The Sidewalks of New York (cartoon)
Encyclopedia
The Sidewalks of New York (1925 and 1929) are two cartoon short films made by animation
pioneers Max Fleischer
and Dave Fleischer
, both films using the 1894 song "The Sidewalks of New York
". Both films feature the "Follow the Bouncing Ball
" gimmick, and are also known under the title "East Side, West Side" -- which is the informal title of the original song.
The first film, released in 1925, was made for the Song Car-Tunes
series and was filmed in the DeForest Phonofilm
sound-on-film
process. The film was re-released by the Fleischers on 5 February 1929 through Paramount Pictures
with a new soundtrack recorded in RCA Photophone
. This second film was the first entry in the Fleischers' new series Screen Songs
.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
pioneers Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer
Max Fleischer was an American animator. He was a pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon and served as the head of Fleischer Studios...
and Dave Fleischer
Dave Fleischer
David "Dave" Fleischer was an American animator film director and film producer, best known as a co-owner of Fleischer Studios with his two older brothers Max Fleischer and Lou Fleischer...
, both films using the 1894 song "The Sidewalks of New York
The Sidewalks of New York
"The Sidewalks of New York" is a popular song about life in New York City during the 1890s. It was created by lyricist James W. Blake and vaudeville actor and composer Charles B. Lawlor in 1894. The song proved successful afterwards, and is often considered a theme for New York City...
". Both films feature the "Follow the Bouncing Ball
Bouncing ball
The bouncing ball is a device used in video recordings to visually indicate the rhythm of a song, helping audiences to sing along with live or prerecorded music...
" gimmick, and are also known under the title "East Side, West Side" -- which is the informal title of the original song.
The first film, released in 1925, was made for the Song Car-Tunes
Sound Car-Tunes
Ko-Ko Song Car-Tunes, Song Car-Tunes, or Sound Car-Tunes, is a series of short three minute animation films produced by Max Fleischer and Dave Fleischer between May 1924 and September 1927, pioneering the use of the "Follow the Bouncing Ball" device used to lead audiences in theater sing-alongs...
series and was filmed in the DeForest Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film
Sound-on-film
Sound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
process. The film was re-released by the Fleischers on 5 February 1929 through Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
with a new soundtrack recorded in RCA Photophone
RCA Photophone
RCA Photophone was the trade name given to one of four major competing technologies that emerged in the American film industry in the late 1920s for synchronizing electrically recorded audio to a motion picture image. RCA Photophone was a sound-on-film, "variable-area" film exposure system, in...
. This second film was the first entry in the Fleischers' new series Screen Songs
Screen Songs
Screen Songs is the name of a series of animated cartoons produced by the Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1938. They were revived by Famous Studios in 1945 starting with the Noveltoon Old MacDonald Had a Farm....
.