''Pauvre Pierrot'' (or ''Poor Pete'') is a French short

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

film directed by Charles-Émile Reynaud in 1891 and released in 1892. It consists of 500 individually painted images and lasts about 15 minutes originally. It is one of the first animated films ever made, and alongside '' Un bon bock'' (directed in 1888 of which only few images survive at the

Cinémathèque française The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...

) and '' Le Clown et ses chiens'' was exhibited on 28 October 1892 when Charles-Émile Reynaud opened his

Théâtre Optique The Théâtre Optique (Optical Theatre) is an animated moving picture system invented by Émile Reynaud and patented in 1888. From 28 October 1892 to March 1900 Reynaud gave over 12,800 shows to a total of over 500,000 visitors at the Musée Grév ...

at the

Musée Grévin The ''Musée Grévin'' (; ) ( en, Grévin Museum) is a wax museum in Paris located on the Grands Boulevards in the 9th arrondissement on the right bank of the Seine, at 10, Boulevard Montmartre, Paris, France. It is open daily; an admission fee ...

. It was the first film to demonstrate the Théâtre Optique system developed by Reynaud in 1888. ''Pauvre Pierrot'' is also believed to be the first known usage of

film perforations Film perforations, also known as perfs and sprocket holes, are the holes placed in the film stock during manufacturing and used for transporting (by sprockets and claws) and steadying (by pin registration) the film. Films may have different types ...

. The combined performance of all three films was known as '' Pantomimes Lumineuses''. These were the first animated pictures publicly exhibited by means of picture bands. Reynaud gave the entire presentation himself by manipulating the images.

Synopsis

One night,

Harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the '' zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian '' commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditional ...

encounters his beloved Columbina in a courtyard. Soon, however,

Pierrot Pierrot ( , , ) is a stock character of pantomime and '' commedia dell'arte'', whose origins are in the late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a diminutive of ''Pi ...

knocks on the door and they hide. Pierrot starts performing a serenade for Columbina, but Harlequin constantly interrupts. He pokes Pierrot with a stick and steals his bottle, always keeping just out of sight. Eventually Pierrot gets scared of the unseen prankster and leaves, allowing Harlequin to enter Columbina's house as the short ends.

References

External links

* * 1892 films 1892 short films French animated short films French silent short films Films directed by Émile Reynaud Articles containing video clips 1890s animated short films Films about clowns Silent films in color Animated films without speech 1890s French films Harlequin {{1890s-France-film-stub