This is the last Silly Symphony to be released in black & white (so if you’re following the countdown, it’s the first). Although there’s no color palette, the animators deliver a rich cartoon, with wonderful characterizations and plenty of great gags. It might be a stretch to say that this short was a direct influence on A Bug’s Life, but several of the tropes that would last through the years are present already in 1932. Bert Lewis’ score helps tell the story of this dialogue-free short.

Many of Disney’s most famous stories come from older sources, such as The Brothers Grimm or Aesop. And some just seem like they do. Take, for example, today’s short: Babes In The Woods. It’s a mash-up of elements from various familiar stories, but ultimately tells its own tale. Are the lost children Hansel and Gretel? Well, they’re wearing clogs, so maybe. But in Bert Lewis’ opening song, the narrator sings “…whose names I don’t know.” So are they the babes in the woods from the british folk tale? Other than the title and the fact that they’re lost, nothing else is familiar. And where are the elves from? Rather than look backward, I think the animators (under the able direction of Burt Gillett) were looking forward, experimenting with their newfound technicolor palette to bring to life all different kinds of characters – the animals, the children, the witch, and the elves all have a distinct and unique style. Babes In The Woods set the scene for some of Disney’s greater triumphs.

If you’re following along with this blog, you’ve already watched the sequel, The Night Before Christmas, also directed by Wilfred Jackson. While the later cartoon was a clever short that featured Santa delivering toys to a house full of children, Santa’s Workshop, which takes place on the previous day, shows Santa and his elves hard at work actually making the toys. In many ways, this might be the superior cartoon – it was the first holiday Silly Symphony in technicolor, the gags are fantastic, Frank Churchill’s score is excellent, and who’s that uncredited voice playing the elf?

The Silly Symphonies were the sandbox in which the creative people at Disney could experiment before working on their ambitious feature films, like Snow White and Bambi. Knowing that, it should come as no surprise that David Hand, the director of Birds in the Spring, was the supervising director on both of those features. The titular birds in this charming short are animated in the hyperreal way that was Disney’s signature at the time. There’s no dialogue in this short – the birds communicate with each other in perfectly timed chirps, in sync with the melodies of Bert Lewis and Frank Churchill.

While stories from The Brothers Grimm and Aesop’s Fables are standard source material for American animation from the ’30s and ’40s, it’s rare to find a cartoon based on a story from the Bible. Perhaps because the basic story of Noah’s Ark is so familiar to almost everyone (and no doubt because it focuses on animals), it’s one Bible story that’s been adapted many times. Father Noah’s Ark is surprisingly faithful to the popular retelling of the story, with several clever animal gags tossed in for good measure. Leigh Harline’s wonderful score, based on Beethoven, perfectly sets the tone for the short.

There’s popular, there’s huge, and then there’s Three Little Pigs. The story is familiar, and it’s beautifully animated. But the song by Frank Churchill puts it over the top. Almost immediately, “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf” became a rallying cry against the Depression. More than 80 years later, it’s a beloved classic. 

Considering that all of the characters in Old King Cole are from storybooks, there’s not much story in this Silly Symphony. However, this short is an exhilarating revue, presenting familiar characters from classic stories and nursery rhymes at a breakneck speed, with a score and songs from Frank Churchill and Bert Lewis that doesn’t let up. Ultimately, the jazz number that closes the short is another Disney animation triumph.

It’s a testament to the storytelling power of Disney animation that tales told for centuries are popularly identified with Disney. Cinderella, Snow White, and Mulan are just a few examples. The Pied Piper was a story told for more than half a millennium before Disney tackled it in a Silly Symphony directed by Wilfred Jackson, with a memorable song by Leigh Harline. Disney’s telling of the story is straight-forward, with most of the gags taking place in the opening scenes with the city overrun by rats. And for many people, it’s the most memorable version of the story.

Despite its apparent cuteness, Lullaby Land is actually a cautionary cartoon aimed at infants. However, since no infant probably saw the short in its initial theatrical run, audiences of the day were presented with a nightmare scenario in which the protagonist (the baby) had no idea he was ever in danger. Basically, it’s a new parent’s worst fears come to animated life. That said, this Silly Symphony is memorable for its inventive and clever gags.

Today’s Silly Symphony is an adorable exercise in great animation, without much of a story. The Night Before Christmas features Santa Claus turning an empty living room into a veritable toy shop, using his magic as the toys come to live to prepare themselves for the children. No dialogue, no real plot. Just fun. And yet, with Santa’s (and Disney’s) magic, it’s a wonderful short.