gags work as substance in any form of media, and this one is not an exception at all.
However, for Fleischer and retro animation enthusiasts, this short is still worth at least one viewing for historical pleasure. Considering how much the Fleischers loved to push the envelope through content in addition to animation technologies, there's quite a lot of innuendoes and double entendres afloat in the short alright. In addition to some rather risque character designs here and there, the humor relies a lot on witty shenanigans, so you do get some occasional grunts from Noah himself from time to time. Also, once the ending of the cartoon arrives, it ends in possibly the funniest way it ever could, so in this case, humor did save the day after all. Also, given the success of this cartoon at the time, there were many more Talkartoons yet to come, and the series would introduce characters like Betty Boop & Bimbo, so in many ways, cartoon buffs do owe at least some gratitude to this cartoon, as flawed as it may be. It also helps that you could see it as somewhat of a precursor to the studio's popular sailor character who would do wonders later on.
Is it more of a product of its time given the limitations? Sure, but it's still fascinating regardless. Despite its lack of a consistent storyline and having more of an emphasis on the gags and musical timing, Noah's Lark stands as a precursor to the wild and crazy shorts that the Fleischer studio would produce within the following years. Even if we're just getting started on something like a film with sound, we all do our best with what we know, and the crew would only improve from here on out. So if you've yet to check this out, by all means give 'er a go. The Fleischers would make better stuff later on, but it sure is a good starting point.
As the cartoon is essentially a modernesque comedic retelling of Noah's Ark, the short does have many of the Fleischer's trademarks. Many of the gags are quite surreal and even animalistic, hence the supporting cast of anthropomorphic animals, and the musical timing is quite on point with the comical action. Unfortunately, due to the imperfections in sound at the time, the occasional dialogue tracks are difficult to comprehend and even some of the voice acting isn't very indistinguishable from one another (when you've one character in the short, you've almost heard all of them). Also, the cartoon has one of the most basic premises ever, with the animals landing on Coney Island and just having fun on the rides, with very little conflict until the very end. As a result, despite the entertainment value, it's obvious that the Fleischers crew were more focused on embracing the novelty of sound and musical timing back then as opposed to telling a cohesive story. It's not very often when gags work as substance in any form of media, and this one is not an exception at all.
However, for Fleischer and retro animation enthusiasts, this short is still worth at least one viewing for historical pleasure. Considering how much the Fleischers loved to push the envelope through content in addition to animation technologies, there's quite a lot of innuendoes and double entendres afloat in the short alright. In addition to some rather risque character designs here and there, the humor relies a lot on witty shenanigans, so you do get some occasional grunts from Noah himself from time to time. Also, once the ending of the cartoon arrives, it ends in possibly the funniest way it ever could, so in this case, humor did save the day after all. Also, given the success of this cartoon at the time, there were many more Talkartoons yet to come, and the series would introduce characters like Betty Boop & Bimbo, so in many ways, cartoon buffs do owe at least some gratitude to this cartoon, as flawed as it may be. It also helps that you could see it as somewhat of a precursor to the studio's popular sailor character who would do wonders later on.
Is it more of a product of its time given the limitations? Sure, but it's still fascinating regardless. Despite its lack of a consistent storyline and having more of an emphasis on the gags and musical timing, Noah's Lark stands as a precursor to the wild and crazy shorts that the Fleischer studio would produce within the following years. Even if we're just getting started on something like a film with sound, we all do our best with what we know, and the crew would only improve from here on out. So if you've yet to check this out, by all means give 'er a go. The Fleischers would make better stuff later on, but it sure is a good starting point.
helpful•00
- elicopperman
- Feb 4, 2021
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- En avant... arche!
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime8 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.20 : 1
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