Biography
Zenas Winsor McCay (c. 1866–71 – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip Little Nemo (1905–14; 1924–26) and the animated film Gertie the Dinosaur (1914). For contractual reasons, he worked under the pen name Silas on the comic strip Dream of the Rarebit Fiend. McCay was an early animation pioneer; between 1911 and 1921 he self-financed and animated ten films, some of which survive only as fragments. The first three served in his vaudeville ac...
Known For
Complete Filmography
Slumberland
2022
Characters
A young girl discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightma...
Winsor McCay: The Master Edition
2004
as Himself
Winsor McCay was the first master of animation. This movie features every surviving film by this cinema pioneer with lovely piano score by famed compo...
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
1989
Original Story
A little boy whose dreams transcend reality is sucked into his own fantasy, which is everything he has dreamed of, until he unleashes an old secret th...
Dream One
1984
Comic Book
Based on Winsor McCay's comic strip, a little boy embarks on a dream-like adventure. Also known as Dream One.
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland Pilot 1
1980
Writer
The first of three pilot shorts that eventually became the 1989 movie Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland.
Remembering Winsor McCay
1976
The life and career of the great cartoonist Winsor McCay is warmly recalled by his former film assistant, John Fitzsimmons, with clips of classic McCa...
Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Flying House
1921
Director, Writer
After eating a rarebit at a party, a woman has a strange dream in which her husband converts their home into a flying machine to escape having to pay ...
The Centaurs
1921
Director, Producer, Animation
A female centaur enters a clearing in the woods and picks flowers. She is met by a male centaur and the two romance each other. They then seek parenta...
Flip's Circus
1921
Director, Writer
Flip is balancing his hat on his face while leaning forwards and backwards. He eventually falls face forward. Flip opens the tent flap to reveal a lot...
Gertie on Tour
1921
Director, Writer
Windsor McCay's partially lost follow-up to his tremendouly successful Gertie the Dinosaur. Gertie has been brought into the modern world. Continually...
Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Pet
1921
Director, Writer
After eating a rarebit, a man falls asleep and dreams his wife adopts a mysterious animal with an insatiable appetite. The pet eats its milk, the hous...
Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: Bug Vaudeville
1921
Director, Writer
After eating a cheesecake given to him by a kind-hearted lady, a hobo goes to sleep and has a bizarre dream in which insects are putting on a vaudevil...
The Sinking of the Lusitania
1918
as Himself
Winsor McCay recreates the sinking of the ocean liner Lusitania by a German U-boat in this propaganda piece designed to stir up anti-German sentiment ...
The Sinking of the Lusitania
1918
Director, Writer
Winsor McCay recreates the sinking of the ocean liner Lusitania by a German U-boat in this propaganda piece designed to stir up anti-German sentiment ...
Gertie the Dinosaur
1914
as Self
Although not the first feature-length animated film, as is sometimes thought, it was the first cartoon to feature a character with an appealing person...
Gertie the Dinosaur
1914
Writer, Director, Producer
Although not the first feature-length animated film, as is sometimes thought, it was the first cartoon to feature a character with an appealing person...
How a Mosquito Operates
1912
Writer, Director, Producer
A hungry mosquito spots and follows a man on his way home. The mosquito slips into the room where the man is sleeping, and gets ready for a meal. His ...
Little Nemo
1911
as Himself
Cartoon figures announce, via comic strip balloons, that they will move - and move they do, in a wildly exaggerated style. Also known as "Winsor McCay...
Little Nemo
1911
Director, Writer, Animation
Cartoon figures announce, via comic strip balloons, that they will move - and move they do, in a wildly exaggerated style. Also known as "Winsor McCay...
Dream of a Rarebit Fiend
1906
Writer
A live-action film adaptation of the comic strip Dream of the Rarebit Fiend by American cartoonist Winsor McCay. This silent short film follows the e...