Line #1 Creator/OttoMessmer

Context Creator / OttoMessmer

Go To


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2431984872_245a3aa8ba_9296.jpg]]
2
3	->''"I think everyone since owes a huge debt to Otto Messmer and Felix. We are using techniques, ideas and cliches today that [[TropeMakers began with this creation]]. Felix is truly the father of cartoony cartoons."''
4	-->--'''Creator/JohnKricfalusi''', praising Messmer and Felix.
5
6	One of the most influential artists in the HistoryOfAnimation, Otto James Messmer, born on August 16, 1892 in West Hoboken, UsefulNotes/NewJersey (now Union City), was an animator and comic artist during UsefulNotes/TheSilentAgeOfAnimation, UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation and UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation, and one of the founding fathers of the American cartoon. His most famous creation is WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat, easily the most influential, and at 99 years and going, [[LongRunner longest lasting]], animated cartoon character in history, and the first to achieve genuine popularity and success. Messmer's iconic [[RubberhoseLimbs rubberhose art style]] was also universally copied by the animation community of the time, due to how practical and inexpensive it was to animate.
7
8	Messmer was undoubtedly a big influence on many animators. Along with [[Creator/WinsorMcCay Winsor [=McCay=]]], Creator/VanBeurenStudios and Creator/MaxAndDaveFleischer, he was a big influence on future stars like Creator/WaltDisney, whose WesternAnimation/AliceComedies, WesternAnimation/OswaldTheLuckyRabbit and WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse cartoons undoubtedly drew much influence from Messmer's work.
9
10	A biography of him can be found [[http://www.ottomessmer.com/ here.]]
11	----
12	!Tropes Related to Him:
13	* DerangedAnimation: Some of his cartoons can get just plain weird.
14	* PassingTheTorch: When Messmer retired from animation and comics, he passed on the responsibility of handling Felix the Cat to his former assistant, Joe Oriolo, who would run the Felix franchise all the way to his death in the '80s.
15	* RubberhoseLimbs: Messmer is arguably the {{Trope Maker\|s}}, or at least the TropeCodifier, although that might belong to one of his friends and animators, Creator/BillNolan, who redesigned Felix into his more circular design. It should be noted that Otto's art style was largely influenced by early NewspaperComics such as the ''Katzenjammer Kids''.
16	* ShoutOut: On ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'', the LocalHangout, as well as its owner, is named after Messmer. As a bonus, the entrance looks a lot like Felix the Cat.

Context Creator / OttoMessmer