After George Herriman conceived the Krazy Kat comic strip in 1913, the title character began appearing in animated shorts three years later. From 1916 to 1940, Krazy Kat was featured in 231 films. [1] The following is a list of the cartoons released theatrically, separated by studio.
| Title | Release date |
|---|---|
| Introducing Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse | February 18, 1916 |
| Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse Believe in Signs | February 21, 1916 |
| Krazy Kat & Ignatz Mouse Discuss the Letter 'G' | February 25, 1916 |
| Krazy Kat Goes A-Wooing | February 29, 1916 |
| Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse: A Duet, He Made Me Love Him | March 3, 1916 |
| Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse in Their One-Act Tragedy: "The Tail of the Nude Tail" | March 6, 1916 |
| Krazy Kat, Bugologist | March 14, 1916 |
| Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse at the Circus | March 17, 1916 [2] |
| Krazy Kat Demi-Tasse | March 21, 1916 |
| Krazy Kat Invalid | March 27, 1916 |
| Krazy Kat at the Switchboard | April 3, 1916 |
| A Tale That is Knot | April 14, 1916 |
| Krazy Kat the Hero | April 14, 1916 |
| Krazy Kat to the Rescue | April 14, 1916 |
| Krazy Kat at Looney Park | June 17, 1916 |
| A Sad Awakening | June 20, 1916 [3] |
| A Tempest in a Paint Pot | July 3, 1916 |
| A Grid-Iron Hero | October 9, 1916 |
| The Missing One | November 27, 1916 |
| Krazy Kat Takes Little Katrina For an Airing | December 23, 1916 |
| Throwing the Bull | February 4, 1917 |
| Roses and Thorns | March 11, 1917 |
| Robbers and Thieves | April 12, 1917 |
| The Cook | April 29, 1917 |
| Moving Day | May 27, 1917 |
| All Is Not Gold That Glitters | June 24, 1917 |
| A Krazy Katastrophe (final Krazy Kat theatrical short in World War I) | August 5, 1917 |
| Title | Release date |
|---|---|
| The Great Cheese Robbery * | January 16, 1920 |
| Love's Labor Lost * | January 30, 1920 |
| The Best Mouse Loses * | March 3, 1920 |
| Kats Is Kats* | June 4, 1920 |
| The Chinese Honeymoon | July 3, 1920 |
| A Family Affair | October 25, 1920 |
| The Hinges on the Bar Room Door | January 8, 1921 |
| The Awful Spook | January 21, 1921 |
| How I Became Krazy | January 26, 1921 |
| The Wireless Wire-Walkers * | February 26, 1921 |
* Directed by Vernon Stallings
In the first two cartoon series', Krazy was depicted as a genderless feline, similar to the comic strip. From here onward, Krazy is portrayed as a male cat.
| Title | Release date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Hot Dogs | October 1, 1925 | |
| The Smoke Eater | October 15, 1925 | |
| A Uke-Calamity | November 1, 1925 | |
| Bokays and Brickbatz ** | November 15, 1925 | |
| The Hair Raiser | November 15, 1925 | |
| The Flight That Failed | November 15, 1925 | |
| The New Champ | November 30, 1925 | |
| Jams and Gems | December 1, 1925 | Often mis-cited as "James and Gems". |
| Monkey Business | December 15, 1925 | |
| Pie-Eyed Pie | 1925 | May be a variant title for Monkey Business; listed in Motion Picture News but no other trade papers. |
| Battling For Barleycorn | January 1, 1926 | |
| A Punctured Romance | January 15, 1926 | Often mis-cited as "A Pickled Romance" or "A Picked Romance"; New York State and Pathé ("Eve's Film Review") records establish actual title. |
| The Ghost Fakir | February 1, 1926 | |
| Puss and Boots | February 15, 1926 | |
| Sucker Game | February 15, 1926 | |
| Back To Backing | March 1, 1926 | Sometimes cited as "Back to Batching". |
| Double Crossed | March 15, 1926 | |
| Scents and Nonsense** | April 1, 1926 | |
| Feather Pushers | April 15, 1926 | |
| Cops the Suey | May 1, 1926 | Often mis-cited as "Cops Suey". |
| In the Movies | August 15, 1926 |
| Title | Release date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| The Chicken Chaser | September 2, 1926 | |
| East Is Best | September 22, 1926 | |
| Jimmy's Whiskers | October 1, 1926 | Sometimes cited as "Jiminy Whiskers". |
| Shore Enough** | October 11, 1926 | |
| Watery Gravy** | October 15, 1926 | |
| Mouse Trapped | October 15, 1926 | Home movie title "Krazy Kat's Mouse Trap"; commonly circulating in a version (erroneously) retitled as Bokays and Brickbatz, in fact a different cartoon. |
| Farmyard Frolic | 1926 | Home movie title "A Barnyard Frolic"; UK release as a two-part serial, with second half titled "The Frolics That Finished" (this part commonly circulated). |
| Fowl Play | 1926 | |
| The Pole-Lander | 1926 | UK release as a two-part serial, with titles "Searching for Santa!" (this part commonly circulated) and "Santa Claws Our Pet". |
| Teeth for Two | 1926 | |
| Cheese It | November 8, 1926 | |
| Dots and Dashes | November 22, 1926 | |
| Gold Struck | December 6, 1926 | |
| The Wrong Queue | December 20, 1926 | |
| Horse Play | January 3, 1927 | |
| Busy Birds | January 17, 1927 | |
| Sharps and Flats | January 31, 1927 | |
| Kiss Crossed | February 14, 1927 | |
| A Fool's Errand | February 28, 1927 | |
| Stomach Trouble | March 14, 1927 | |
| The Rug Fiend | March 28, 1927 | |
| Hire a Hall | April 11, 1927 | |
| Don Go On | April 23, 1927 | |
| Burnt Up | May 9, 1927 | |
| Night Owl | May 23, 1927 | |
| On the Trail | June 6, 1927 | |
| Passing the Hat | June 20, 1927 | |
| Best Wishes | July 4, 1927 | |
| Black and White | July 10, 1927 | |
| Wild Rivals | July 18, 1927 | |
| Bee Cause | August 15, 1927 | |
| Skinny | August 29, 1927 |
| Title | Release date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Sealing Whacks | August 1, 1927 | |
| Tired Wheels | August 13, 1927 | |
| Web Feet | August 27, 1927 | |
| School Daze | September 10, 1927 | |
| Rail Rode | September 24, 1927 | |
| Aero Nuts | October 8, 1927 | |
| Topsy Turvy | October 22, 1927 | |
| Pie Curs | November 5, 1927 | |
| For Crime's Sake | November 19, 1927 | |
| Milk Made | December 3, 1927 | |
| The Stork Exchange | December 17, 1927 | |
| Grid Ironed | December 31, 1927 | |
| Pig Styles | January 14, 1928 | |
| Shadow Theory | January 28, 1928 | |
| Ice Boxed | February 11, 1928 | |
| A Hunger Stroke | February 25, 1928 | |
| Wired and Fired | March 10, 1928 | |
| Love Sunk | March 24, 1928 | |
| Tong Tied | April 7, 1928 | |
| A Bum Steer | April 21, 1928 | |
| Gold Bricks | May 5, 1928 | |
| The Long Count | May 19, 1928 | |
| The Patent Medicine Kid | June 2, 1928 | |
| Stage Coached | June 16, 1928 | |
| The Rain Dropper | June 30, 1928 | |
| A Companionate Mirage | July 14, 1928 | |
| News Reeling | August 4, 1928 | |
| Baby Feud | August 16, 1928 | |
| Sea Sword | September 5, 1928 | |
| The Show Vote | September 15, 1928 | |
| The Phantom Trail | September 29, 1928 | |
| Come Easy, Go Slow | October 15, 1928 | |
| Beaches and Scream | October 29, 1928 | |
| Nicked Nags | November 9, 1928 | |
| Liar Bird | November 23, 1928 | |
| Still Waters | December 7, 1928 | |
| Night Owls | December 22, 1928 | |
| Cow Belles | January 5, 1929 | |
| Hospitalities | January 18, 1929 | |
| Reduced Weights | February 1, 1929 | |
| Flying Yeast | February 15, 1929 | |
| Vanishing Screams | March 1, 1929 | |
| A Joint Affair | March 15, 1929 | |
| Sheep Skinned | March 19, 1929 | |
| The Lone Shark | April 13, 1929 | |
| Torrid Toreadors | April 27, 1929 | |
| Golf Socks | May 11, 1929 | |
| Petting Larceny | May 25, 1929 | |
| Hat Aches | June 8, 1929 | |
| Fur Peace | June 22, 1929 | |
| Auto Suggestion | July 6, 1929 | |
| Sleepy Holler | July 20, 1929 |
**Directed by Bill Nolan
By this period, the Krazy Kat shorts started using sound. Every film here was directed by Manny Gould and Ben Harrison. Due to waning popularity, the Krazy Kat series ended, but he would appear in two more shorts in the Fables and Phantasies series.
| Title | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ratskin | August 15, 1929 | |
| Canned Music | September 12, 1929 | Lost cartoon. |
| Port Whines | October 10, 1929 | |
| Sole Mates | November 7, 1929 | Lost cartoon. |
| Farm Relief | December 30, 1929 | |
| The Kat's Meow | January 2, 1930 | |
| Spook Easy | January 30, 1930 | Lost cartoon. |
| Slow Beau | February 27, 1930 | |
| Desert Sunk | March 27, 1930 | Lost cartoon. |
| An Old Flame | April 24, 1930 | Lost cartoon. |
| Alaskan Knights | May 23, 1930 | |
| Jazz Rhythm | June 19, 1930 | |
| Honolulu Wiles | July 17, 1930 | |
| Cinderella | August 14, 1930 | Lost cartoon. |
| The Bandmaster | September 8, 1930 | |
| The Apache Kid | October 9, 1930 | |
| Lambs Will Gamble | November 1, 1930 | |
| The Little Trail | December 3, 1930 | |
| Taken for a Ride | January 3, 1931 | |
| Rodeo Dough | February 13, 1931 | |
| Swiss Movement | April 4, 1931 | |
| Disarmament Conference | April 27, 1931 | |
| Soda Poppa | May 29, 1931 | |
| The Stork Market | July 11, 1931 | |
| Svengarlic | August 3, 1931 | |
| Weenie Roast | September 14, 1931 | |
| Bars and Stripes | October 15, 1931 | |
| Hash House Blues | November 2, 1931 | |
| The Restless Sax | December 1, 1931 | |
| Piano Mover | January 4, 1932 | |
| Love Krazy | January 30, 1932 | |
| Hollywood Goes Krazy | February 13, 1932 | |
| What a Knight | March 14, 1932 | |
| Soldier Old Man | April 2, 1932 | |
| Birth of Jazz | April 13, 1932 | |
| Ritzy Hotel | May 9, 1932 | |
| Hic-Cups the Champ | May 28, 1932 | |
| The Paper Hanger | June 21, 1932 | |
| Lighthouse Keeping | August 15, 1932 | |
| Seeing Stars | September 12, 1932 | |
| Prosperity Blues | October 8, 1932 | |
| The Crystal Gazabo | November 7, 1932 | |
| The Minstrel Show | November 21, 1932 | |
| Snow Time | November 30, 1932 | |
| Wedding Bells | January 10, 1933 | |
| The Medicine Show | February 7, 1933 | |
| Wooden Shoes | February 25, 1933 | |
| Bunnies and Bonnets | March 29, 1933 | |
| The Broadway Malady | April 18, 1933 | |
| Russian Dressing | May 1, 1933 | |
| House Cleaning | June 1, 1933 | |
| Antique Antics | June 14, 1933 | |
| Out of the Ether | September 5, 1933 | |
| Whacks Museum | September 29, 1933 | |
| Krazy Spooks | October 13, 1933 | |
| Stage Krazy | November 13, 1933 | |
| The Bill Poster | November 24, 1933 | |
| The Curio Shop | December 15, 1933 | |
| The Autograph Hunter | January 5, 1934 | |
| Southern Exposure | February 5, 1934 | |
| Tom Thumb | February 16, 1934 | |
| Cinder Alley | March 9, 1934 | |
| Bowery Daze | March 30, 1934 | |
| Busy Bus | April 20, 1934 | |
| The Masquerade Party | May 11, 1934 | |
| The Trapeze Artist | September 1, 1934 | |
| The Katnips of 1940 | October 12, 1934 | |
| Krazy's Waterloo | November 16, 1934 | |
| Goofy Gondolas | December 21, 1934 | |
| The Bird Man | February 1, 1935 | |
| The Hot Cha Melody | March 15, 1935 | |
| The Peace Conference | April 26, 1935 | |
| The King's Jester | May 20, 1935 | |
| Garden Gaieties | August 1, 1935 | |
| A Happy Family | September 27, 1935 | |
| Kannibal Kapers | December 27, 1935 | |
| The Bird Stuffer | February 1, 1936 | |
| L'il Ainjil | March 19, 1936 | Sole attempt by Screen Gems to reflect the original comic series. |
| Highway Snobbery | August 9, 1936 | |
| Krazy's Newsreel | October 24, 1936 | |
| The Merry Cafe | December 26, 1936 | |
| The Lyin' Hunter | February 12, 1937 | |
| Krazy's Race of Time | May 6, 1937 | |
| The Masque Raid | June 25, 1937 | |
| Railroad Rhythm | November 20, 1937 | |
| The Auto Clinic | March 4, 1938 | |
| The Little Buckaroo | April 11, 1938 | |
| Krazy Magic | May 20, 1938 | |
| Travel Squawks | July 4, 1938 | |
| Gym Jams | September 9, 1938 | |
| Hot Dogs on Ice | October 21, 1938 | |
| The Lone Mountie | December 10, 1938 | |
| Krazy's Bear Tale | January 27, 1939 | |
| Golf Chumps | April 6, 1939 | |
| Krazy's Shoe Shop | May 12, 1939 | Final Krazy Kat short in the series. |
| The Little Lost Sheep | October 2, 1939 | First Fables short, and the only Krazy Kat short to be a part of the Fables series. |
| The Mouse Exterminator | January 26, 1940 | The only Krazy Kat theatrical short in the Phantasy series and the final appearance of Krazy Kat in a theatrical cartoon. |
Silly Symphony is an American animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the Silly Symphonies were originally intended as whimsical accompaniments to pieces of music. As such, the films usually did not feature continuing characters, unlike the Mickey Mouse shorts produced by Disney at the same time. The series is notable for its innovation with Technicolor and the multiplane motion picture camera, as well as its introduction of the character Donald Duck making his first appearance in the Silly Symphony cartoon The Wise Little Hen in 1934. Seven shorts won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
George Joseph Herriman III was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip Krazy Kat (1913–1944). More influential than popular, Krazy Kat had an appreciative audience among those in the arts. Gilbert Seldes' article "The Krazy Kat Who Walks by Himself" was the earliest example of a critic from the high arts giving serious attention to a comic strip. The Comics Journal placed the strip first on its list of the greatest comics of the 20th century. Herriman's work has been a primary influence on cartoonists such as Elzie C. Segar, Will Eisner, Charles M. Schulz, Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Bill Watterson, and Chris Ware.
Animated films in the United States date back to at least 1906 when Vitagraph released Humorous Phases of Funny Faces. Although early animations were rudimentary, they rapidly became more sophisticated with such classics as Gertie the Dinosaur in 1914, Felix the Cat, and Koko the Clown.
Bray Productions was a pioneering American animation studio that produced several popular cartoons during the years of World War I and the early interwar era, becoming a springboard for several key animators of the 20th century, including the Fleischer brothers, Walter Lantz, Paul Terry, Shamus Culhane and Grim Natwick among others.
International Film Service (IFS) was an American animation studio created to exploit the popularity of the comic strips controlled by William Randolph Hearst.
Krazy Kat is an American newspaper comic strip, created by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the New York Evening Journal, whose owner, William Randolph Hearst, was a major booster for the strip throughout its run. The characters had been introduced previously in a side strip with Herriman's earlier creation, The Dingbat Family. The phrase "Krazy Kat" originated there, said by the mouse by way of describing the cat. Set in a dreamlike portrayal of Herriman's vacation home of Coconino County, Arizona, KrazyKat's mixture of offbeat surrealism, innocent playfulness and poetic, idiosyncratic language has made it a favorite of comics aficionados and art critics for more than 80 years.
The Hearst-Vitagraph News Pictorial or Hearst-Vita graph was a short-lived company producing newsreels which were coupled with animated cartoons. It was established on 29 October 1915 by the Brooklyn-based Vitagraph Studios and the Hearst Corporation, and produced its first reel in February 1916, but folded in 1916. Previously, Hearst had produced newsreels together with the Selig Polyscope Company from 1914 on, and after the deal with Vitagraph ended Hearst teamed up with Pathé.
Rodeo Dough is a 1931 American short animated Western film by Columbia Pictures, and stars the comic strip character Krazy Kat.
The Apache Kid is a 1930 cartoon short distributed by Columbia Pictures and features Krazy Kat. The film is the character's 149th film.
Lil' Ainjil is a 1936 short animated film distributed by Columbia Pictures, and features Krazy Kat.
Alaskan Knights, also known as Animal Rhythm is some reissues, is an animated cartoon by Columbia Pictures, part of the Krazy Kat series.
George Vernon Stallings was an American animation director and writer. He started working for Bray Productions in 1916 where he directed the Colonel Heeza Liar series of shorts, and the Krazy Kat shorts. He invented "the animation disk placed in the centre of the drawing board" in the 1920s. Its primary use by 1930 was as an aid in inking cels. He then worked for Van Beuren Studios from 1931 through 1934.
Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse: A Duet, He Made Me Love Him, also simply known as A Duet, is a 1916 silent short animated film featuring Krazy Kat. It is among the earliest cartoons to feature Krazy who earlier achieved modest success through comic strips.
Krazy Kat & Ignatz Mouse Discuss the Letter 'G' is a 1916 silent short animated film featuring the comic strip character Krazy Kat. As with other animated shorts at the time, it was featured as an extra along with news reports that were released on film.
Svengarlic is a 1931 short animated film distributed by Columbia Pictures, and one of the many cartoons featuring the comic strip character Krazy Kat. The film is a parody of the 1931 film Svengali which in turn is based on the 1894 novel Trilby.
Kannibal Kapers is a 1935 short animated film by Columbia Pictures featuring the comic strip character Krazy Kat.
A Happy Family is a 1935 short animated film by Columbia Pictures, and part of the Krazy Kat series.
Jazz Rhythm is a 1930 short animated film distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film is part of a series featuring the comic strip character Krazy Kat.
Railroad Rhythm is a 1937 short animated film by Columbia Pictures starring the comic strip character Krazy Kat, and part of a long-running series of short films featuring the character.
Stomach Trouble is a 1927 silent animated short starring the comic strip character Krazy Kat. The short was released by Winkler Pictures.