I love this movie so much

Lack of good storyline.

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The "conceptual mother" of every character in animation after it. This is how I define this extravagant creation of Winsor McCay, another great animator from the beginnings of cinema.Originally used as a vaudeville act, the short in fact, is quite enjoyable that way, with a Winsor acting as a circus tamer and giving orders to his creature to do tricks (all with on-screen cards). The funny thing is, obviously, that it is not a lion or a bear, or anything like that, but instead the titular female sauropod, which as indicated by the tag-lines "(she) lived millions of years before man inhabited this earth". In other words, an already extinct animal, now alive thanks to the hands of McCay. Gertie is probably the first animated character with a distinctive personality: childish, playful, a kind of a "rebel". And she immediately gains the sympathy of the audience. Several animated characters that would come after would adapt many of these characteristics; in this case, as it is the first example in this area, it gives the short film a fitting sense of innocence.What follows is a routine of tricks, with great moments such as the interactions with the mammoth (poor "Jumbo"!), or the exaggerated but funny "drink" Gertie enjoys. At the visual level, there is a fluid mobility of both Gertie and the other creatures that appear, even those with a few seconds on-screen, but other details like the the earth and rocks that tremble as the giant animal walks through are well put and carefully added.The prologue and epilogue with McCay and other animators like George McManus is also entertaining, but said prologue can feel a little stretched before the main act.A true animated classic, as awesome and still amusing after all these years.

The cartoonist, Winsor McCay, brings the Dinosaurus back to life in the figure of his latest creation, Gertie the Dinosaur.McCay first used the film before live audiences as an interactive part of his vaudeville act; the frisky, childlike Gertie did tricks at the command of her master. McCay's employer William Randolph Hearst later curtailed McCay's vaudeville activities, so McCay added a live-action introductory sequence to the film for its theatrical release.Animation historian Donald Crafton called Gertie "the enduring masterpiece of pre-Disney animation". And that about sums it up. The film is relatively simple, and if used live is a pretty basic gimmick. But i bet it worked to impress audiences. If they had never seen a cartoon before 9and they probably had not), this would be quite the treat.

Credited with featuring the first-ever instance of animation on celluloid, this one's place in movie history is thus forever assured; yet, that alone hardly makes it eligible for a place on polls compiling the all-time best films (which is the main reason I got round to watching it)! Incidentally, the on-screen title here is actually "Winsor McCay: America's Greatest Cartoonist and Gertie" – with editions of it available online running anywhere between 6 (cutting to the chase, as it were, by eliminating the live-action bookends and showing only the prehistoric action involving the "dinosuarus") and 14 minutes (including expository footage of N.Y.C.'s Museum of Natural History)!The 'plot' revolves around a bet made by McCay to his once equally illustrious friends that he can 'breathe life' anew into a gigantic ancient fossil; the group is completely won over (and, needless to say, so was the general public of the time) by his achievement – which was considerable, given that he states it took some 10,000 sketches to fully execute! The primitive drawings – understandable for a century-old pioneering effort, yet perfectly fitting in view of the subject matter – still have a certain charm to them, particularly in conveying Gertie's unruly behaviour; special effects are then incorporated into the finale, where McCay is seen 'riding' his own creation!

This is an odd little film featuring Winsor McCay--the creator of Gertie the Dinosaur and Little Nemo. And, just as in his first Little Nemo film, much of this film features Winsor McCay with his friends (all animators and lovers of animation) and only in the second half do you get to see Gertie. Ostensively, the film is about a bet Winsor made with his friends that he can make a dinosaur come to life--and he does in the form of a short cartoon featuring the lovable character "Gertie". While Gertie is very crude and simple compared to later color cartoons, there is still a lot of charm in the character and the film is a wonderful time capsule. Of great importance to Cinephiles and lovers of early animation.