Felix in Hollywood

File:felix-chaplin.jpg

Felix and his owner want to go to Hollywood, but they are penniless, so his owner sends him out to get a job. He stumbles upon a shoe store needing help, where he plans on bringing in customers by forcing them to step in bubble gum. His scheme is successful and he earns $500, which he hands over to his owner.

When they arrive in Hollywood, Felix dumps his owner to pursue his own career in acting at Static Studio, where he is more than happy to display his acting skills, showing both joy and sorrow for the studio boss. Soon after, he hears someone yelling for help, and to his surprise, finds Douglas Fairbanks being attacked by giant mosquitoes. Also standing nearby is William S. Hart, whom he grabs a gun from and shoots the mosquitoes. This act of bravery amuses Cecil B. DeMille, who then signs him to a contract.

Felix also runs into Charlie Chaplin, Will Hays, Snub Pollard, Ben Turpin and Gloria Swanson by peeping through the keyhole of her dressing room. This short film is the first animated cartoon to feature caricatures of Hollywood celebrities. In the film, when Felix performs an accurate impression of Charlie Chaplin's walk, where he turns his tail into a walking cane to mimic Chaplin, Felix is accused by Chaplin of "stealing my stuff". This short sequence was an inside joke inserted into the cartoon by Otto Messmer. Chaplin reportedly told Pat Sullivan: "I have only one rival - Felix".{{cite journal |last1=Callaway |first1=Anita |title=Felix the Catalyst: An Antipodean Who Animated Modernism |journal=Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature |date=2020 |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=1–14}}

The short was named number 50 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time in a 1994 survey of animators and cartoon historians by Jerry Beck,{{cite book|editor-last1=Beck|editor-first1=Jerry|editor-link1=Jerry Beck|others=foreword by Chuck Jones|title=The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected By 1,000 Animation Professionals|date=1994|publisher=Turner Publishing|location=Atlanta, Georgia|isbn=1-878685-49-X|edition=1st|url=https://archive.org/details/50greatestcartoo00beck|page=185}} making it the only Felix the Cat cartoon on the list.

Felix in Hollywood was partly responsible for the creative idea of placing Hollywood celebrity cameos into cartoons, which can be seen in later films from other animation studios including Disney and Warner Bros.{{cite web |last1=Ashe |first1=Brandie |title=Saturday Morning Cartoons: Felix in Hollywood (1923) |url=http://theretroset.com/?p=4826 |website=The Retro Set |date=April 5, 2014}}

Felix in Hollywood, along with other classic cartoons, were featured on Cartoon Network on March 14, 1998, as part of "The 50 Greatest Cartoons of All Time" marathon.{{cite news |last1=Jefferson |first1=Graham |title=Minus Mouse, Cartoon Network airs 'greatest' |work=USA Today |date=March 12, 1998 |page=3D}}

Felix in Hollywood 1923 cartoon film (2).png|Felix arriving in Hollywood

Felix in Hollywood 1923 cartoon film (3).png|Felix peeping through the keyhole at Gloria Swanson

Felix in Hollywood 1923 cartoon film (5).png|Charlie Chapin chastising Felix

Felix in Hollywood 1923 cartoon film (6).png|William Hart's cameo appearance

Felix in Hollywood 1923 cartoon film (4).png|Snub Pollard's cameo appearance

Felix in Hollywood 1923 cartoon film (1).png|Feilix with Cecil DeMille and Douglas Fairbanks

{{portal|Animation|Film}}

• Mickey's Gala Premier
• Mickey's Polo Team
• Mother Goose Goes Hollywood
• Hollywood Steps Out
• Hollywood Daffy
• The Autograph Hound
• Slick Hare
• What's Cookin' Doc?

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last1=Barrier |first1=Michael |author1-link=Michael Barrier |title=Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-503759-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NCA3AQAAIAAJ}}
• {{cite book |last1=Furniss |first1=Maureen |title=A New History of Animation |date=2016 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |location=New York |isbn=978-0-500-29209-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/a-new-history-of-animation-maureen-furniss-z-lib.org-1/mode/2up}}
• {{cite book |last1=Solomon |first1=Charles |title=Enchanted Drawings: The History of Animation |date=1989 |publisher=Knopf |isbn=978-0-394-54684-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FSdQAAAAMAAJ}}

• {{IMDb title|0017871}}
• [https://archive.org/details/FelixInHollywood1923 Felix in Hollywood] at the Internet Archive
• [https://www.bcdb.com/cartoon/23215-Felix-In-Hollywood Felix in Hollywood]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} at The Big Cartoon Database

{{commons category}}

{{Felix the Cat}}

Category:Felix the Cat films

Category:1923 animated short films

Category:1920s American animated films

Category:American silent short films

Category:Films about Hollywood, Los Angeles

Category:Animation based on real people

Category:Cultural depictions of Charlie Chaplin

Category:Films directed by Otto Messmer

Category:Hollywood, Los Angeles in fiction

Category:American animated black-and-white films