KOOL - cigarettes
1963
America's most refreshing cigarette
Advertising film for Kool menthol cigarettes.
Special design
Within the Dollywood animated films, this commercial has an unusual design. The figures are made of glass.
Trivia
Anyone who sees this film will be surprised by the clear imagery. The use of running water and figures made of crystal glass reinforce the feeling of freshness. The link to America's most refreshing cigarette is very original.
Many artists have been influenced by their predecessors or contemporaries. The Czech film maker/animator Karel Zeman made a film of more than 10 minutes according to this concept in 1949, in which many similar images can be found: the flowing water, the drop of dew that falls into a stream, the fish under water... even the atmosphere of the music is in the direction of Karel Zeman's masterpiece, Inspirace (1949)
Joop Geesink did not shy away from using the tried and tested ideas of others. It is also possible that the American agency that commissioned the production had supplied the concept.
The fact that in 1963, a design and technique from almost 15 years earlier was used again shows that this puppet film technique was still convincing on the big screen. Few other details are known about this film.
Animation or sliding?
Whereas Karel Zeman could enhance the movement of galloping horses by working with interchangeable stages, with each horse in a different pose, Dollywood chose the more economical solution. The objects are almost all pushed through the image. This saved a lot of work and therefore costs. In order to still experience movement, at well-timed moments a piece of animation was used of a spinning head of a little bird or a frog bulging its cheeks.
Joop Geesink's predecessor, George Pal, worked with a glass ship in the film Het Etherschip (1934). He also used other glass elements in the décor. For this purpose, George Pal worked with the artisan glassblowers that were associated with the Philips factories. Philips was also the client of the film. It is not known who made the glass figures for Kool cigarettes. Given the limited specific animation requirements, this could possibly have been a local glass artist.
Credits
| Title: | Kool cigarettes | |
|---|---|---|
| Client: | Kool cigarettes | |
| Year of production: | 1963 | |
| Duration: | 2 minutes | |
| Music: | Unknown | |
| Art Director:: | Unknown | |
| Animation: | Unknown | |
| Glass props | Unknown | |
| Format | 35 mm, Technicolor |
