Otto Messmer (1927)

This Felix the Cat cartoon begins in the chilly North but most of the action takes place in sunny Dixie with Felix dancing to Uncle Tom’s banjo and fighting the evil Simon Legree. It was released with post-synchronized sound added by the distributor.

Uncle Tom’s Crabbin’ is a 1927 Felix the Cat cartoon and part of the Classic Felix the Cat series. The cartoon starts with Felix walking in the dead of winter, looking downbeat as Old Man Winter goes on the prowl. After some traveling, he arrives in the deep south, where the countryside and weather is much more pleasant.

The purpose of showcasing this video is not to highlight racial stereotypes, but rather to study the history of animation with an open mind, to learn to be more accepting of others, and to highlight the progress we have made as a society in art and American pop culture, though it may seem that progress happens much too slowly.

Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Otto Messmer and Pat Sullivan during the silent film era. An anthropomorphic black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, he was one of the most recognized cartoon characters in film history. Felix was the first animated character to attain a level of popularity sufficient to draw movie audiences.