This short is an oddity for a couple of reasons. Firstly, while there were a few Silly Symphonies to merit sequels (Three Little Pigs, Water Babies, Three Orphan Kittens, The Tortoise and the Hare…), there’s only one that got a remake: The Ugly Duckling. And since we’re counting backwards, today’s short is the original. The other reason that this short is odd is that while the remake follows the spirit of the Hans Christian Anderson story, this version does not. In the original Anderson story, a cygnet is born into a family of ducks – he’s a “ugly duckling” because he’s not a duckling at all. In this short, the main character is indeed a duckling, born into a family of chickens. But I guess “the ugly chick” didn’t carry the right message, even in 1931.
And if you haven’t already seen it – the mini-documentary for the Silly Symphony project that inspired this countdown hit the web today. You can check it out here.
