A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short.
All is not peaceful in MUSIC LAND. The Land of Symphony and the Isle of Jazz are separated by the Sea of Discord, with very little chance of their disharmonious disagreements ever being soothed. So, when Prince Sax & Princess Violin fall in love, they precipitate a culture clash of Wagnerian proportions...
This is one of the greatest cartoons of all time. For nine minutes it dazzles the viewer (and listener) with seemingly countless musical motifs. The Romeo & Juliet story is quite simple, but the Disney animators embellish it with a lush treatment which abounds in hidden gags & symbolism. (For example, notice the tune the Prince pens in his rescue note.) If there was ever a cartoon that demanded repeated viewing, this is it.
The SILLY SYMPHONIES, which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929, are among the most interesting of series in the field of animation. Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount, with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music. There was little plot in the early Symphonies, which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals, all moving frantically to the soundtrack. Gradually, however, the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot, characterization & photographic special effects. The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale, Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed. It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring. In 1939, with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon, Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES; they had run their course & served their purpose.
All is not peaceful in MUSIC LAND. The Land of Symphony and the Isle of Jazz are separated by the Sea of Discord, with very little chance of their disharmonious disagreements ever being soothed. So, when Prince Sax & Princess Violin fall in love, they precipitate a culture clash of Wagnerian proportions...
This is one of the greatest cartoons of all time. For nine minutes it dazzles the viewer (and listener) with seemingly countless musical motifs. The Romeo & Juliet story is quite simple, but the Disney animators embellish it with a lush treatment which abounds in hidden gags & symbolism. (For example, notice the tune the Prince pens in his rescue note.) If there was ever a cartoon that demanded repeated viewing, this is it.
The SILLY SYMPHONIES, which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929, are among the most interesting of series in the field of animation. Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount, with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music. There was little plot in the early Symphonies, which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals, all moving frantically to the soundtrack. Gradually, however, the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot, characterization & photographic special effects. The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale, Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed. It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring. In 1939, with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon, Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES; they had run their course & served their purpose.