Animation: A World History

17Africa

Egypt

The small Egyptian animated production industry was mainly due to the Frenkel brothers. Born into a Jewish family in Jaffa, Palestine, Herschel, Salomon, and David Frenkel later established their lacquered wood furniture business in Cairo. Fascinated by animation after viewing the films of Felix the Cat, the three brothers began studying the frame-by-frame technique. In 1936, they released Mafish Fayda (Nothing to Do), featuring the character of Mish-Mish, an Egyptian youngster wearing a fez. Other productions based on the same character followed, including the good war propaganda film Al difau’al watani (National Defence, 1940) and Enjoy Your Food (1947). When the political environment in Egypt became too turbulent, the Frenkels ...