Ko-Ko Lamps Aladdin is a weird little trip from 1928

You should definitely watch this today if you have six minutes and want to see how much more creative cartoons were before they got all corporate. It is a perfect snack for people who like weird vintage animation or those who wonder what people did for fun before the internet.

If you need a coherent plot or hate black and white silent films, you will probably find this annoying. It's basically just a series of strange things happening one after another.

The whole thing starts with the hand—presumably Dave Fleischer’s—drawing on the screen. I always liked how these old shorts made the artist feel like a god messing with his creation.

Ko-Ko is just sitting there until he decides to hop into a book. The way the paper ripples when he touches it is actually pretty cool for 1928.

He finds the lamp and out comes this genie that looks less like a magical wish-granter and more like a fever dream. Its arms just sort of noodle around everywhere. 🤡

There is a moment where Ko-Ko wishes for a palace and it just sort of grows out of the ground like a mushroom. It’s rubbery and weirdly satisfying to watch.

The pacing is fast, almost too fast. One second he’s in a cave, the next he’s dealing with a giant. I actually forgot what the "plot" was halfway through because I was just staring at the ink lines.

At one point, things get a bit chaotic with the transformations. It reminded me of the messy energy you see in Frivolinas, though obviously much shorter and with more ink.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Ko-Ko Lamps Aladdin (1928) through its definitive frames.

The animation on the lamp itself is funny because it doesn't really look like a lamp. It looks like a heavy tea pot that someone forgot to clean.

There is this disturbing bit where Ko-Ko gets flattened. He just peels himself off the floor like it's nothing, which I guess is the perk of being made of ink.

I noticed the background art is actually quite detailed compared to the characters. It gives it this odd depth, like a puppet show happening in front of a real painting.

It doesn't have the heavy drama of something like Pride and the Devil. It’s just pure, silly energy meant to make kids in the twenties giggle.

The ending is abrupt. The hand comes back and just wipes everything away, which feels a little bit rude if you ask me.

Like, Ko-Ko was finally having a good time with his palace and then—poof. Back into the inkwell he goes.

I’ve seen a lot of these, and this one feels like the animators were just having a contest to see who could draw the weirdest shape. It’s better than Daily Dozens if you prefer magic over exercise videos, obviously.

The music on the version I watched was all jaunty piano, which helps cover up the fact that there’s no talking. You don't really need words when a clown is being chased by a giant floating head anyway. 🧞‍♂️

Its not a masterpiece, but it’s a good reminder that movies don't always need to make sense to be entertaining. Sometimes you just want to see a clown mess around with a lamp.