“Anchors Aweigh” (1945, George Sidney) – Gene Kelly dances with Jerry the Mouse, in a scene which combined live-action footage with painstakingly rotoscoped animation to match Kelly’s movements
by Morgan-Moonscar
“Anchors Aweigh” (1945, George Sidney) – Gene Kelly dances with Jerry the Mouse, in a scene which combined live-action footage with painstakingly rotoscoped animation to match Kelly’s movements
by Morgan-Moonscar
17 Comments
I wonder how much this blew 1940s audiences’ minds.
Right down to animating the reflection cast on the polished dance floor.
The story goes that MGM originally wanted Gene to dance with Mickey Mouse, but while Walt Disney was agreeable to loaning him out for the scene… his brother Roy who handled finances for the company rejected the deal. So Kelly convinced Hanna-Barbera to let them use Jerry (which is why the mouse is larger sized like Mickey rather than how he normally is in the “Tom and Jerry” cartoons).
I bet even the actor was blown away by the final result.
This blows my mind in the year 2026. Love Jerry’s reflection on the floor, too. What a delight!
Whenever I come across clips of Gene Kelly dancing I have to watch. I can’t look away it’s so amazing.
And reflections.
And their eye contact! This is master work
i love that mixed animated movies
This is actually from family guy
Are movies ever this joyfully delightful anymore?
That’s better than every live action/animation movie since except Roger Rabbit
A R T I S T R Y
I thought this was already complex filmmaking a minute in and then Gene Kelly starts dancing with Jerry. Awesome stuff.
I love Technicolor and wish there were movies today with colors this vibrant.
Paula Abdul is a big Gene Kelly fan. I imagine she was inspired by this for the Opposites Attract video.
Loved when Family Guy replaced Jerry with Stewie
he’s like a feather on a breeze.
Early Hollywood really was magical.