Springtime

This is the third Silly Symphony, and the first dedicated to the seasons (the others being Summer, Autumn, Winter).

In Springtime there are some animals and flowers that dance celebrating the spring, but then a storm arrives. After the rain, near a pond, they all dance to the Dance of the Hours.

In this short animals have a starring role; two ladybirds, a caterpillar, a crow's family, two cute grasshoppers, some turtles used as drums, a spider that uses his web like an harp, some dancing frogs and a stork. But there are also, at the beginning, few trees and some dancing flowers, and a tree that washes himself with the pouring rain.

The strange thing of this short is that every creature dies after his performance; the caterpillar is eaten by the raven, the grasshoppers swallowed by the frog, the frogs are the stork's lunch, and in the end, the stork is swallowed by a giant puddle.

In the end it's a nice short, and it's a must-see for all animal lovers. Featuring Grieg's ''Morning Mood'' and Ponchielli's ''Dance of the Hours''

Disney's "Silly Symphony" series was an important training-ground for animators to sharpen their skills and experiment with difficult visual effects, such as rainstorms and water reflections. 'Springtime (1929)' was directed by Walt Disney himself, and, though it is a primitive short films by most standards, one can nonetheless recognise the development of important techniques and ideas that would later be relied upon for subsequent masterpieces, such as Burt Gillet's 'Flowers and Trees (1932),' Wilfred Jackson's 'The Old Mill (1937)' and, most significantly of all, Disney's feature-length magnum opus, 'Fantasia (1940).' Animated in black-and-white, of course, 'Springtime' celebrates the arrival of spring in a secluded wetland, where anthropomorphised insects, frogs and birds commemorate the new season by dancing joyously in time to music, and generally eating their way down the food-chain. Flowers rise from the soil to perform a quick-step on two legs, while trees melodiously wave their arm-like branches.

'Springtime' was the first in a series of four Disney cartoons, each instalment celebrating a particular season. Spring is traditionally all about growth and new life, and the sheer exuberance of the forest creatures is skillfully translated to the screen. Bird chicks are born in their nests, one after the other, and everybody appears to be having a rather entertaining time. I find it interesting how the theme of death is incorporated so lightly into such an upbeat musical cartoon, with almost every character falling victim to a predator almost immediately after we have watched their performance: the caterpillar in sequentially gobbled up by the raven, the grasshoppers are devoured by the frog, the frogs provide a hearty meal for the stork, and, for the finale, the stork is swallowed up by an unexpectedly deep puddle. Though the lightning effects are admittedly rather primitive, the raindrops are animated very well, and Disney would only get better at it.

A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short.

It is SPRINGTIME at the marsh, and the joy of the season is causing the various birds & bugs to dance about rapturously and eat each other up...

This black & white cartoon is basically an exercise in action/reaction animation. The Disney artists seem to have an unending supply of posterior gags, often rather vulgar. The tuneful soundtrack with its familiar themes pushes the action along - most notably Ponchielli's `Dance of the Hours,' which would be showcased to great effect eleven years later in the Studio's FANTASIA.

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 really not too much to see here, just a bunch birds and swamp animals moving to music as Spring approaches. There is plenty of clever sound and visual effects and catchy music, just not much in a plot. But, I thought that the excessive scenes of birds gobbling up little animals were a little too much for a children's Disney cartoon.

Grade C+

I really loved this Silly Symphony. Why? Everything is good about it. First of all, there is stunning black and white animation, that after all this time, doesn't look at all dated. Second, is the appealing characters, then again, I love all the characters in all the Silly Symphonies; they never fail to bring a smile to my face. Third, is the music. Now I look out for this element, every time I review a film, cartoon or TV programme on IMDb. Most of the short contained wonderful classical music favourites like Morning from Peer Gynt by Grieg and Dance of the Hours from La Giaconda(also used in Fantasia) by Ponchielli. All in all, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Bethany Cox