This is yet another of Disney's so-called 'Silly Symphonies'--a cartoon short devoted to music and dancing and without the usual Disney characters, like Mickey. Oddly, there is no opening music as the credits and title screen roll but the rest is pretty much what you'd expect--a nice orchestra piece that is illustrated with cutesy characters. In this case, bugs dance about and enjoy the summer. This apparently is part of an overall theme, as the studio also did "Springtime", "Autumn" and "Winter" around the same time period. It's all quite nice and the animation is fortunately better than "Autumn" and "Springtime" (which I just saw a few minutes ago)--I have yet to see Winter (the last one made in the series). However, the seasons series aren't so far among the better examples of the Silly Symphonies and perhaps that is why they are included in the second volume of the DVD sets. Not bad--but not great either.
9 Reviews
Don't bug me!
Foreverisacastironmess12311 April 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Well seeing as I was in such a wonderful sunny day, it seemed appropriate to again watch and try to talk about this particular Silly Symphony, and to say its appearance comes so early in the animation art of the Disney studios it's really not bad, it's very cute and pleasant. You'd have to be a real old Scrooge to ever be seriously offended or upset by it in the remotest way! But can summer really be depicted in an appealing way though with a total absence of colour? Well kinda.. The hideous backgrounds are frightfully basic, but the focus is meant to be purely on a lot of flowers and various insects that frolic and be merry in exact time to the music, so it gets a narrow pass. It does certainly reek of the distinctive animation style of Ub Iwerks! It's okay enough as caterpillars turn into rather uncute butterflies, and a stick insect pops up that has a fairly interesting and weird design. I liked the bugs that were skitting across the water, their reflections were very well done I thought, and the dragonfly that was playing a kind of makeshift water boat with the ladybirds was a lovely sight gag, I love those kinds of insects and butterflies, I would never ever squash them as I consider them precious, but houseflies on the other hand can go straight to heck! I give it a 7 now but it used to be a 5, I still don't think there's much to exactly love in this short but I think I've learned to lighten up more about the Symphonies and I try to see what's good in all of them. You don't see so much as a classic smiling sun in the sky but it's a nice short, a mere stepping stone in this series but a fun bit of animated fluff that's very enjoyable and one that lightened my spirits. Have a good day and do try to keep the sunshine in your heart always! x
A Presentation with a Lot of Bugs
Hitchcoc12 April 2018
This is a film with very basic animation. It focuses entirely on the world of various bugs. As we are introduced to each of the species, they perform sophisticated dances. We have dung beetles and dragonflies and houseflies and a big black spider. They cavort and enjoy the world, even though danger lurks around every corner. There really is little plot and the repetition isn't that spellbinding, but this was the infancy of the art.
Many if not most entomologists still consider SUMMER . . .
oscaralbert6 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
. . . one of the better commercial cartoons to feature BOTH a walking stick and dung beetles. When it comes to bugs, this amounts to roughly two-thirds of the holy grail trifecta (lacking only the praying mantis). Perhaps the powers that were behind this animated short felt it necessary to snub Ms. Mantis over her propensity for domestic abuse. However, if there were any formal memorandums exchanged between the Walnut and Columbia, it's possible they've been lost in History's landfill by now.
Not Well
kaicesbr14 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Continuing my marathon of Disney shorts, another short that is not available on Disney plus and I have to look for on YouTube. Another one I've never watched, I'll comment while watching. Some similarities that I already found in these first shorts is that they always animate 4 animals and/or characters and dance almost the same choreography of these shorts, in The Skeleton Dance which was something new it was funny and fun now in those that came they leave monotonous and maybe even no creativity. Conclusion: you can compare with Springtime, so I thought Springtime was superior, but I'll give the same grade.
What's with the rating.? This Silly Symphony is a great tribute to Summer
TheLittleSongbird14 October 2009
I don't get the 6.0 rating, this Silly Symphony is great, being one of four to pay tribute to the four seasons. It is sweet, lively and often adorable. The animation in black and white form holds up amazingly well after all this time, and looks stunning. The characters are wonderful, forget the plot, and watch it for the fun and completely likable characters. Especially the musical dung beetles. Things are further advantaged by a very lively music score, that really does help with the Silly Symphony's appeal. The pace is fast, it is fun to watch, and it is sweet and adorable at the same time. To cut a long story short, I loved it! 10/10 Bethany Cox
Disney's Salute To The Seasons, Opus Two
Ron Oliver22 September 2000
A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short.
SUMMER has come to the marsh, and a large variety of insects are frolicking about the water, happily making meals out of one other...
This black & white cartoon is another exercise in action/ reaction animation, with the lively soundtrack setting the pace. Incidentally, this may be the only cartoon in Hollywood history to feature a pair of musical dung beetles.
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.
SUMMER has come to the marsh, and a large variety of insects are frolicking about the water, happily making meals out of one other...
This black & white cartoon is another exercise in action/ reaction animation, with the lively soundtrack setting the pace. Incidentally, this may be the only cartoon in Hollywood history to feature a pair of musical dung beetles.
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.
Animation is good and the music is bright and lively
llltdesq20 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This is an early Silly Symphony released by Disney. There will be spoilers ahead:
There's no plot whatsoever to this one, being simply a series of animated segments of various bugs dancing and playing. It's a cute and fun short which lightens the spirit and brightens the heart.
The animation is very nicely done, if not overly creative.This is just six minutes of bugs frolicking about set to music. These shorts served as a training ground for the Disney animation staff.
The highlight of the short for me was when four flies take a sleeping spider and his web off a tree in order to pull a prank, with the spider ultimately having the last laugh.
This short is available on the Disney Treasures More Silly Symphonies DVD set. This short and the set are well worth tracking down. Recommended.
There's no plot whatsoever to this one, being simply a series of animated segments of various bugs dancing and playing. It's a cute and fun short which lightens the spirit and brightens the heart.
The animation is very nicely done, if not overly creative.This is just six minutes of bugs frolicking about set to music. These shorts served as a training ground for the Disney animation staff.
The highlight of the short for me was when four flies take a sleeping spider and his web off a tree in order to pull a prank, with the spider ultimately having the last laugh.
This short is available on the Disney Treasures More Silly Symphonies DVD set. This short and the set are well worth tracking down. Recommended.
Not much of a plot, but plenty of clever effects and catchy music.
OllieSuave-00718 June 2018
There is really not too much to see here, just a bunch of bugs moving to music as Summer approaches. But, there is plenty of clever sound and visual effects and catchy music, just not much in a plot. But, if you're into just music and animation itself, then this cartoon is for you.
Grade B
Grade B
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