Inside the historic Lido theater, the evening�s moderators were introduced by Tim O�Day, Disney author and a publicist for the Festival. Don Hahn first greeted the crowd on behalf of Roy Disney, who had joined him for last year�s presentation. Roy was instrumental in gathering the films for this year�s presentation, Hahn said.

Don Hahn and Dave Bossert inside the Lido Theater
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�We have amazing things to show you tonight,� Hahn began. The �snapshot history� of Disney animation began with Hell�s Bells (1929), a Silly Symphony from that series first year. Hahn pointed out that Hell�s Bells opened the day after the stock market crash. Featuring the animation of Ub Iwerks, the short depicted a somewhat disturbing yet whimsical series of incidents in the underworld, presided over by Satan himself. Atmospheric music was provided by Carl Stalling, who later achieved his greatest fame at Warner Brothers. A central theme in Hells Bells is Funeral March of a Marionette, later familiar to audiences as Alfred Hitchcock�s television theme.

Ub Iwerk�s Satan is a central figure in Hell�s Bells

Following the vivid black and white of Hell�s Bells, Hahn and Bossert next offered Disney�s first full three-color cartoon, Flowers and Trees (1932). The Silly Symphony is noted in film history as the first to win the Academy Award for animated short subject. Hahn noted the learning curve of the Disney animators, having created Flowers and Trees only three years after the comparatively simple Hell�s Bells.

The stars of Flowers and Trees