The Cat's Out is an interesting black and white Silly Symphony which could be seen as somewhat of a follow-up to 1929's The Skeleton Dance. The story deals with a cat who after being struck on the head begins hallucinating all sorts of creepy things. Giant crows, oversized spiders, and dancing scarecrows are among the things encountered. Though not as original as The Skeleton Dance, The Cat's Out still offers some wonderful and innovative visuals. One sequence involving some nasty trees no doubt was an influence on the 1932 Silly Symphony Flowers and Trees. All in all this a wonderful piece of early animation.
10 Reviews
A weird Silly Symphony.
OllieSuave-00725 June 2018
This is a weird one from Disney, a Silly Symphony about a black cat who encounters some very strange stuff, from running into a bird that changes in size to a walking scarecrow to oversized spiders.
The poor cat been through a lot everything in this Halloween-theme scary. And, scary that it is more on the weird side, definitely one that might scare the kids away.
Grade C+
The poor cat been through a lot everything in this Halloween-theme scary. And, scary that it is more on the weird side, definitely one that might scare the kids away.
Grade C+
A Feline Nightmare From Disney
Ron Oliver10 September 2000
A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short.
It's dark and THE CAT'S OUT for the evening. A night spent screeching on the fence & stalking birds takes a strange turn when an accidental bang on the head throws kitty into a world of nightmare...
This black & white cartoon is pleasant without being noteworthy.
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.
It's dark and THE CAT'S OUT for the evening. A night spent screeching on the fence & stalking birds takes a strange turn when an accidental bang on the head throws kitty into a world of nightmare...
This black & white cartoon is pleasant without being noteworthy.
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.
There is a forlorn set of individuals known as . . .
pixrox19 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
. . . "cat people." Those of this feline persuasion have been debating for years as to where exactly the nefarious Hannah Barbara came up with the diabolical idea for a series of cartoons based upon torturing kitty. Clearly, when she was a young girl Hannah saw THE CAT'S OUT, which obviously became the primary inspiration for mousy Jerry bedeviling Tom Cat. Only a miscreant born with kitten phobia (that is, someone with a dominant gene for the catatonic state) could conceive of THE CAT'S OUT, in which Mittens is plagued by a boot, lightning, a flock of buzzards, a school of owls, a quartet of scarecrow clones, a spider herd and carnivorous trees.
A Silly Symphony with a eerie appeal for a Halloween cartoon
ja_kitty_7118 October 2009
Here's a "Silly Symphony" that I thought would be appropriate for a Halloween cartoon. Well, this short is not as eerie as The Skeleton Dance but still great to watch on Halloween; it's also another favourite black-and-white Silly Symphony cartoon.
Also known as "The Cat's Nightmare," this short is about a cat who was put out for the night trying to catch a bird that was on top of a barn, but falls off the barn in the attempt. Unconscious from the fall, he has a nightmare that the bird has grown and is beginning to extract its revenge, along with other creepy things too. I don't have any particular scene I like, because I love this cartoon from beginning to end.
And for you cat-lovers like me, as you watch this cartoon, you feel sorry for the cat until the ending, that is. And one thing I didn't get is why they would put "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" as a title theme, huh?
Also known as "The Cat's Nightmare," this short is about a cat who was put out for the night trying to catch a bird that was on top of a barn, but falls off the barn in the attempt. Unconscious from the fall, he has a nightmare that the bird has grown and is beginning to extract its revenge, along with other creepy things too. I don't have any particular scene I like, because I love this cartoon from beginning to end.
And for you cat-lovers like me, as you watch this cartoon, you feel sorry for the cat until the ending, that is. And one thing I didn't get is why they would put "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" as a title theme, huh?
I don't dislike but
kaicesbr15 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Continuing my marathon of Disney shorts but as they are almost always not available on Disney plus I have to hunt on YouTube. First time watching. Look, I'll be honest, at first I was enjoying it but all of a sudden it goes back to the same dance and choreography as the other Silly Symphony. I know this one makes sense of them dancing because it's the cat's nightmare but it gets really boring the same thing over and over again. As incredible as it appears, I didn't dislike it like the other Silly Symphony shorts before it, but I also didn't like it to the point of giving it a good grade. Conclusion: even though I don't hate it like the other Silly Symphony shorts, I'm going to give it a bad rating.
One of the better ones...
planktonrules18 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
"The Cat's Out" is a black & white Silly Symphony--a short from Disney that featured lots of music to accompany the otherwise silent film. This particular example is different from most of the films in this series up until this time because that is a much greater emphasis on story. Most of the other films just feature characters mostly dancing about doing nothing in particular. In this case, however, it's about the adventures the cat has when he's outside--and some of them are a bit scary for the creature. In fact, one even includes the poor thing losing one of his 9 lives! There also is a scene that looks like a homage to the much-heralded "Skeleton Dance" (also a Silly Symphony and one of the very best they made). Overall, one of the best shorts on the second volume of the Silly Symphonies from the Walt Disney Treasures Collection--it has a better story and a lot of nice laughs (as well as animal torment--though it all turns out well in the end). Sweet and clever.
Noteworthy and atmospheric cartoon
TheLittleSongbird19 March 2010
I do agree, it isn't quite as eerie as The Skeleton Dance, which is understandable, seeing how wonderfully creepy that was. But it is a noteworthy little cartoon, without being an absolute classic. The black and white animation is excellent, with atmospheric shades. If you ask me, I do think it's better black and white, it is more atmospheric you see. Also the music is wonderful, really fitting with the story and the action. The story is a simple one at that, but effective. You do feel sorry for the Cat at the end, I certainly wouldn't want to mess with those birds, and the spiders were somewhat cute. Overall, this is a noteworthy and very atmospheric cartoon. 10/10 Bethany Cox
A Horrifying Experience
Hitchcoc30 November 2018
When a cat is put out for the night, he begins to roam. At one point he attacks a bird on a weather vane and then his troubles start. He experiences all manner of horrible attacks, first from the birds and then others. He even feels as though he has lost eight of his nine lives. This is more entertaining than most, although Disney seems to have the same animal world villains appear over and over.
"The Cat's Nightmare" is more like it!
llltdesq7 October 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This is an early short in the Silly Symphonies series produced by Disney. There will be spoilers ahead:
This is an atmospheric short with something of a plot, which wasn't typical for the early Silly Symphonies. The cat is put out (along with the milk bottle) and the short starts out slowly, in a most conventional manner, with the cat meowing on a fence and shoes being thrown.
But the short turns on a dime when the cat stalks a bird on a weather vane, falls, hits the ground and nine cat ghosts begin to float skyward. The cat manages to wrestle the ninth soul back. That's when things go *BANG*! The cat is accosted by the bird, grown much larger, which then multiplies.
Things simply get stranger from here, with scarecrows, bats, spiders and dead trees all in a competition to see which can make the cat's night the most disturbing. Finally, with dawn, things settle down, the cat wakes up and all ends mostly well. The end is very good.
This short is available on the Disney Treasures More Silly Symphonies DVD set and both the short and the set are worth getting. Recommended.
This is an atmospheric short with something of a plot, which wasn't typical for the early Silly Symphonies. The cat is put out (along with the milk bottle) and the short starts out slowly, in a most conventional manner, with the cat meowing on a fence and shoes being thrown.
But the short turns on a dime when the cat stalks a bird on a weather vane, falls, hits the ground and nine cat ghosts begin to float skyward. The cat manages to wrestle the ninth soul back. That's when things go *BANG*! The cat is accosted by the bird, grown much larger, which then multiplies.
Things simply get stranger from here, with scarecrows, bats, spiders and dead trees all in a competition to see which can make the cat's night the most disturbing. Finally, with dawn, things settle down, the cat wakes up and all ends mostly well. The end is very good.
This short is available on the Disney Treasures More Silly Symphonies DVD set and both the short and the set are worth getting. Recommended.
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