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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 818

Fantasmagorie

19081 minFrance
AnimationComedyFantasy

Synopsis

A drawn figure enters a world where objects refuse to keep their shape. A bottle, a flower and other forms become the raw material for transformations that replace ordinary cause and effect. The animator's hands occasionally enter the picture, reminding the viewer that even the character's body can be broken, repaired or reinvented by the person drawing it.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
1:38
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Émile Cohl · Public domain

DirectorsÉmile Cohl

Behind the scenes

Cohl photographed drawings on paper and used a negative image to produce white lines against black. The apparent chalkboard becomes a flexible space in which each new drawing can overturn the form established by the previous one.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

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