THE ENCHANTED WELL (1903)
aka Le puits fantastique
Article 4094 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 11-30-2012
Directed by Georges Melies
Cast unknown
Country: France
What it is: Amusing fantasy short

When the owner of a local well refuses to give an old crone a handout, she curses his well so that it is inhabited by demons.

This Melies short has more plot than his “magician” shorts, though the plot is a pretty simple revenge one; a man offends a witch, and pays the price. It’s a fun but typical Melies short with the well going through various transformations, and demons and monsters appearing out of it to torment the owner. Oddly enough, there’s no tumbling imps in this one, but that’s only because they appear in frog costumes, so we’re treated to tumbling amphibians. The owner is also attacked by what looks like an early version of Ollie (as in Kukla, Fran and…). It’s a good example of some of Melies’s lighter work.