'' John Henry and the Inky-Poo '' is a 1946 short 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 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film 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 "
19th Academy Awards
19th Academy Awards
John Henry and the Inky-Poo