En route (1910)

Director: Emile Cohl

Cast:

Synopsis:

En route, the animated short from French pioneer Emile Cohl is only runs about five minutes, but even at that short duration it takes too long to put its message across.   The film opens with a walking caveman who quickly grows tired walking and rests on a rock.   The man eventually captures a horse, and before long he has invented the chariot, which slowly progresses into a train and car.   On water, having observed fish swimming around, man invents the boat and then the ship. In the air, jealous of the flight of the bird, man invents the aeroplane (a recent invention when this film was made, remember).   Having conquered the kingdoms of the animals and emulated their transportation methods, Cohl warns that the increasing volume of motorised traffic will eventually lead to disaster.   En route is quite a clever film, but it’s far too long and repetitive.

(Reviewed 7th March 2012)