Koko the Clown was an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer. He first appeared as the protagonist in Out of the Inkwell (1918–1929), a major animated series of the silent era. The character originated when Fleischer invented the rotoscope, a device that allowed animators to create lifelike movements by tracing over live-action footage. To test this invention, Fleischer filmed his brother, Dave, dressed in a clown costume, resulting in the creation of Koko.

In the early cartoons, Koko would emerge from an inkwell on an animator's desk, leading to a blend of live-action and animation where he often interacted with his creator, sometimes playfully causing mischief. The character's design was influenced by the "Yama Yama Girl" costume worn by Bessie McCoy, featuring a black outfit with white pom-poms and a conical hat.

Throughout the series, he goes on many misadventures with his canine companion Fitz the Dog. Most of Koko's escapades began with him being drawn to life on paper by Max before something catches his attention, prompting him to leap off the page and investigate. What generally follows is a series of events in which Koko becomes entangled in some type of perilous position, which he subsequently overcomes by combining his wits with cartoon skills and abilities.

Koko was later merged into the Betty Boop series starting from 1931. In this series he is best friends with Bimbo and is usually paired up with him. In addition, Koko is also sometimes romantically linked to Betty Boop in some cartoons.

In the 1960s TV revival of ''Out of the Inkwell'' cartoons, Koko was given new supporting cast consisting of a girlfriend named Kokette, the recurring friendemy Mean Moe, and the oddball Kokonut.

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_the_Inkwell Out of the Inkwell Series (1918–1926)]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_the_Inkwell#Inkwell_Imps_(1927%E2%80%931929) Inkwell Imps (1927–1929)]
*Betty Boop's Ker-Choo (1933)
*Betty Boop's Crazy Inventions (1933)
*Is My Palm Read? (1933)

*[https://archive.org/details/seeger-inkwell/East+Side%2C+West+Side+(196%3F%2C+pilot).mp4 East Side, West Side] (pilot) (1962)
*Blue Balloons (1962)
*Koko Gottum Injun Trouble (1962)
*Koko Meets Boobnik (1962)
*Baby Face (1962)
*Flying Saucery (1962)
*Knight Work (1962)
*Koko-nut, Private Eye (1962)
*Love In Bloom (1962)
*Mean Moe Means Well (1962)
*Now You See It... Now You Don't! (1962)
*Polar Bear Facts (1962)
*Pow-Wow-Wow! (1962)
*The Egg And Me (1962)
*The Mystery Guest (1962)
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Q3EK35xpI The Refriger-Raider] (1962)
*A Fishy Story (1962)
*A Haunting We Will Go (1962)
*A Queen For A Day (1962)
*Bluebeard's Treasure (1962)
*Comic Strip (1962)
*Fastest Popgun In The West (1962)
*Gigantical (1962)
*In The Army (1962)
*Koko Meets Robin Hood (1962)
*Koko Roams In Rome (1962)
*Mean Moe Takes Over (1962)
*Mean Moe's Money Mad (1962)
*Moving Madness (1962)
*Mummy's The Word (1962)
*Reflection Land (1962)
*Success Story (1962)
*That's Show Biz (1962)
*The Big Bank Robbery (1962)
*Tv Or Not Tv (1962)
*Whale Of A Story (1962)
*Which Witch Is Which (1962)

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koko_the_Clown Wikipedia]
*[https://bettyboop.fandom.com/wiki/Koko_the_Clown Betty Boop Wiki]
*[https://comicvine.gamespot.com/koko-the-clown/4005-84863/guide/ ComicVine]
*[https://www.intanibase.com/forum/Posts/t4897-List-of-Fleischer-Famous-Studio-Active-Copyright-Statuses--1927---1949 List of Fleischer/Famous Studio Active Copyright Statuses]

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