Redlands Forum spotlights pioneering animator Bessie Mae Kelley

Redlands, CA – The Redlands Forum hosted a captivating lecture on May 6 at ESRI’s auditorium, as award-winning author, historian, and filmmaker Mindy Johnson presented a talk titled, “The Only Woman Animator: Bessie Mae Kelley & Women at the Dawn of an Industry.” The event highlighted Kelley’s groundbreaking work in animation, shedding light on her important but largely forgotten role in the early days of the animation industry.

Johnson began her talk by noting, “Women were powerhouses from the very beginning of cinema. And when we turn to the field of animation, you may or may not recognize some of the names—but our earliest female pioneers included Alice Roche, Lois Weber, Zora Neale Hurston, Marion Wong, Helena Smith Dayton, Lotte Reiniger, Margaret Tilbray, and Margaret Bray, but her main focus was on Bessie May Kelley. 

Kelley, an animator, designer, and director in the 1910s and 1920s, is now recognized as one of the earliest female pioneers in animation. Her films, recently rediscovered and restored by Johnson in 2022, are believed to be the earliest surviving hand-drawn animations created and directed by a woman. Kelley’s innovative contributions spanned across arctic explorations, animated mapping, and visual effects, reshaping the animated landscape of her time.

 Johnson’s presentation explored Kelley’s rise in the animation world, starting in 1917 when she began her career by cleaning cels and assisting with animation at Bray Studios. Kelley quickly gained prominence, contributing to Fleischer Studios’ Koko the Clown series and others. She later directed and animated notable short films, including Gasoline Alley (1920), Flower Fairies (1921), and A Merry Christmas (1922).

Perhaps most notably, Kelley developed the first animated mouse couple, “Roderick and Gladys,” at Bray Studios, which predated the creation of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. She would later bring these characters to Paul Terry’s Aesop’s Fables series, where they were reimagined as “Milton and Mary.”

For years, Kelley’s pioneering work was lost to history, with many historians mistakenly assuming her to be a secretary or cleaning woman. However, Johnson uncovered her contributions through a vintage vaudeville publication and a series of images featuring male animators from the 1920s. Alongside her animation career, Kelley also toured the U.S. in the early 1920s, giving live demonstrations of animation, drawing and animating characters on stage while educating audiences about the animation process. 

Johnson summed the evening up by saying, “In the context of all of this, it’s important to remember that the truth itself is constant. What changes is what we know about the truth—and hopefully, that has changed.”

 As an expert on women’s roles in film and animation, Mindy Johnson’s research has been pivotal in uncovering the untold stories of women in early cinema. Johnson’s discoveries continue to illuminate the invisible narratives of women’s contributions to the motion picture industry’s first century.

Johnson’s extensive work includes partnerships with leading organizations such as The Walt Disney Company, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and The Walt Disney Family Museum, in addition to her successful career as a playwright, songwriter, and professor. 

The Redlands Forum, presented by Esri and the University of Redlands Town & Gown, offers a free speaker series that brings thought leaders to the community. These talks aim to inform, inspire, and encourage meaningful discussions on a variety of topics. For upcoming events and more information, visit Esri’s Redlands Forum.