"Dreamy Dud. He Resolves Not to Smoke." is a very early animated film. Because it is so early, I won't judge it quite as harshly. In other words, while the animation consists of simple line drawings with few backgrounds and no shading and no sound, for its time it's actually a very good animated film. You cannot judge this by the standards of the 1920s or later--it just wouldn't be fair. So, for 1915 it's quite impressive and rather cute.Dud and his dog are the stars of the film. Dud spots Grandpa's pipe and decides to smoke it himself even though he's only a kid. In fact, he even has his dog smoke with him. However, a weird creature comes out of the pipe that calls itself the Spirit of Smoke--and it's NOT happy at Dud and decides to punish him by whisking him into outer space and depositing him on the moon! What's next for poor Dud?The drawings are cute, the story quite clever and it made me laugh. That's plenty of reason to give it a try.

Dreamy Dud. He Resolves Not to Smoke (1915) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Dud, a young boy, and his dog are out playing when the boy steals a man's pipe and decides to smoke it. Soon the "Spirit of Smoke" grabs him and takes him on a trip to teach him a lesson. This early animated film isn't anything great or ground breaking but it does have a small amount of charm that makes it worth viewing for fans of early animation. Carlson does a very nice job with the direction and I'd say the story is pretty well told. The opening sequence with the boy playing with the dog isn't too funny but things start to pick up once the pipe smoking begins. The animation is a bit rough but you have to remember this is 1915.

This example of early animation transcends the technical limitations of the time with imagination, wit and a beguiling sense of the surreal. Wallace Carlson deftly portrays a series of increasingly absurd events - the dog Wag creating a flood with his tears, Dud being hoisted onto a crescent moon by a spirit - with awe-inspiring skill. How fresh this little gem must have seemed at a time when live-action films were often so stilted. Its freshness and sense of fun remain intact today.