Details released for The Silly Symphony Collection box set

WALT DISNEY RECORDS AND FAIRFAX CLASSICS ANNOUNCE DETAILS FOR THE SILLY SYMPHONY COLLECTION BOX SET

SHORT-FORM DOCUMENTARY PRODUCED ON THE HISTORY OF SILLY SYMPHONIES AND THE ‘MAKING OF’ THE COLLECTION

SPINE COMPARE MOCK UP

BURBANK, CA  — July 23, 2015 — Less than a year after Mickey Mouse’s debut in Steamboat Willie, the Walt Disney Studio embarked on a decade-long series of music-driven shorts whose breakthroughs would forever change the direction of animation and would have a massive impact on popular culture. The 75 cartoons – called Silly Symphonies – pioneered “three-strip” Technicolor, introduced Donald Duck, and created a pop music phenomenon with “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” They won seven Academy Awards® for Best Short Subject (Cartoon) between 1932 and 1939. 

The Silly Symphony Collection is a first-of-its-kind box set from Walt Disney Records and Fairfax Classics featuring the complete restored soundtracks from all 75 Silly Symphony shorts from 1929-1939, with more than 8 hours of music over 16 vinyl LPs.

The limited edition collection is housed in 8 tip-on gatefold jackets with original animation art in a beautifully constructed foil-stamped and numbered slipcase. Soundtracks of Disney classics such as The Skeleton Dance by Carl Stalling, Three Little Pigs by Frank Churchill, and Donald Duck’s debut The Wise Little Hen by Leigh Harline will be presented in full for the first time ever on record. Each gatefold jacket includes detailed liner notes for every short by Disney historians J.B. Kaufman and Russell Merritt, authors of the definitive book on the series, Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series.

Kaufman adds, “It’s well known that the Silly Symphonies were built around music, but most of us can’t watch the films without being distracted by the visuals. This set is a brilliant idea, isolating the sound so that we can appreciate, for the first time, just how good the music is. I think it will change the way people look at these classic cartoons.”

Pre-order for the box set will begin at D23 EXPO: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, August 14th through August 16th, 2015 in Anaheim, California, and will continue online at Disney Music Emporium (www.sillysymphonycollection.com) on August 17th at 8:00 am PDT. Pre-orders will ship to arrive in time for the holidays.

The Silly Symphony Collection will include a free digital download with purchase of the box set and will retail for $399.98. Each guest who pre-orders The Silly Symphony Collection will receive a free limited edition 10” vinyl single featuring “The Skeleton Dance” on the A side and “Three Little Pigs” on the B side.

J.B. Kaufman and Russell Merritt, along with Restoration Producer Randy Thornton will be on hand at D23 EXPO 2015 signing The Silly Symphony Collection 10” single on Friday, August 14th and Sunday, August 16th.

A set of 3 limited edition Silly Symphony postcards are being handed out in various locations throughout the D23 EXPO 2015 and fans can follow Fairfax Classics on Twitter (@fairfaxclassics) to find out how to obtain them.

Noted documentary director Steve Elkins has produced a short film that explores the historical significance of the Silly Symphonies and the making of The Silly Symphony Collection box set.  The Silly Symphony documentary features J.B. Kaufman and Russell Merritt, as well as Dave Bossert, Head of Special Projects at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Grammy®-winning producer Randy Thornton from Disney Music Group.

The Silly Symphony Collection Track List:

Volume 1: 1929•1930

The Skeleton Dance

El Terrible Toreador

Springtime

Hell’s Bells

The Merry Dwarfs

Summer

Autumn

Cannibal Capers

Night

Frolicking Fish

Arctic Antics

Midnight in a Toy Shop

Volume 2: 1930•1931

Monkey Melodies

Winter

Playful Pan

Birds of a Feather

Mother Goose Melodies

The China Plate

The Busy Beavers

The Cat’s Out

Egyptian Melodies

The Clock Store

The Spider and the Fly

Volume 3: 1931•1933

The Fox Hunt

The Ugly Duckling

The Bird Store

The Bears and Bees

Just Dogs

Flowers and Trees

Bugs in Love

King Neptune

Babes in the Woods

Santa’s Workshop

Birds In the Spring

Father Noah’s Ark

Volume 4: 1933•1934

Three Little Pigs

Old King Cole

Lullaby Land

The Pied Piper

The China Shop

The Night Before Christmas

Grasshopper and the Ants

The Big Bad Wolf

Volume 5: 1934•1935

Funny Little Bunnies

The Flying Mouse

The Wise Little Hen

Peculiar Penguins

The Goddess of Spring

The Tortoise and the Hare

The Golden Touch

The Robber Kitten

Volume 6: 1935•1936

Water Babies

The Cookie Carnival

Who Killed Cock Robin?

Music Land

Three Orphan Kittens

Cock c’ the Walk

Three Little Wolves

Elmer Elephant

Volume 7: 1935•1937

Broken Toys

Toby Tortoise Returns

Three Blind Mouseketeers

The Country Cousin

Mother Pluto

More Kittens

Woodland Café

Little Hiawatha

Volume 8: 1937•1939

The Old Mill

Wynken, Blynken and Nod

Moth and the Flame

Merbabies

Farmyard Symphony

Mother Goose Goes Hollywood

The Practical Pig

The Ugly Duckling

 

Additional news and updates can be found at www.sillysymphonycollection.com.

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