“The Story of the Silly Symphony” was originally broadcast as part of the “Disneyland” TV Series, and premiered on October 19, 1955. Our host, Walt Disney, provides a look at some of the Silly Symphony cartoons while explaining how nearly learned techniques were later used by his artists in animated features.
Walt Disney starts off by reading viewer mail. Most ask why the Silly Symphonies were discontinued. Walt simply said that they were basically testing grounds for what would become the full-length animated feature. Four of the six Silly Symphonies shown in the show are Academy Award winners.
The first ‘Silly Symphony’ we saw was “Flowers and Trees,” the first color animated short. This Silly Symphony was originally being produced in black and white, but production was shortly changed to color with the help of new three-strip Technicolor process. In this shirt, the flowers and trees do their exercises as it is now spring time. Some trees play a tune, using vines for strings. A fight breaks out between a grouchy hollow tree and a healthier looking tree who were vying for the attention of a particular female tree. The young tree is victorious, but the hollow tree soon retaliates by starting a fire. Some birds help put out the fire by poking holes in the clouds to make it rain, but the hollow tree perishes in the flames. The young tree then proposes to the female tree, and they embrace as a rainbow forms behind them. This Silly Symphony also won the first ever Academy Award for Best Animated Short Subject in 1933.
Next, Walt shared another viewer letter. They enjoyed The Three Little Pigs, and were wondering if we would ever see more of them. Walt mentioned how successful “The Three Little Pigs” was for the Company, as it gave them their first Academy Award for Best Original Song with “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf.” But one short that has rarely been seen was “The Practical Pig.” In this short, Fiddler and Fifer stop by their brother Practical’s house to see what he is doing. Of course, Practical is being Practical, and coming up with another way to get back at the Big Bad Wolf. So, he invents a lie detector. Fiddler and Fifer laugh at Practical, and go on their way. Practical warns his brothers not to go swimming, but they ignore him and swim anyway. Fiddler and Fifer get caught by the Wolf, and are taken to the Wolf’s house as they are about to become dinner. The Wolf wants their brother as well, and leaves to get him. The 3 little wolves take matters into their own hands, and begin to cook Fiddler and Fifer. The Wolf then arrives at Practical’s house disguised as a messenger. He delivers his note, and then things backfire when he tries to kidnap Practical. The Wolf gets caught, so Practical decides to use his new lie detector on him to get some more info on where his brothers might be. Fiddler and Fifer eventually escape, and run into Practical by slamming he door in his face as they run into his house. The brothers are then subject to the lie detector. Practical then tells them “Remember, this hurts me worse than it does you,” but the machine takes him literally, and is then tortured by the lie detector.
Walt returns to tell us about the next Silly Symphony – “Three Orphan Kitties.” This Silly Symphony was yet another Academy Award winning film. It tells the story of three kittens, (one black, one grey and one orange), and their adventures in a house. They are left out in the cold and snow, until they notice the house nearby and enter through an open window. They kind the kitchen, and begin to play there after the housekeeper finishes preparing a meal. After more playing in various areas of the house, the film switches its focus to the black kitten, who is chasing a feather. The feather ends up landing on a piano keyboard. The kitten starts to play with the feather while walking on the piano. The feather lands on the ‘on’ switch, which the kitten presses, and the piano begins to play a song. The other two kittens then join the fun and chaos. When the song finishes, the kittens leave the piano, but are then caught by the housekeeper. She is ready to put them outside, but is stopped by a little girl who decides to adopt the kittens.
After “Three Orphan Kitties,” Walt introduces “Little Hiawatha.” This Silly Symphony was developed with you knowing the history and story of Hiawatha, but it has no direct relation. Little Hiawatha believes himself to be a “fearless warrior.” The running gag in this short is that his pants keeping falling down. He begins to explore in the forest, and sees a grasshopper. He tries to shoot it with his arrow, but the grasshopper spits in his face instead. He attempts to shoot a rabbit, but can’t do it as the rabbit is giving Little Hiawatha repeated sad glances. He gets frustrated, and shoos it back to its family. He then comes across a bear, chases after it, but then runs right into the bear’s mother. She chases Little Hiawatha into the forest, as the other animals band together to keep him safe. Little Hiawatha eventfully escapes, and returns safely to his canoe. He then rows off to the sunset as the animals wave goodbye.
Next up in “The Story of the Silly Symphony” is “The Old Mill.” This Silly Symphony depicts the natural community of animals populating an abandoned windmill in the country and how they deal with a severe thunderstorm that nearly destroys their habitat. “The Old Mill,” like other Silly Symphony shorts, were testing grounds for advanced animation techniques. The multi-plane camera was used for the first time, while realistic depictions of rain, wind, lightning, splashes, and reflections were also seen and used. Nearly everything learned from the making of “The Old Mill” was incorporated into the feature-length animated film, especially “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” This Silly Symphony also won the 1937 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons.
And finally, we saw “Ferdinand the Bull.” This particular short is often considered a Silly Symphony, but it really isn’t one, however, it is still a fun short. The title character would much rather smell the flowers in the countryside of Spain than butt heads with the other cows. Ferdinand’s mom tries to convince him to reconsider, but he is perfectly content where he is. Some men come to choose a bull for the upcoming fight. They see Ferdinand madly dash around the field after he accidentally sits on a bumblebee and is stung. The men choose Ferdinand, and off to the fight they go. Once there, all Ferdinand cares about is a bouquet if flowers that gets thrown into the ring by some women. This short also won the 1938 Academy Award for Best Subject: Cartoons.
While there are plenty of “Silly Symphonies” that could have been highlighted, it was great to see these in “The Story of the Silly Symphony.” Many of these hadn’t been seen in years, or were unknown by some. Either way, “Wednesdays with Walt” is a fun way to get and see some early Disney history. You never know exactly what you’ll see at a show, so be sure and check it out. Show details are released every Tuesday on the Disneyland Annual Passholders Facebook page.