Bonzo's animation debut

Some stills from the first film in the Bonzo series, titled simply Bonzo and released in 1924. The short was directed by William Ward and written and designed by George E. Studdy, the original creator of the Bonzo character.

The Bonzo cycle is almost certainly the best-remembered series of silent British animation - generally regarded as something of a dry period - but little has been written about it. Most material that I've found covering the character focuses on his original print incarnation: the animated series seems to be remembered more for its reputation than for its own merits.

The Bonzos stack up pretty well against American cartoons of the time; although less visually inventive than the contemporary Felix shorts, the Bonzo films are more sophisticated in terms of artwork - Bonzo himself has to be one of the most delicately-rendered animated characters of the period.

A DVD containing this short and others can be purchased from Tom Stathes' Cartoons on Film.