This is "Alice's Tin Pony", a 7-minute black-and-white silent short film that is over 90 years old already and from my title you already see that I believe this is much more about Julius than about Alice. You could also call it "The not so Great Train Robbery" as this one here has a touch of western attached to it. The most memorable (because most bizarre) moment was probably the coal shovel scene with Julius in here and with the shovel's face of course. It's another short film Disney made in his 20s that helped him in becoming good enough for all the great stuff he did later on. This one here is just the way there, it is not a strong achievement by any means. Marge Gay plays Alice once again, but I cannot say if I liked her because it is so difficult to recognize her in this mix of live action and animation. And apart from that, she really has only very little screen-time. I don't recommend the watch.
5 Reviews
This brief film is not really a Western . . .
pixrox113 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
. . . despite what its title--ALICE'S TIN PONY--might suggest. If a more imaginative film studio such as Warner Bros. Were releasing a cartoon with such a promising heading, it would probably involve Sylvester Cat building a mechanical mouse catcher, or Wile E. Coyote ordering a robot from the Acme Company capable of snaring a Road Runner. However, at the Dizzy film studio it simply involves a railroad engine emerging from the ground like some sort of rat vermin. How disappointing.
A cute Alice short.
planktonrules6 June 2021
In the 1920s, Walt Disney was hired by Winkler Studios to continue making Alice comedies. Walt and his staff had made an Alice cartoon before....but the studio was failing and Winkler's offer meant money...something Walt had little of at this point. And, since Winkler had just lost its big money-maker, Felix the Cat, I am sure that's why Alice was paired with Julius...a character who sure looked a lot like Felix.
"Alice's Tin Pony" does what the previous Alice films did...combined a real life child (in this instance, Margie Gay) with cartoon footage. Most of these films are cute and sweet and hold up reasonably well today.
The story begins with Alice running her own railroad, with help from Julius as well as an anthropomorphic train. Their job is to transport the payroll....but some scummy rats (literally) decide to try to rob the train. Can Alice and the gang manage to elude them?
While I'd never consider this one of the best Alice films, it's clever and fun. A nice little cartoon and ample proof that Disney himself could animate quite well....though later, he just stuck to directing and producing the films as well as providing a voice for Mickey instead of actually animating any of his films.
"Alice's Tin Pony" does what the previous Alice films did...combined a real life child (in this instance, Margie Gay) with cartoon footage. Most of these films are cute and sweet and hold up reasonably well today.
The story begins with Alice running her own railroad, with help from Julius as well as an anthropomorphic train. Their job is to transport the payroll....but some scummy rats (literally) decide to try to rob the train. Can Alice and the gang manage to elude them?
While I'd never consider this one of the best Alice films, it's clever and fun. A nice little cartoon and ample proof that Disney himself could animate quite well....though later, he just stuck to directing and producing the films as well as providing a voice for Mickey instead of actually animating any of his films.
Training for Alice
tedg16 April 2008
Before Micky, even before we worked out what realities we wanted in animation, Disney made this. With his own hand.
The Alice supposed to be Alice from Wonderland. She is a live character superimposed on the cartoon, interacting with drawn objects.
The "tin pony" is a locomotive, and there are lots of sight gags having to do with plastic physics. Walt was responsible for several serious problems in the film world. But this really shows a lot of cleverness and promise.
I don't know my cartoon history, so I do not know how Felix the Cat features so prominently in this.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.
The Alice supposed to be Alice from Wonderland. She is a live character superimposed on the cartoon, interacting with drawn objects.
The "tin pony" is a locomotive, and there are lots of sight gags having to do with plastic physics. Walt was responsible for several serious problems in the film world. But this really shows a lot of cleverness and promise.
I don't know my cartoon history, so I do not know how Felix the Cat features so prominently in this.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.
Alice's Tin Pony
Michael_Elliott18 July 2015
Alice's Tin Pony (1925)
*** (out of 4)
Fast and fun short from Walt Disney has Alice and her cat Julius running their own railroad station and they get a visit from Pete the bear who is a bandit and comes after the train. ALICE'S TIN PONY is another good entry in the series as we're given some really funny moments here and in fact, up to this point in the series, the best moment. This highlight happens when Pete has a drunk bear come up to him and trying to start trouble. I'm not going to spoil what happens but the animation is perfect and the joke is just downright hilarious. Other highlights includes Julius accidentally setting himself on fire and there's no question that the ending is great.
*** (out of 4)
Fast and fun short from Walt Disney has Alice and her cat Julius running their own railroad station and they get a visit from Pete the bear who is a bandit and comes after the train. ALICE'S TIN PONY is another good entry in the series as we're given some really funny moments here and in fact, up to this point in the series, the best moment. This highlight happens when Pete has a drunk bear come up to him and trying to start trouble. I'm not going to spoil what happens but the animation is perfect and the joke is just downright hilarious. Other highlights includes Julius accidentally setting himself on fire and there's no question that the ending is great.
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