The Centaurs
Encyclopedia
The Centaurs was an animated film produced by Winsor McCay
between 1918 and 1921. There is no record that the film was completed or publicly screened. The film was destroyed by negligent storage that allowed the sole surviving nitrate film print to deteriorate into dust. All that remains are isolated fragments that total approximately 90 seconds.
The surviving footage presents a young female centaur picking flowers, a male centaur throwing a rock at (and, perhaps, killing) an eagle in flight, a pair of elderly centaurs (the male is bald with a long white beard, the female wears pince-nez
eyeglasses) welcoming the younger centaurs, and a bald boy centaur who jumps around. Since no screenplay of the film is known to exist, it is not clear how these scenes were meant to be connected.
Winsor McCay
Winsor McCay was an American cartoonist and animator.A prolific artist, McCay's pioneering early animated films far outshone the work of his contemporaries, and set a standard followed by Walt Disney and others in later decades...
between 1918 and 1921. There is no record that the film was completed or publicly screened. The film was destroyed by negligent storage that allowed the sole surviving nitrate film print to deteriorate into dust. All that remains are isolated fragments that total approximately 90 seconds.
The surviving footage presents a young female centaur picking flowers, a male centaur throwing a rock at (and, perhaps, killing) an eagle in flight, a pair of elderly centaurs (the male is bald with a long white beard, the female wears pince-nez
Pince-nez
Pince-nez are a style of spectacles, popular in the 19th century, which are supported without earpieces, by pinching the bridge of the nose. The name comes from French pincer, to pinch, and nez, nose....
eyeglasses) welcoming the younger centaurs, and a bald boy centaur who jumps around. Since no screenplay of the film is known to exist, it is not clear how these scenes were meant to be connected.