Alice the Collegiate

In this 1926 experimental short, Alice takes on the unlikely mantle of a college football coach, trading the schoolroom for the gridiron. The narrative centers on her attempts to whip a ragtag group of animated athletes into shape, specifically focusing on Julius the Cat, the star quarterback whose ego often outweighs his athletic prowess. As the big game approaches, the film explores the friction between live-action authority and animated chaos. Alice must navigate the absurdities of a 2D sports world where the laws of physics are merely suggestions, and the goalposts are as fickle as the players. The story serves as a surrealist look at 1920s campus culture, filtered through the lens of early technical innovation.