During the 1920s, the best cartoons around were, in my opinion, the Ko-Ko the Clown cartoons from the Fleischer Brothers. They were well animated, they were fun and they were charming. However, before the film series got into gear, there were some earlier attempts that weren't quite as magical...including "The Circus". While this short does feature Ko-Ko and is pretty good for 1920, the short lacks a coherent story, charm and the high quality animation the Fleischers would be known for during the ensuing years.
The story is simple. Max says he's not finished with his cartoon and then you see it. It consists of Ko-Ko and a very poorly animated horse. Ko-Ko tries to get the horse to do tricks. Ultimately, it dies! Pretty much end of story.
This cartoon is mostly worth seeing because of its historical importance. While Ko-Ko himself is smoothly animated, the rest just looks second-rate and the story is dark and disappointing.
The story is simple. Max says he's not finished with his cartoon and then you see it. It consists of Ko-Ko and a very poorly animated horse. Ko-Ko tries to get the horse to do tricks. Ultimately, it dies! Pretty much end of story.
This cartoon is mostly worth seeing because of its historical importance. While Ko-Ko himself is smoothly animated, the rest just looks second-rate and the story is dark and disappointing.