Summary
“A Fisherless Cartoon” unfurls a fascinatingly meta-narrative conceit, plunging viewers into the very genesis of its animated world. The esteemed cartoonist, Bud Fisher, known for his iconic "Mutt and Jeff" strip, is depicted mid-creation, his pen poised over a nascent panel. A sudden, external interruption—a telephone's insistent ring—pulls him away from his drafting table. In a stroke of inspired, almost surrealist genius, the two titular, as-yet-incomplete protagonists, Mutt and Jeff, literally spring to life from their two-dimensional confines. They find themselves marooned on the blank canvas of their own impending narrative, faced with the daunting task of continuing their creator's abandoned work. This self-aware act of artistic autonomy sees the nascent characters take up the mantle of authorship, guiding their own unfolding destiny, a remarkable early exploration of breaking the fourth wall and the agency of fictional beings within their own constructed reality. It's a whimsical, yet profound, commentary on the relationship between creator and creation, an animated rebellion against the tyranny of the unfulfilled stroke.
Synopsis
Mutt and Jeff's creator, Bud Fisher, gets called to the phone, leaving a half-drawn Mutt and Jeff to finish the cartoon themselves.
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