Eskimotive Review: Felix the Cat in a Giant Ice Ball

If you like old-school cartoons where the logic makes zero sense, you should spend a few minutes with this one today. It is perfect for people who miss the weirdness of early animation, but if you need a story that actually follows the laws of gravity, you will probably hate it.

The whole thing starts with Felix and his pal just blowing bubbles. It is strangely hypnotic to watch them just stand there.

Felix eventually gets into a bubble himself. I have no idea how he fits, but he looks very comfortable in there.

Then the wind picks up. The way the background moves while Felix just floats is that classic, shaky style that feels like it might fall apart any second.

He eventually hits a snowy mountain. Instead of popping, the bubble just turns into a solid block of ice with him inside.

It is such a strange transition. One second it is soap, the next it is a giant marble rolling down a hill. 🧊

There is a part where he tries to run inside the rolling ice ball that actually made me chuckle. It has more energy than some of the live-action stuff from that year like Mountain Dew.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Eskimotive (1928) through its definitive frames.

The "Eskimo" characters show up and they have these very round, simple designs. They look like they were drawn in about five seconds, but it works for the vibe.

I noticed a small detail where Felix's tail almost acts like a separate person sometimes. It has its own little personality when he is panicked.

The pacing is a bit jerky. It feels like the animators were just making it up as they went along, which is why I like it.

It is much more fun than sitting through something slow like Sunday Calm. Even if the ending feels like they just ran out of paper.

The physics are just... gone. But that is the point of a Felix carton, right? 🐾

One scene with a polar bear feels a bit recycled from other shorts. You can tell they had a few favorite gags they liked to use over and over.

The mountain looks like a giant pile of mashed potatoes. I kind of love how cheap and charming it looks at the same time.

Anyway, it is over before you can even get bored. It is just a tiny, weird slice of history that does not try to be anything else.