Happy Birthday: The Bray Animation Project

It’s been exactly one year since we first told you about Tom Stathes’ ambitious Bray Animation Project website. Both it and its accompanying Cartoons On Film blog have proven invaluable to historians (such as I) and is making real progress in documenting and preserving this pioneering library of animated cartoons.

Stathes’ latest blog post features stills from some of the cartoons acquired since he began the project, as well as a comparison of two prints of Farmer Alfalfa’s Revenge (1916); an old version that has circulated for years and a longer, better version Tom recently acquired of the same film. Another Bray Studios discovery, Paul Terry’s very rare and politically-incorrect 1916 film, Farmer Al’s Watermelon Patch (time-coded frame grab above), is part of an ambitious forthcoming video project – a direct result of the existence of the website – that is going to be announced in the near future.

Many incredibly exciting rare film finds have been made since the site’s debut twelve months ago and Tom assures, “there will be more cool announcements coming up.” Congratulations Tom Stathes and keep going – you’re doing the Lord’s work!