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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1129

Little Nemo

Synopsis

Cartoonist Winsor McCay bets his colleagues that he can make thousands of drawings move. A live-action account of his work leads to a demonstration in which Little Nemo and companions stretch, transform and interact. Drawing becomes both the source of the characters and an action they can perform themselves.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
11:32
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 · Winsor McCay · Public domain

Cast

DirectorsWinsor McCay

Behind the scenes

McCay prepared approximately four thousand drawings and tested their movement before photography. The short brings characters from his newspaper strip into animation, while its live-action introduction presents the labor behind the spectacle.

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.

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 15, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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