September 6, 1946
Release Date

6.4

John Henry and the Inky-Poo (1946)

Name: John Henry and the Inky-Poo
Genre: Animation, Drama
Released: 1946-09-06

Running Time

September 6, 1946
Release Date

External Links & Social Media

Plot.

In this Puppetoon animated short film (an Academy Award Best Short Subject, Cartoons nominee), legendary American folklore figure John Henry (voice of Rex Ingram) goes to work for the C&O Railroad, which shortly thereafter buys an automatic steel-driving engine, The Inky-Poo. John Henry matches his strength against the engine, saying that any man can beat a machine because a man has a mind. Can he prevail? In 2015 this film, deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with UCLA Film & Television Archive in 2009.

Where to Watch.

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Cast & Crew.

Rex Ingram

Narrator / John Henry (voice)

George Pal

Director / Cinematography

Clarence Wheeler

Music

John S. Abbott

Cinematography

Lillian Randolph

Mother

Robert Monroe

Writer

Details.

Release Date
September 6, 1946

Status
Released

Running Time
7m

Genres
Animation Drama

Last updated: 2025-02-11

This Movie Is About.

man vs machine

puppetoon

replacement animation

train engine

folklore figure

preserved film

Wiki.

John Henry and the Inky-Poo is a 1946 stop-motion animation film written and directed by George Pal using Pal's Puppetoons stop-motion style. The film is based on African American folk hero John Henry.

John Henry and the Inky-Poo was nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short for the 19th Academy Awards. In 2015, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

It was also included in the 1987 compilation film The Puppetoon Movie.