John Henry and the Inky-Poo

John Henry and the Inky-Poo is a 1946 stop-motion animation film written and directed by George Pal using Pal's Puppetoons stop-motion style.[2] The film is based on African American folk hero John Henry.[3][4]

John Henry and the Inky-Poo
Directed byGeorge Pal
Written byRobert Monroe
Latham Ovens
StarringRex Ingram
Narrated byRex Ingram
CinematographyJohn S. Abbott
George Pal
Music byClarence Wheeler
Production
company
George Pal Productions
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
September 6, 1946
Running time
7 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

John Henry and the Inky-Poo was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short for the 19th Academy Awards.[5] In 2015, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[6][7]

It was also included in the 1987 compilation film The Puppetoon Movie.

Reception
  • The Film Daily (Aug 14, 1946): "In a departure from the fables dreamed up for the familiar scarecrow and the little pickaninny (Jasper) character, usually featured in this series. George Pal has produced an engaging Puppetoon version of the legendary figure, John Henry, drawn from the annals of American Folklore, who pitted his brawn and brains against the steam engine known as the Inky Poo to dispel the fear of his railroad coworkers that machines would eventually put them out of work. The Technicolor, Rex Ingram's narration, and the folk song delivered by the Luvenia Nash singers are all standouts".[8]
  • Boxoffice (Dec 9, 1946): "Excellent musical background is furnished by the Luvenia Nash Choral group in this take off on American folk story".[8]

References
  1. "John Henry and the Inky-Poo" – via mubi.com.
  2. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 85–86. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  3. Lehman, Christopher P. (2001). "The New Black Animated Images of 1946". Journal of Popular Film & Television. 29 (2). ISSN 0195-6051.
  4. "The George Pal Site: John Henry and the Inky-Poo". www.awn.com.
  5. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "John Henry And The Inky-Poo (Paramount Pictures)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB).
  6. "2015 National Film Registry: "Ghostbusters" Gets the Call: "Top Gun", "L.A. Confidential" and Edison's "Sneeze" Among Film Additions". Library of Congress. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  7. "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-11-17.
  8. Sampson, Henry T. (1998). That's Enough, Folks: Black Images in Animated Cartoons, 1900-1960. Scarecrow Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-0810832503.
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