Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "How a Mosquito Operates" is a 5.5-minute short film from 1912, so this one is already way over 100 years old. The writer and director here is animation pioneer Winsor McCay from the United States. looking at the year when this was made, nobody should be surprised that this is a silent black-and-white film. It is the story of a little mosquito (as the title already says) who is getting ready for his meal on a sleeping human. And he seems to be a true professional. Of course, this film has not scientific value, but it is all about the comedy and about exploring the new genre of animation for McCay. He was 40 already when he made it and still it is one of his earliest works. It is of course tough to appreciate this one with the level of animation we have today, but everything has to start somewhere right? And we need to be glad that McCay clearly inspired the filmmakers that gave us the Golden Age of Animation a couple decades later. All in all, I would nonetheless say that this one is only for the most hardcore animation lovers or for film historians. Everybody else will probably not really get anything out of the watch.

Rodrigo Amaro I must thank the great Britanic film director Mike Leigh for including this animated film between his Top 10 films of all time otherwise I wouldn't know about it and see how cool this is. And the strangest thing is that is quite rare you see a film director or a actor quoting a animation as one of his favorites films. Why "How a Mosquito Operates" is so fascinating? It's simplicity, originality and the way it was made makes this animation one of the most interesting ever made. Released in 1912 (yes, on the same year the Titanic sank) this short animated film tells in a very charming and funny way the story of a hunger mosquito that flies away into the apartment of a man only to suck his blood. This situation probably happened to everybody, we are sleeping or trying to sleep and then a mosquito appears bugging us, biting us, flying all around. So here's a film that present us a simple story yet very funny to watch. The techniques employed here are very good, making this film very good to look at even today in a sophisticated era whose animated films have the best techniques, the most interesting stories and all of that. The way the story was told was incredibly original, using comical effects (the mosquito doesn't fly to get into the apartment, he climbs the door and enters into a passage, very funny moment) and believe me it's great for educational purposes. If a kid asks you how and why a mosquito operates instead of telling a boring and long conversation about the issue show to the kid this animation. It will present some education and laughs at the same time. Director and creator of "How a Mosquito Operates" (AKA "The Story of a Mosquito") Winsor McCay made a wonderful job here. So everyone here's another must see film. 10/10

tavm As a person who doesn't normally watch horror films but has taken in some once in awhile and, while somewhat scared, was also entertained enough to not be too grossed out, I found Winsor McCay's How a Mosquito Operates a little mind-frightening enough to think if I was still an under-12 kid watching this for the first time, I'd walk out of the room! Seeing the bottom of this creature grow every time he sucks some blood out of this human man who's just trying to sleep seriously gives me the creeps! And that ending when he explodes after draining too much blood! Aaargh! Other than that, this was one of the most compelling and unique animation films made in the early 20th century and it shows that not everything made way before I was born can seem so old-fashioned. So to anyone who's wondered if things made way before your time can seem so quaint and old hat, watch this and see if this doesn't blow your mind!

MartinHafer Okay, I'll admit this isn't the greatest cartoon ever made. It's silent, consists only of simple pencil drawings and never is all that interesting. So why is it STILL a worthwhile film? Well, it's so early and in its day it was considered state of the art. Plus, the film's creator, Winsor McCay, was responsible for some of the first animated heroes--in the forms of Gertie the Dinosaur and Little Nemo. So, because of this very important and impressive pedigree, this film is of great importance to animators, historians and Cinephiles alike. For what it is (an early experimental film), it is pretty good. Plus, without films like this, later more fleshed out cartoons wouldn't have been possible. Interesting and unique, that's for sure.