Gulliver's Travels (1939)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Gulliver's Travels |
| Original title | Gulliver's Travels |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1939 |
| length | 76 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 0 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Dave Fleischer |
| script |
Dan Gordon Cal Howard Tedd Pierce Edmond Seward Isadore Sparber Jonathan Swift (author of Gulliver's Travels ) |
| production | Max Fleischer |
| music |
Victor Young Ralph Rainger Al J. Neiburg Winston Sharples Sammy Timberg |
| camera | Charles Schettler |
Gulliver's Travels is a 1939 American cartoon based on the book Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift . It is the first and only financially successful animated cartoon from Fleischer Studios and the first long cartoon from the United States that was not produced by Walt Disney . The film is public domain under American law . The film opened in Austrian cinemas on December 10, 1948, and in German cinemas a year later on July 26.
Gulliver, a sailor, is stranded on an island where he is discovered by a dwarf people, the Lilliputians. At first, the Lilliputians are afraid of him. This changes when he helps them fight another dwarf people, the inhabitants of the neighboring island of Blefuscu. The Lilliputians accept Gulliver as their protector. Meanwhile, the Lilliputian princess and the Prince of Blefuscu are secretly in love with each other. Gulliver helps them come together and reconcile the two peoples.
action
The story takes place in the year 1699. At the beginning an English ship gets caught in a sea storm and capsizes. The only survivor is Lemuel Gulliver, who is shipwrecked and ends up on an unknown beach. Exhausted, he falls asleep and is discovered by the singing lifeguard Pepi. Pepi is a midget: a short person. At first Pepi doesn't see that the big object on the beach is a person. When he registers this, Pepi panics and rushes to his king.
The King of Lilliput is busy with other things. He was about to marry off his daughter to the Prince of Blefuscu. The heated King Bombo of Blefuscu called off the whole festival. The reason for this is that the two rulers cannot agree on which national anthem to play at the wedding - the King of Lilliput insists on his hymn loyalty , but King Bombo insists that his forever be played. This is unacceptable for the Lilliputians and so the two dwarf races declare war, much to the chagrin of Princess Gloria of Liliput and Prince Undaunted of Blefuscu, who love each other.
However, Pepi does everything possible to draw the attention of King Lilliput to Gulliver. This happens when Pepi suggests that Gulliver might be a spy . The Lilliputians gather and make their way to the beach to capture Gulliver. Gulliver, who is still asleep, does not notice the little men who are tying him up. He is loaded onto a cart and taken to Lilliput, where he later wakes up. The Lilliputian ropes are not strong enough to carry Gulliver and he can break free with ease. The Lilliputians flee into their homes because of this giant. Gulliver shows that he has no evil in mind and puts himself in the service of King Lilliput. If the Blefuscu soldiers attack, it won't be difficult for Gulliver to drive them away. For the Lilliputians it becomes clear here that Gulliver is a powerful weapon for them. So he gets everything he needs.
Meanwhile, the King of Blefuscu has instructed his three spies in Liliput to murder Gulliver so that he can defeat Liliput. The spies steal Gulliver's pistol and prepare to use it against him. Because of their clumsiness, this failed several times. Gulliver is now talking to Princess Gloria and Prince Undaunted, who are supposed to meet secretly. He decides to help them to reconcile the two dwarf races again. He suggests that both hymns should now be sung at the same time.
When the carrier pigeon of the Blefuscu spies is intercepted by Pepi, the Lilliputians discover that King Bombo has planned a secret attack. The two races prepare their entire army for a decisive battle. Gulliver tries unsuccessfully to call the two peoples to order. When Blefuscu's spies point the pistol at Gulliver and fire it, Prince Undaunted can thwart this in time. King Bombo mourns the loss of his son. Gulliver points out to the two kings how senseless the war between the two peoples is, and brings about a reconciliation. Eventually it turns out that Prince Undaunted is not dead, and he and Princess Glorie marry each other. The two dwarf races unite and build a new ship for Gulliver, with which he can go back home.
synchronization
The German synchronization from 1949 comes from the MPEA (Motion Picture Export Association) in Munich. The dialogue book was written by Herbert Kroll and Ernst Penzoldt , while Max Michel was responsible for directing the dialogue .
| role | English speakers | German speakers |
|---|---|---|
| Lemuel Gulliver | Sam Parker | Paul Klinger |
| Princess Gloria | Jessica Dragonette | Magda Grove |
| Prince Undaunted |
Jack Mercer (dialogue) Lanny Ross (vocals) |
Franz Klarwein |
| Pepi | Pinto Colvig | Erwin Bootz |
| King Lilliput | Jack Mercer | Anton Reimer |
| King Bombo | Tedd Pierce | Bum Kruger |
production
Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first long American animated film and quickly became a commercial success when it premiered in December 1937. Paramount Pictures decided to follow suit. Fleischer Studios were asked for the production ; they had already worked with Paramount for a long time and had competed with Disney for many years in the field of short cartoons. Initially, the Fleischer brothers had no intention of making a full-length cartoon. Paramount changed the mind of the brothers by building a new, modern studio for them in Miami Beach , Florida . The Fleischer brothers, who were involved in a strike in their New York studio, agreed.
Because Gulliver's Travels was one of Max Fleischer's favorite books, this story was chosen. In the spring of 1938, the Fleischer brothers began work on Gulliver's Travels while the new studio was being built in Miami. The move to Florida took place in the fall of the same year. Paramount put the Fleischer Studios under great time pressure and requested completion before Christmas 1939. To meet these demands, new staff were hired from Hollywood , including a number of illustrators from Disney Studios. The workforce at Fleischer Studios grew from 200 to more than 700 employees.
Swift's book couldn't be made into a movie just like that. The original work focuses on social satire: the Lilliputians, for example, have an extensive and ridiculous social hierarchy . However, Fleischer's film was to become a widely accessible family film, and so the hierarchy was replaced with a simple monarchy . Nevertheless, Max Fleischer wanted to proclaim a social message based on Swift. Therefore, in the end, the two peoples should see the folly of their war and make peace.
In contrast to the original book, the film is limited to the first of four parts, so Gulliver only visits the land of Liliput in the film.
The original idea was to have Popeye play the role of Gulliver . The Fleischer brothers later decided that Gulliver should become a serious figure; the cartoon Popeye was not suitable for this.
Gulliver's travels could not contain horror elements. All characters are ultimately friendly and benign; the conflicts arise from ignorance, not from malice. The Fleischer Studios responded to the criticism of Disney's Snow White . This film got some bad reviews because some scenes and characters were too scary for kids - like the death of Snow White and the Wicked Witch.
The rotoscope invented by Max Fleischer was used in the production of the film . The movements of an actor were filmed and then implemented in animation. This gave Gulliver from the film a realistic movement, as did Prince Unverzagt and Princess Gloria. The contrast with the cartoon characters such as the midgets became stronger as a result.
The film Gulliver's Travels was finally completed in late 1939. The premiere took place on November 18, 1939 in the Sheridan Theater in Miami Beach, the new home of the Fleischer brothers. After the first week, every performance of Gulliver's Travels at the Sheridan was sold out. The Colony Theater , also in Miami Beach, began selling tickets for $ 100 each, including an exclusive dinner during the performance. On December 20, 1939, the film was released across the United States. It became a moderate commercial success.
The original name of Pepi was Gabby and it got its own cartoon series.
criticism
The lexicon of international films judged Gulliver's travels : “Originally written as a political satire in 1726, Jonathan Swift's novel has become a classic of children's and youth literature over time. This served as a template for a cartoon, which was designed with a lot of bizarre wit, humor and a wealth of ideas. Despite some cheesy scenes, it's still a lovely conversation. "
Even Walt Disney commented on the film: "We can do better than that with our second-string animators." ( We can even use it with our subscribers the second set better. )
Awards
Gulliver's Travels was nominated for two Academy Awards in 1940 . The first nomination was for composer Victor Young for best film music . The second was for the songwriters Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin for the song Faithful Forever used in the film as the best song .
literature
- Michael Barrier: Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1999, ISBN 0-19-516729-5 .
- Leslie Cabarga: The Fleischer Story . DaCapo Press, New York 1988, ISBN 0-306-80313-5 .
- Leonard Maltin: Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons . New American Library, New York 1987, ISBN 0-452-25993-2 .
Web links
- Gulliver's Travels in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- Gulliver's Travels (complete film in 10 parts) on YouTube
- Gulliver's Travels (full film in English) on the Internet Archive
Individual evidence
- ^ Certificate of release for Gulliver's travels . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , April 2011 (PDF; test number: 64 623 V).
- ↑ Toonopedia: Max Fleischer Studio (English)
- ^ Gulliver's Travels in the Internet Archive
- ^ Gulliver's Travels. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous file , accessed on February 3, 2015 .
- ↑ Disney Archives: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (English)
- ↑ Cabarga, p. 149.
- ↑ Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels .
- ↑ Cabarga, p. 158.
- ^ Gulliver's Travels (1939). In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed July 20, 2017 .
- ^ Trivia for Gulliver's Travels in the Internet Movie Database.