La cicala e la formica

Just watched this Disney Silly Symphony on YouTube. In this one, a grasshopper fiddles away singing, "The World Owes Us a Living" while the worker ants prepare for the winter storage. The queen of them warns the grasshopper of what will happen if the grasshopper doesn't prepare himself but he pays her no mind. Then the blizzard comes...If the voice of the grasshopper sounds familiar, that's because it's the same one that will voice the eventually popular Goofy: Pinto Colvig. He provides ample charm here despite his character being somewhat lazy in nature. And when he does learn his lesson, he changes the words to reflect that learning. I'm sure the Depression audience that watched this in theatres came away with that attitude as well and possibly whistled that tune going out. Uncle Walt himself probably liked it as well since it became-with a few note changes-Goofy's theme as well. So on that note, I highly recommend The Grasshopper and the Ants.

Very good, one of the best shorts at Disney. With a great animation and fantastic morals. Highly recommend.

.............WELL, AT LEAST not in the USA, anyway!

THAT THIS TULY ancient story would be adapted to the screen by Mr. Walt Disney & Company. Assigned to being an installment in Disney's SILLY SYMPHONIES, the production of this animated short subject was assured to being rendered first rate.

ALTHOUGH THE STORY is really more than quite familiar to everyone, it received a new and upbeat "facelift". As only a studio such as that which was and is Disney could pull something like this off.

IN ADDITION TO the basic premise of carefree & really lazy grasshopper's being contrasted to the highly industrious ant colony. Everything was fine for the grasshopper while the Summer Sun sines. He scoffs at the ants working so hard in stock-piling for the Winter's tough times. Winter comes and the foolish grasshopper is literally left out in the cold; while the "Chumpy" ants are safe, warm and well fed down in their below ground level home.

THIS Disney VERSION takes pity on the tobacco spitter and has him being treated as a guest by the magnanimous generosity of the ants. The point is still made, albeit with a happy and not so fatal an ending.

NEXT TO THE usual brilliant animation and beautiful Technicolor visuals, the greatest asset of this film is its employment of voice actor Pinto Colvig. The man who was best known for his giving speech to characters such as Disney's GOOFY and Max Fleischer's GABBY, gave real "life" to THE GRASSHOPPER & THE ANTS. Particularly memorable is his solo singing of the very lively and meaningful tune: "The World Owes Me A Living!"

BOY SCHULTZ, THAT ought to be a real hit today!

A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short.

Winter is coming, but the GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS have very different ways of preparing for it. While the ants are diligently storing food, the Grasshopper is only dancing around & playing his fiddle. When the snows come, perhaps he'll play a different tune...

Aesop's Fables provided the source for this very enjoyable cartoon. The intricate labors of the ants give lots of interest for the eye. `Oh, The World Owes Us A Living', the Grasshopper's song, would eventually become, with a slight revision, the theme for Goofy; Pinto Colvig voiced both characters.

The SILLY SYMPHONIES, which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929, are among the most fascinating of all animated series. 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.

When this cartoon begins, you'll no doubt notice that it's the voice of Goofy (Pinto Colvig) playing the grasshopper. It's pretty hard not to notice that distinctive voice!

As far as the cartoon goes, it has the usual exceptional color animation you'd expect from a Disney cartoon of the era and there is no comparison between the Disney shorts and those of the nearest competition. Also, unlike some of their Silly Symphonies, this one benefits from having a lot less singing--a definite bonus. What did surprise me, however, is that despite all this wonderfulness and a great timeless story, the script actually changed the ending--and completely changed the moral lesson. Instead of an admonition to work hard lest you die of starvation in hard times, it shows the ants taking pity on the stupid grasshopper and sharing their food. This seems to give the moral lesson that you should reach out to help the lazy! An odd ending indeed. Without this happily ever after sort of ending, it might have earned a 10--it was that good. But the morally questionable ending detracted from what should have been a timeless lesson.