TheLittleSongbird
Dave Fleischer was responsible for many gems. Ones that were amusing and charming, though over-cuteness did come through in some efforts and the stories were always pretty thin, with appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques. Ko-Ko similarly was an always amiable character to watch and among the better recurring characters in Fleischer's early work. Likewise, his series of Out of the Inkwell cartoons were among the best early efforts of Fleischer and silent cartoons in general. 'Ko-Ko in Thanksgiving' is not one of Fleischer's best, it's not even among Ko-Ko's best. It however is still entertaining and a great representation as to why early Fleischer is well worth watching and why Ko-Ko is one of the better recurring characters of theirs deserving of more recognition. Like all Ko-Ko cartoons, there is not much special or anything much for that matter to the story, which is generally best to be forgotten. Other cartoons before and since are livelier in pace too, momentum is not always consistent it felt here. Would have liked a little more animation too.Everything else is done really well though. The delight of the character interplay and how well the animation and live action is handled so seamlessly for so early on, the wild fun and the ever entertaining and brilliantly used inclusion of Max are just a few of the great things here.One expects the animation to be primitive and very low quality, judging by that it's the early 20s when animation techniques were not as many, as refined, as ambitious and in their infancy. While Fleischer became more refined and inventive later certainly, the animation is surprisingly good with some nice visual wackiness and wit.'Ko-Ko in Thanksgiving' is generally lively in pace, if not always, and the bizarre and wild nature of the humour is done very imaginatively and never less than fun to watch. Koko as ever is very likeable and amusing and the music is beautifully synchronised with the action. The rest of the characters are quite fun and Max is always great value.Overall, pretty good cartoon but not one of the best Ko-Ko cartoons. 7/10 Bethany Cox
