description Little Nemo Overview
Little Nemo is a 1911 American silent short that combines live action and hand-drawn animation by newspaper cartoonist Winsor McCay. Drawing on characters from McCay's comic strip Little Nemo in Slumberland, it shows the artist creating and then animating figures including Nemo, Flip, and Impie. The film is an early demonstration of expressive character animation, with individually drawn frames producing movement, transformation, and interaction.
help Little Nemo FAQ
Is the 1911 Little Nemo film entirely animated?
No, it combines live-action scenes featuring Winsor McCay with a hand-drawn animated sequence. The live-action framing shows McCay making a bet about animating 4,000 drawings before the characters move on screen. [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/little_nemo.pdf)
How many drawings are used in Little Nemo, and how long is the film?
McCay's bet centers on 4,000 drawings, while the complete film runs for roughly 11 minutes. The animated portion itself takes only about four minutes, with the rest used for live-action setup and framing. [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/little_nemo.pdf)
Which Little Nemo comic characters appear in the 1911 film?
The animated sequence features Little Nemo along with Impie and Flip, characters from McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland comic strip. Their bodies change shape and interact in ways that show McCay experimenting with drawn movement rather than simply photographing comic panels. [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/little_nemo.pdf)
What is the film's original title and release year?
The print's longer title is Winsor McCay, the Famous Cartoonist of the N.Y. Herald and His Moving Comics, and it was released in 1911. The Library of Congress added Little Nemo to the National Film Registry in 2009. [Library of Congress](https://blogs.loc.gov/now-see-hear/2018/12/reading-the-film-registry-little-nemo-1911/)
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